Joe Knowles

Partner at Smedvig Ventures and Angel Investor

📍 London, England Metropolitan Area, United Kingdom🔄 Updated September 2026💼 20 investments📅 10 years investing🗓 Last invested Dec 2025
VC🌍 United Kingdom20+ investmentsInvested this year
20
Total investments
5
Early stage
5
Mid stage
5
Late stage
10y
Years active

Portfolio

19 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Board Member
Dec 2025
Embankment is the next generation asset service business, delivering end-to-end fund management, administration and depositary services to alternative investment funds and investment fund managers, powered by technology and domain expertise. Through Embankment, fund and asset management businesses can access a cloud-based platform delivering the full suite of connected, automated and efficient administrative services, disengage the hassle and red tape and devote themselves to value-added services at the benefit of the investors via a digital platform and a digitized user experience. Embankment is licensed as a depositary services provider, free of legacy systems and delivers uncompromising customer focus and user experience. Embankment delivers best-in-class fund services, fund administration and depositary services via a digital platform designed to meet the needs of alternative investment fund managers. Trusted by fund managers in venture capital, real estate, infrastructure and renewable energy production and lending, Embankment covers the entire asset spectrum of asset classes in the alternative investment space. Embankment is a Copenhagen based business with a global outlook.
Angel Investor
Jan 2025
Sourcerie is the go-to operating system for customer feedback and insights, for modern consumer brands on Shopify.   We help brands grow their business in a customer-centric way through a 360 insights platform for all their customer feedback + an always-on, owned consumer panel. So brands can nail their CX and retention, co-create with their customers, and predict their next bestseller. Used and loved by brands around the world, from beauty to apparel to FMCG. Request a demo 👇
Angel Investor
Jun 2024
Imagine a recruitment platform that was built from the ground up using the latest in generative AI technology. A platform that combines your favourite ten tools into one simple user interface with perfect integration out of the box. Imagine all your mundane tasks automated. The result? Youll generate 50% more revenue.
Angel Investor
Feb 2024
The first real time BNPL consumer credit database. The most insightful consumer underwriting data for BNPL lenders is a consumers BNPL transaction history. With richer data, lenders can make more informed underwriting decisions - helping both BNPL providers and consumers. We come from various BNPL providers, and we grew tired of the roadblocks from the lack of credit reporting infrastructure designed to support the BNPL industry. We want consumers to have access to the right credit products for them, which can only happen if lenders have the right data. Vulnerable consumers need protections in place and responsible consumers should be rewarded for their positive behaviours. We are providing the critical infrastructure to improve the ecosystem with data privacy and data minimisation at its heart.
Series A Investor
Oct 2023
Druid AI helps enterprises work smarter with human-centric, agent-based AI that actually works. Powered by the Druid Conductor, its platform develops and manages intelligent agents that simplify processes, enhance interactions, and produce measurable business impact with enterprise-grade security and governance. With over 250 partners and 350 clients worldwide, Druid AI leads the evolution of intelligent enterprise automation, where people and AI collaborate to achieve more. Druid AI offers comprehensive solutions for on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environments. 🔗 Discover how Druid AI Agents can transform your business today! (https://druidai.com/demo) 🤝 If you want to join our team, check out our Jobs section on LinkedIn – https://druidai.com/jobs. Were always looking for talented people who wish to embark on our journey and contribute to how AI and automation are helping people work better.
Angel Investor
Jul 2023
A talent partner that helps you find professionals that will take your business from good to great. We offer an executive search service for mid-level hires, all the way to C-Level. We put twice as many people on every search. We pay our people based on your new hires performance after six months in the role
Angel Investor
Jun 2023
Gravel AI (https://gravelai.com) is a personal care ingredient supply and demand analytics platform that helps ingredient manufacturers grow faster and understand their competition.
Angel Investor
Apr 2023
Hardware-agnostic, enterprise-grade automation, data-driven analysis and the Aibuild AM intelligence in one flexible platform. Aibuild is cloud connected for collaboration or deployable on desktop for off-grid security. Combining additive manufacturing with tailor-made CNC strategies, all accessed through one UI. Whether you’re working offline, online, or somewhere in between, Aibuild is a solution built to meet your needs. With centralised control of machine fleets to reduce lead times, cuts costs, and eliminate inefficiencies, Aibuild drives precision, speed, and quality at every production stage.
Angel Investor
Jan 2023
ClimateAligned is developing the first AI platform designed to integrate end-to-end sustainability, ESG and climate factors and data applicable to debt investment decisions in a single application.
Angel Investor
Jan 2023
Thema is an AI-native company pioneering a novel software category known as Strategic Intelligence. We provide organisations with a personalised strategic analyst that augments Strategy, Corporate Development & Investment teams. Our co-pilot system automatically maps all markets globally, reveals competitors & makes adjacent opportunities discoverable. Our system is underpinned by a proprietary embedding model and custom agents, tapping into the latest advancements in language models.
Angel Investor
Jan 2023
YASO is a next generation solution for ambitious brands looking to sell directly to Chinese Gen Z consumers through the power of social commerce. Our tech-enabled solution provides market entry and brand acceleration options for emerging category-leaders who otherwise would find the complexity of China prohibitively challenging. Find out if China is right for your brand - visit www.goyaso.com
Board Member
Aug 2022
Lunio makes the internet a safer and more reliable place for everyone trying to grow their business by automatically getting rid of fake clicks, traffic, and leads on all ad platforms. Invest 100% of your ad spend on audiences with genuine conversion potential, and make better campaign optimisations by stopping fake and non-human data from muddying your metrics. No more wasted ad spend. No more worthless traffic. And no more guesswork. Get fully transparent campaign data and drive more profitable growth. The way paid media should be. Book a free, no-obligation traffic audit.
Angel Investor
Mar 2022
Engineius is the leading vehicle movement service in the UK. The business was founded in 2018 on the belief that it should be as easy to book and manage vehicle movements as it is to buy from Amazon or ride with Uber. Our bespoke technology enhances the end-user experience, allowing customers to track deliveries to their door across the UK via a network of over 500 fully trained drivers and agents managed fully in-house. Engineius services leading clients across all fleet sectors including corporate fleets, SMR, rental, leasing, dealerships, remarketing and breakdown services.
Angel Investor
Feb 2022
YardLink makes construction more efficient. We power up supply chains by bringing sites and suppliers together in one place, unlocking local partnerships and keeping projects running smoothly. Find out more at www.yardlink.com
Board Observer
Apr 2019
At Masabi we’re driving the fare payment revolution — together, we are improving the transit of millions to enable seamless travel for all. Our own journeys are important too. Here, you have the tools to build the career you want. Whether you’re taking the direct route or trying new paths, we’ll be there to support you no matter what. We are grateful to be a network of innovators from all walks of life; a group of passionate individuals who consistently deliver. Masabi is going places and our teams are in the driving seat. But, developing ground-breaking technology isn’t an easy ride — mistakes are inevitable. Our close connections keep us on the path to success. No matter your cargo, we share the load. Masabi: Powering Journeys
Show all 19 investments ↓
Experience · 23 entries
All (23)
Investments (20)
Board (8)
2025
Board Member
Dec 2025
Embankment is the next generation asset service business, delivering end-to-end fund management, administration and depositary services to alternative investment funds and investment fund managers, powered by technology and domain expertise. Through Embankment, fund and asset management businesses can access a cloud-based platform delivering the full suite of connected, automated and efficient administrative services, disengage the hassle and red tape and devote themselves to value-added services at the benefit of the investors via a digital platform and a digitized user experience. Embankment is licensed as a depositary services provider, free of legacy systems and delivers uncompromising customer focus and user experience. Embankment delivers best-in-class fund services, fund administration and depositary services via a digital platform designed to meet the needs of alternative investment fund managers. Trusted by fund managers in venture capital, real estate, infrastructure and renewable energy production and lending, Embankment covers the entire asset spectrum of asset classes in the alternative investment space. Embankment is a Copenhagen based business with a global outlook.
Angel Investor
Jan 2025
Sourcerie is the go-to operating system for customer feedback and insights, for modern consumer brands on Shopify.   We help brands grow their business in a customer-centric way through a 360 insights platform for all their customer feedback + an always-on, owned consumer panel. So brands can nail their CX and retention, co-create with their customers, and predict their next bestseller. Used and loved by brands around the world, from beauty to apparel to FMCG. Request a demo 👇
2024
Angel Investor
Jun 2024
Imagine a recruitment platform that was built from the ground up using the latest in generative AI technology. A platform that combines your favourite ten tools into one simple user interface with perfect integration out of the box. Imagine all your mundane tasks automated. The result? Youll generate 50% more revenue.
Angel Investor
Feb 2024
The first real time BNPL consumer credit database. The most insightful consumer underwriting data for BNPL lenders is a consumers BNPL transaction history. With richer data, lenders can make more informed underwriting decisions - helping both BNPL providers and consumers. We come from various BNPL providers, and we grew tired of the roadblocks from the lack of credit reporting infrastructure designed to support the BNPL industry. We want consumers to have access to the right credit products for them, which can only happen if lenders have the right data. Vulnerable consumers need protections in place and responsible consumers should be rewarded for their positive behaviours. We are providing the critical infrastructure to improve the ecosystem with data privacy and data minimisation at its heart.
2023
Series A Investor
Oct 2023
Druid AI helps enterprises work smarter with human-centric, agent-based AI that actually works. Powered by the Druid Conductor, its platform develops and manages intelligent agents that simplify processes, enhance interactions, and produce measurable business impact with enterprise-grade security and governance. With over 250 partners and 350 clients worldwide, Druid AI leads the evolution of intelligent enterprise automation, where people and AI collaborate to achieve more. Druid AI offers comprehensive solutions for on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environments. 🔗 Discover how Druid AI Agents can transform your business today! (https://druidai.com/demo) 🤝 If you want to join our team, check out our Jobs section on LinkedIn – https://druidai.com/jobs. Were always looking for talented people who wish to embark on our journey and contribute to how AI and automation are helping people work better.
Show all 23 entries ↓
Investment activity
2016–2025 · 20 investments
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