UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund

The UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund is a £24m, early-stage venture capital fund dedicated to kick-starting promising technology companies developed at some of the UK’s largest publicly-funded research facilities.  These companies are linked to the rapidly expanding science and technology campuses and the field of synthetic biology.

Created in 2002, the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund is backed by ten UK publicly-funded research organisations and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The Fund holds investments in some of the UK’s most innovative companies in areas as diverse as novel antibiotics, research into Alzheimer’s disease, “green” chemicals and airport security.

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund Investments

We’re prepared to invest early and help build a commercial proposition around a technology to attract additional investment needed to get to market.

The UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund invests in:

1. Projects and companies arising from the world-class research carried out in our Partner laboratories across the UK, including those at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (STFC), Porton Down (Dstl) and Babraham Institute (BBSRC).  View full list of partners.

2. Companies based at our partners’ national science and innovation campuses in Oxford, Cambridge, Warrington and Norwich. Read more about partner campuses.

3. Companies working in the field of synthetic biology:  Synthetic biology is an exciting new discipline based on the design and engineering of biologically-based parts, novel devices and systems and the redesign of existing, natural biological systems.

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund Milestones

Over the past decade, the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund has:

• Supported 30+ technology start-up companies in sectors such as health, environmental services, international development, and security and defense.
• Leveraged more than £150 million of private investment from just £7 million of its own investment (a ratio of over £20 for every £1 from UKI2S).
• Bolstered the UK’s exports and employment — 75%-100% of UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund company sales are overseas and our companies have created 170+ high-value, technology jobs.
• In recognition of these achievements, in November 2013 the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund received an additional £10M investment to support the commercialisation of synthetic biology technologies. This funding was in response to the Synthetic Biology Roadmap, which sets out plans to harness opportunities in the field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is one of the eight great technologies highlighted by the UK government as an area of wide-ranging significance and potential economic importance, and in which the UK’s research base is particularly strong.

Additional Background

• Read about our criteria and investment process in the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund FAQ.
• See highlights of the Fund’s achievements in The UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund Brochure.
• Read a detailed evaluation of the Fund’s impact to date in “Assessing the Economic and Wider Benefits of the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund” report.

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund Partners

The UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund is independently managed by Dr. Andrew Muir and Mark White at Midven.