Seed Innovations (AIM:SEED), the AIM-listed closed-end investment company, reported a largely flat portfolio value of £8.4 million for the year ended 31 March, up marginally from £8.3 million a year earlier, as the company finalised a strategic pivot away from its legacy biotech and cannabis holdings toward robotics and AI ventures.
Cash and receivables fell to £2.7 million from £3.4 million, reflecting deployment into the new strategy and ongoing support for existing portfolio companies.
The first two investments under the revised approach were completed after the period end: a US$1 million stake in Feather Robotics, a US-based applied AI and industrial robotics business, and a £300,000 investment in Fieldwork Robotics, a UK developer building what it describes as the world's first autonomous raspberry harvesting robot, with trials underway in Australia, the UK and Portugal.
A follow-on investment in Clean Food Group, a UK biotechnology company converting food waste into sustainable oils and fats, was also made post-period to support its commercial scale-up.
The board was reshaped during the year, with Jim Mellon joining as Non-Executive Chair alongside two new non-executive directors, and Hoid.ai appointed as investing consultant to originate opportunities and develop an acquisition pipeline.
"The Board believes a substantial new investment category is emerging, and one in which SEED is seeking to establish a differentiated position through selective and disciplined capital allocation," Mellon said.
