Key Takeaways
- • Eka Ventures has closed its second fund at £80 million ($107 million), establishing itself as the UK's largest early-stage impact venture capital fund focused on health, wellbeing, and sustainability sectors.
- • The fund will deploy capital across approximately 30 UK pre-seed and seed-stage companies, with initial investments averaging around $2 million and reserved capital for follow-on rounds.
- • Investment thesis centers on three systemic shifts: preventative healthcare (where UK healthcare spending allocates only 5.2% to prevention despite 10.9% GDP healthcare spend), decarbonization of consumer industries (consumer expenditure represents 26% of UK emissions), and inclusive economy initiatives.
- • Fund targets deal sizes between £500,000 and £3 million per transaction, focusing on consumer technology companies rebuilding systems around sustainable consumption, consumer healthcare, and the inclusive economy.
- • Founded in 2018 by Jon Coker, Camilla Dolan, and Andrew Richardson, Eka's investor base includes British Business Bank, Big Society Capital, Isomer Capital, institutional foundations, and 24 entrepreneurs, demonstrating institutional and founder-backed validation of the impact venture thesis.
Summary
Eka Ventures has achieved final close on its second fund at £80 million ($107 million), marking a significant milestone in UK impact venture capital. The fund raise establishes Eka as the country's largest early-stage impact-focused VC firm, a position that reflects growing institutional appetite for ventures addressing systemic challenges across health, wellbeing, and sustainability. This scale represents meaningful growth from the firm's first fund, which closed at £68 million in 2021, and signals accelerating capital deployment into impact-driven consumer technology businesses.
The fund will target approximately 30 UK companies at pre-seed and seed stages, with average first investments of approximately $2 million and meaningful reserves retained for follow-on participation in subsequent rounds. Eka's ticket size ranges from £500,000 to £3 million, positioning the firm as a lead investor capable of meaningful ownership stakes while maintaining capacity to support portfolio company growth through multiple funding stages. This structure reflects deliberate strategy to back founder teams with early product-market fit evidence and proven capacity to build exceptional teams.
Eka's investment thesis rests on three identified systemic opportunities. First, preventative healthcare: the UK allocated 10.9% of GDP to healthcare spending in 2023 (approximately £317 billion in 2024), yet preventive care represented only 5.2% of government healthcare expenditure—implying a fundamental reallocation opportunity toward early detection, behavior change platforms, better access models, and digitally-delivered care. Second, consumer-driven decarbonization: production-side emissions have declined, but consumer expenditure now represents 26% of UK emissions with transport at 16.1%, creating leverage points across food systems, mobility, home heating, and supply chains. Third, the inclusive economy, reflecting founder expertise in backing previously successful consumer-tech companies including Gousto and Bloom & Wild.
The investor syndicate demonstrates institutional validation, comprising the British Business Bank, Big Society Capital, Isomer Capital, Guys and St Thomas Foundation, Planet First Partners, Draper Esprit, Snowball, and 24 entrepreneurs—12 of whom are founders previously backed by Eka's founding partners. This founder-investor participation reflects confidence in the impact venture thesis and the team's track record deploying capital into category-defining consumer technology businesses. The fund's structure and capital deployment strategy position Eka to materially influence UK early-stage venture outcomes across these three high-leverage systemic domains.
The fund will target approximately 30 UK companies at pre-seed and seed stages, with average first investments of approximately $2 million and meaningful reserves retained for follow-on participation in subsequent rounds. Eka's ticket size ranges from £500,000 to £3 million, positioning the firm as a lead investor capable of meaningful ownership stakes while maintaining capacity to support portfolio company growth through multiple funding stages. This structure reflects deliberate strategy to back founder teams with early product-market fit evidence and proven capacity to build exceptional teams.
Eka's investment thesis rests on three identified systemic opportunities. First, preventative healthcare: the UK allocated 10.9% of GDP to healthcare spending in 2023 (approximately £317 billion in 2024), yet preventive care represented only 5.2% of government healthcare expenditure—implying a fundamental reallocation opportunity toward early detection, behavior change platforms, better access models, and digitally-delivered care. Second, consumer-driven decarbonization: production-side emissions have declined, but consumer expenditure now represents 26% of UK emissions with transport at 16.1%, creating leverage points across food systems, mobility, home heating, and supply chains. Third, the inclusive economy, reflecting founder expertise in backing previously successful consumer-tech companies including Gousto and Bloom & Wild.
The investor syndicate demonstrates institutional validation, comprising the British Business Bank, Big Society Capital, Isomer Capital, Guys and St Thomas Foundation, Planet First Partners, Draper Esprit, Snowball, and 24 entrepreneurs—12 of whom are founders previously backed by Eka's founding partners. This founder-investor participation reflects confidence in the impact venture thesis and the team's track record deploying capital into category-defining consumer technology businesses. The fund's structure and capital deployment strategy position Eka to materially influence UK early-stage venture outcomes across these three high-leverage systemic domains.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.