London-based Thema has secured $6.2 million in funding to help private equity firms better assess portfolio risk and identify expansion opportunities in an evolving software market landscape.
The funding includes $4.5 million in pre-seed investment led by Stride.vc, with participation from KDX, Capital Allocators, and a group of angel investors from private equity, investment banking, and enterprise software, including the former chair of KPMG. Thema also received a $1.7 million grant from the UK government, in partnership with the University of Cambridge, to support the development of trustworthy AI systems.
Addressing Structural Gaps In Portfolio Strategy
Recent valuation shifts in software markets have exposed limitations in how private equity firms evaluate portfolio exposure and expansion pathways. As multiples compress and growth assumptions are reassessed, many firms still rely on fragmented tools, static reports, and manual processes to guide strategic decisions.
For investors building platform companies, expansion strategy is often central to value creation. However, decisions around adjacencies, acquisitions, and market positioning frequently depend on disconnected data sources and individual judgment rather than a structured, continuously updated market view.
Thema is developing what it calls Portfolio Expansion Infrastructure, an AI-driven system designed to provide a contextual, dynamic understanding of market structures.
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Mapping Markets With AI
Unlike traditional sourcing platforms that focus primarily on identifying target companies, Thema’s platform aims to model entire market ecosystems. Its AI infrastructure creates versioned representations of companies and tracks how they cluster into markets, evolve over time, and connect through adjacencies.
Using proprietary techniques developed by co-founder Dr. Dimo Angelov, the platform processes web-scale data to generate continuously refreshed market maps. These maps are designed to surface competitive dynamics, structural shifts, and potential expansion paths that may not be visible through conventional databases or consulting reports.
Developed in collaboration with tier-one private equity firms and supported by a UK government-backed research program with the University of Cambridge, the platform seeks to help investors build conviction more quickly and align investment strategies with structural market insights.
Scaling Research And Commercial Operations
With the new funding, Thema plans to expand its research and development capabilities while accelerating commercial growth and onboarding additional private equity customers.
Led by CEO Finn MacCabe, the company is initially focused on supporting private equity platform expansion decisions. Over time, Thema aims to establish its AI system as a foundational infrastructure layer for understanding markets and guiding high-value investment strategies.
About Thema
Founded in 2022, Thema is a London-based company building AI infrastructure for market intelligence. Its platform maps market structures, adjacencies, and competitive dynamics, transforming fragmented data into contextual, continuously updated insights to support data-driven expansion and investment decisions.
