John Straw

Investor in early stage AI startups. Serial Founder with 2 clean exits. Ex-McKinsey Senior Advisor. Author. UK investments only. No interest in property or crypto.

📍 London, England Metropolitan Area, United Kingdom🔄 Updated September 2026💼 9 investments📅 13 years investing🗓 Last invested Jan 2025𝕏 @upgrade_to_unlock
VC🌍 United Kingdom
9
Total investments
3
Early stage
1
Mid stage
0
Late stage
13y
Years active

Portfolio

6 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Investor, advisor
Jan 2025
At Magentic, we’re redefining how businesses operate with multi-agentic AI solutions that transform complexity into clarity. We specialize in studying your workflows, breaking them down, and building tailored AI systems that seamlessly integrate into your operations. Our approach goes beyond automation—we create Resilient AI-Driven (RAG) solutions that don’t just perform but excel. From automating repetitive tasks to providing real-time analytics, our AI agents free your teams to focus on innovation and growth, while reducing inefficiencies and delivering measurable results. What Sets Us Apart? Custom AI Agent Development Every business is unique, and so are our solutions. We design and build AI systems specifically for your processes, ensuring they tackle your challenges head-on. Seamless Integration and Maintenance We don’t just deliver AI agents; we ensure they fit. Our solutions are integrated into your workflows and maintained to the highest industry standards, giving you peace of mind. Workforce Alignment and Training AI is powerful, but it thrives alongside empowered teams. We train your people to work in harmony with AI, creating a unified workforce that’s more efficient and agile. Our expertise spans across industries, delivering results where it matters most, such as: Retail: Automate restocking and elevate customer experiences with AI chatbots. Finance: Detect fraud in real-time and provide personalized financial insights. Healthcare: Enhance diagnoses with data-driven AI analysis. Logistics: Optimize delivery routes and reduce human error. E-commerce: Drive conversions with personalized recommendations. Whether you’re in healthcare, retail, logistics, or beyond, we adapt to your industry’s needs to deliver innovative solutions that unlock new possibilities. Ready to transform your business? Let’s build your AI advantage today. Contact us to explore how Magentic can streamline your operations and deliver unmatched efficiency.
Investor, advisor
Jun 2022
The word Ruka means "doing hair" and we mean it when we say it - we want to do hair like it has never been done before. Our mission is to create hair and beauty solutions that truly work, by listening closely and making the outsiders our insiders.
Investor, advisor
Jun 2022
We build, launch and scale global D2C brands
Investor, advisor
Sep 2021
Revolutionising Sound Recognition for a Connected World! 🎧🌍 🔊 Discover Earzz: The cutting-edge smart home monitor that enhances safety, convenience, and peace of mind through AI-powered sound recognition. 🏠🔒 🎯 Helping you stay alert: Earzz recognises critical sounds like fire alarms, crying babies, breaking glass, and more, sending instant alerts to your devices. 📱⌚ 💡 Innovative features: Choose specific sounds to be alerted for, create custom sound profiles, and enjoy seamless integration with your smart home ecosystem. 🏡🔌 🌟 Embracing inclusivity: Earzz empowers the deaf and hard of hearing by providing real-time sound notifications and promoting a safer environment. 🤟✨ 💪 Stay connected, worry-free: With Earzz, you can immerse yourself in activities without missing essential sounds. It's like having an extra set of ears in your home! 👂🔒 Join the Earzz community and experience a new level of awareness and convenience in your brilliant home journey. Let's redefine how we listen and live! 🚀🔊 #SoundRecognition #SmartHomeSecurity #Innovation #ConnectedLiving #SafetyFirst
Investor, advisor
Mar 2014
We love pets - which is why we’re on a mission to make the world a better place for pets and their parents. We offer pet insurance policies with generous pet health benefits that are designed with their needs in mind. We’ve helped half a million pets stay happy and healthy since 2017 - and many more customers throughout the world are joining us every day. We’ve won numerous awards for our product, technology, customer service, and for being a great place to work. We have offices in the USA, UK, and Sweden - and we now employ over 500 people globally. Award-winning, innovative technology and exceptional customer service are at the heart of our offer: our “Complete” policy ranks top of the Which? cat and dog insurance Best Buy tables (December 2021) we’ve been voted the Pet Insurance Provider Of The Year in the Moneyfacts Consumer Awards (2021) - and we’ve received over 21,000 5-star Feefo reviews in the past 12 months. Our company is fast-paced, respectful, fun-loving and (most importantly) passionate about pets and their well-being. Throughout the business, you will meet people who think differently, aim for impact, and love to try new things. Join us. Love every moment. Love ManyPets.
early stageInsurance
Investor, NED
Aug 2013
Ctrlio helps insurers grow with our new insurance distribution product OpenJourney. OpenJourney delivers the simplest journey to the best price for customers and reduced customer acquisition costs, better conversion and profitable growth for insurers.
Experience · 12 entries
All (12)
Investments (9)
Founder (3)
2025
Investor, advisor
Jan 2025
At Magentic, we’re redefining how businesses operate with multi-agentic AI solutions that transform complexity into clarity. We specialize in studying your workflows, breaking them down, and building tailored AI systems that seamlessly integrate into your operations. Our approach goes beyond automation—we create Resilient AI-Driven (RAG) solutions that don’t just perform but excel. From automating repetitive tasks to providing real-time analytics, our AI agents free your teams to focus on innovation and growth, while reducing inefficiencies and delivering measurable results. What Sets Us Apart? Custom AI Agent Development Every business is unique, and so are our solutions. We design and build AI systems specifically for your processes, ensuring they tackle your challenges head-on. Seamless Integration and Maintenance We don’t just deliver AI agents; we ensure they fit. Our solutions are integrated into your workflows and maintained to the highest industry standards, giving you peace of mind. Workforce Alignment and Training AI is powerful, but it thrives alongside empowered teams. We train your people to work in harmony with AI, creating a unified workforce that’s more efficient and agile. Our expertise spans across industries, delivering results where it matters most, such as: Retail: Automate restocking and elevate customer experiences with AI chatbots. Finance: Detect fraud in real-time and provide personalized financial insights. Healthcare: Enhance diagnoses with data-driven AI analysis. Logistics: Optimize delivery routes and reduce human error. E-commerce: Drive conversions with personalized recommendations. Whether you’re in healthcare, retail, logistics, or beyond, we adapt to your industry’s needs to deliver innovative solutions that unlock new possibilities. Ready to transform your business? Let’s build your AI advantage today. Contact us to explore how Magentic can streamline your operations and deliver unmatched efficiency.
2022
Investor, advisor
Jun 2022
The word Ruka means "doing hair" and we mean it when we say it - we want to do hair like it has never been done before. Our mission is to create hair and beauty solutions that truly work, by listening closely and making the outsiders our insiders.
Investor, advisor
Jun 2022
We build, launch and scale global D2C brands
2021
Investor, advisor
Sep 2021
Revolutionising Sound Recognition for a Connected World! 🎧🌍 🔊 Discover Earzz: The cutting-edge smart home monitor that enhances safety, convenience, and peace of mind through AI-powered sound recognition. 🏠🔒 🎯 Helping you stay alert: Earzz recognises critical sounds like fire alarms, crying babies, breaking glass, and more, sending instant alerts to your devices. 📱⌚ 💡 Innovative features: Choose specific sounds to be alerted for, create custom sound profiles, and enjoy seamless integration with your smart home ecosystem. 🏡🔌 🌟 Embracing inclusivity: Earzz empowers the deaf and hard of hearing by providing real-time sound notifications and promoting a safer environment. 🤟✨ 💪 Stay connected, worry-free: With Earzz, you can immerse yourself in activities without missing essential sounds. It's like having an extra set of ears in your home! 👂🔒 Join the Earzz community and experience a new level of awareness and convenience in your brilliant home journey. Let's redefine how we listen and live! 🚀🔊 #SoundRecognition #SmartHomeSecurity #Innovation #ConnectedLiving #SafetyFirst
2016
own fund
Startup investor
Feb 2016
Show all 12 entries ↓
Investment activity
2013–2025 · 9 investments
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