Key Takeaways
- • The British Business Bank has committed £180 million across six venture capital and growth equity funds to back UK AI and DeepTech companies from inception through Series B and beyond.
- • The six commitments are £35m to Crane III, £20m to Connect V, £22m to Entrepreneurs First's Early Stage Fund, £55m to Intrepid Growth Partners Fund I, £26m to Headline EU VIII, and £22m to Evantic Fund I.
- • The Bank is also investing directly in UK AI companies, including a recent £10m investment in Oxford spinout Salience Labs, following earlier direct investments in Wayve, Kraken Technologies, PhysicsX, PolyAI and Ineffable Intelligence.
- • Chief investment officer Leandros Kalisperas framed the move as addressing a funding gap, stating that the UK's funding landscape 'does not currently match our technical excellence.'
Summary
The British Business Bank has committed £180 million across six venture capital and growth equity funds, according to the publication's report, with the stated aim of creating deeper pools of capital for the UK's high-potential AI and DeepTech companies. The funds span the stages of company development, from inception and early-stage funding through Series B and beyond.
The allocations are £35 million to Crane III, which backs founders globally from inception through seed across AI, software, infrastructure and deep science; £20 million to Connect V, which backs technical founders at pre-seed stage with a focus on the intersection of AI, hardware and real-world automation; £22 million to Entrepreneurs First's Early Stage Fund, targeting emerging leaders from the EF platform at seed, Series A and Series B, including AI infrastructure companies; £55 million to Intrepid Growth Partners Fund I, a growth investor dedicated to AI; £26 million to Headline EU VIII, a $400 million fund investing at seed and Series A across Europe with a focus on AI; and £22 million to Evantic Fund I, which invests in globally focused transformative AI companies at the growth stage.
Alongside fund commitments, the Bank is making direct investments. It recently invested £10 million in Salience Labs, an Oxford spinout developing optical switching technology aimed at a key bottleneck in AI networking. Earlier direct investments include Wayve, Kraken Technologies, PhysicsX, PolyAI and Ineffable Intelligence.
Leandros Kalisperas, chief investment officer of the British Business Bank, said the UK 'has no shortage of ideas or talent' and that the commitments are part of a strategy to create deeper funding pools at all stages, allowing the UK to capture more of the economic value of its innovation. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the investment would help build 'safe, secure, homegrown companies' and emphasized sovereign AI capability.
Fund managers welcomed the commitments. Matt Miller, founder and managing partner of Evantic Capital, said the firm has invested or committed over £150 million in UK businesses, and that nine non-UK portfolio companies have opened London offices. Entrepreneur First's Carl Bishop cited a relationship dating to 2016, when the Bank anchored EF's first institutional fund. Mark Machin, co-founder and managing partner of Intrepid Growth Partners, said scaling UK AI companies into global leaders requires deeper, more focused long-term growth capital.
The allocations are £35 million to Crane III, which backs founders globally from inception through seed across AI, software, infrastructure and deep science; £20 million to Connect V, which backs technical founders at pre-seed stage with a focus on the intersection of AI, hardware and real-world automation; £22 million to Entrepreneurs First's Early Stage Fund, targeting emerging leaders from the EF platform at seed, Series A and Series B, including AI infrastructure companies; £55 million to Intrepid Growth Partners Fund I, a growth investor dedicated to AI; £26 million to Headline EU VIII, a $400 million fund investing at seed and Series A across Europe with a focus on AI; and £22 million to Evantic Fund I, which invests in globally focused transformative AI companies at the growth stage.
Alongside fund commitments, the Bank is making direct investments. It recently invested £10 million in Salience Labs, an Oxford spinout developing optical switching technology aimed at a key bottleneck in AI networking. Earlier direct investments include Wayve, Kraken Technologies, PhysicsX, PolyAI and Ineffable Intelligence.
Leandros Kalisperas, chief investment officer of the British Business Bank, said the UK 'has no shortage of ideas or talent' and that the commitments are part of a strategy to create deeper funding pools at all stages, allowing the UK to capture more of the economic value of its innovation. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the investment would help build 'safe, secure, homegrown companies' and emphasized sovereign AI capability.
Fund managers welcomed the commitments. Matt Miller, founder and managing partner of Evantic Capital, said the firm has invested or committed over £150 million in UK businesses, and that nine non-UK portfolio companies have opened London offices. Entrepreneur First's Carl Bishop cited a relationship dating to 2016, when the Bank anchored EF's first institutional fund. Mark Machin, co-founder and managing partner of Intrepid Growth Partners, said scaling UK AI companies into global leaders requires deeper, more focused long-term growth capital.
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