Edinburgh-based digital postage startup Stamp Free Limited has raised £600,000 as part of an oversubscribed funding round.

With a pre-investment valuation of £4 million, the company doubled its £2m pre-investment valuation from its Seed One funding round in September 2021.

This increase reflects the progress Stamp Free has made in recent months, with its solution now being trialled by postal carriers, retailers, and locker providers in different geographic locations around the world.

The new investment will help the company reach the commercial launch of its global award-winning AI phone-based alternative to traditional mailing and returns. Stamp Free expects the solution to be available for consumers later this year.

Stamp Free’s Digital Postage Solution allows businesses and consumers to use its app to send parcels and letters, as well as return consumer goods, without the need for a postage stamp or carrier label.

Utilising machine handwriting recognition as a core part of its technology, Stamp Free helps reduce issues associated with postage stamps such as fraud, liabilities and the cost of printing.

It is also beneficial for the environment with no extra machinery, stamps or printed postage labels required – just handwritten six or eight-digit codes, essentially handwritten barcodes – which are scanned and validated by AI at the source by a smartphone before the mail item is sent or returned.

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Investment was led by existing investors Silicon Valley-based R42 Group and Cambridge Angels along with other technology angel investors from the UK, US and Australia. The proceeds will be used to increase sales & marketing activities to ramp up commercial traction and for further product development.

Managing Director of Stamp Free Hugh Craigie Halkett said: “This investment signifies a further endorsement of the Stamp Free solution, which is poised to disrupt the postal and logistics industry.

“We’ve made excellent progress since our last funding round, commencing trials with postal carriers, retailers and locker providers around the world, and this new raise will accelerate our development.

“We thank our existing investors for their continued support and welcome our new investors to our journey – we are incredibly excited about what the next year has in store for Stamp Free!”

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