20 government and university startup funds in the UK
We list 20 government and university startup funds in the UK as of November 2026: each was checked on its own website or an official register, and the list was last checked on 5 Nov 2026. The cities with the most head offices on this list are London (2), Edinburgh (2) and Sheffield (2).
Top 10 government and university startup funds in the UK, ranked by recent fund activity
Among firms with a published profile and a dated fund or deal in the last 24 months. The rule: Activity score out of 100: recency of the latest fund filing or dated deal (50: full marks within 3 months, then stepping down at 6, 12 and 24 months), size of the fund on file on a log scale (35) and completeness of the public record (15). It is a measure of activity and fit, not of quality or returns. The same rule orders the whole list; it is repeated in the method box.
Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: United Kingdom · Stages: Seed, Series A, Growth · Focus: Generalist · Latest activity: Portfolio news, Oct 2026 · Fund size or assets: £660M (own site)
Portfolio news dated Oct 2026; £660M on file (own site); backs seed, Series A, growth-stage; 8 named decision-makers on file.
Bayes Entrepreneurship Fund
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: London, United Kingdom · Stages: Seed, Series A · Focus: AI, Healthtech, Fintech, Developer Tools · Latest activity: New deal, Oct 2026 · Fund size or assets: £15M (own site)
Dated new deal in Oct 2026; £15M on file (own site); backs seed, Series A; 7 named decision-makers on file.
South West Investment Fund
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: United Kingdom · Stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Growth · Focus: Generalist · Latest activity: Portfolio news, Jul 2026 · Fund size or assets: £200M (own site)
Portfolio news dated Jul 2026; £200M on file (own site); backs pre-seed, seed, Series A; 8 named decision-makers on file.
LYVA Labs
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: Liverpool, United Kingdom · Stages: Pre-seed · Focus: AI, Healthtech, Biotech, Climate Tech · Latest activity: Portfolio news, Oct 2026 · Fund size or assets: £7M (own site)
Portfolio news dated Oct 2026; £7M on file (own site); backs pre-seed; 8 named decision-makers on file.
Old College Capital
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: Edinburgh, United Kingdom · Stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A · Focus: Deep Tech, Biotech, AI, Climate Tech · Latest activity: New deal, Oct 2026
Dated new deal in Oct 2026; backs pre-seed, seed, Series A; 8 named decision-makers on file.
Development Bank of Wales
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: United Kingdom · Stages: Seed, Series A, Growth · Focus: Fintech, Healthtech, Proptech, Govtech · Latest activity: New deal, Dec 2024 · Fund size or assets: £2.0B (own site)
Dated new deal in Dec 2024; £2.0B on file (own site); backs seed, Series A, growth-stage; 8 named decision-makers on file.
Cardiff Capital Region
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: Cardiff, United Kingdom · Focus: Fintech, Climate Tech, Mobility, Generalist · Latest activity: New fund, Nov 2026
Latest fund filing dated Nov 2026.
Investment Fund for Northern Ireland
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: United Kingdom · Stages: Seed, Series A, Growth · Focus: Generalist · Latest activity: Portfolio news, Dec 2025 · Fund size or assets: £100M (own site)
Portfolio news dated Dec 2025; £100M on file (own site); backs seed, Series A, growth-stage; 8 named decision-makers on file.
Cambridge Enterprise
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: Cambridge, United Kingdom · Focus: AI, Industrial Tech, Deep Tech, Biotech · Latest activity: Portfolio news, Oct 2026
Portfolio news dated Oct 2026; 8 named decision-makers on file.
Midlands Engine Investment Fund II
Type: Government or university fund · HQ: United Kingdom · Stages: Seed, Series A, Growth · Focus: Generalist · Latest activity: Portfolio news, Oct 2025 · Fund size or assets: £400M (own site)
Portfolio news dated Oct 2025; £400M on file (own site); backs seed, Series A, growth-stage; 8 named decision-makers on file.
First 10 of 20 government and university startup funds in the UK
| Investor | Type | HQ | Stagesour research | Focusour research | Latest fund or deal | Fund sizeas filed or stated | Checked | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II | Government or university fund | United Kingdom | Seed, Series A, Growth | Generalist | Portfolio news, Oct 2026 | £660M (own site) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Bayes Entrepreneurship Fund | Government or university fund | London, United Kingdom | Seed, Series A | AI, Healthtech, Fintech, Developer Tools | New deal, Oct 2026 | £15M (own site) | 4 Nov 2026 | 7 names, firm email · Unlock |
| South West Investment Fund | Government or university fund | United Kingdom | Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Growth | Generalist | Portfolio news, Jul 2026 | £200M (own site) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| LYVA Labs | Government or university fund | Liverpool, United Kingdom | Pre-seed | AI, Healthtech, Biotech, Climate Tech | Portfolio news, Oct 2026 | £7M (own site) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names, firm email · Unlock |
| Old College Capital | Government or university fund | Edinburgh, United Kingdom | Pre-seed, Seed, Series A | Deep Tech, Biotech, AI, Climate Tech | New deal, Oct 2026 | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names, firm email · Unlock | |
| Development Bank of Wales | Government or university fund | United Kingdom | Seed, Series A, Growth | Fintech, Healthtech, Proptech, Govtech | New deal, Dec 2024 | £2.0B (own site) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Cardiff Capital Region | Government or university fund | Cardiff, United Kingdom | Fintech, Climate Tech, Mobility, Generalist | New fund, Nov 2026 | 4 Nov 2026 | firm email · Unlock | ||
| Investment Fund for Northern Ireland | Government or university fund | United Kingdom | Seed, Series A, Growth | Generalist | Portfolio news, Dec 2025 | £100M (own site) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Cambridge Enterprise | Government or university fund | Cambridge, United Kingdom | AI, Industrial Tech, Deep Tech, Biotech | Portfolio news, Oct 2026 | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock | ||
| Midlands Engine Investment Fund II | Government or university fund | United Kingdom | Seed, Series A, Growth | Generalist | Portfolio news, Oct 2025 | £400M (own site) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
You are seeing 10 of 20. The full list adds 10 more funds and 134 named decision-makers.
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How these 20 break down
By city
| City | On this list | Share |
|---|---|---|
| London | 2 | 10% |
| Edinburgh | 2 | 10% |
| Sheffield | 2 | 10% |
Full lists, each with its own row count: Startup investors in London (239)
By stage
| Stage | On this list | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Seed | 8 | 40% |
| Seed | 16 | 80% |
| Series A | 12 | 60% |
| Growth | 9 | 45% |
Stage is our research. A firm can back more than one stage.
Full lists, each with its own row count: Pre-seed investors in the UK (175)Seed investors in the UK (295)Series A investors in the UK (154)Growth-stage investors in the UK (137)
By sector
| Sector | On this list | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Climate Tech | 10 | 50% |
| Healthtech | 8 | 40% |
| Biotech | 8 | 40% |
| AI | 7 | 35% |
| Deep Tech | 7 | 35% |
| Fintech | 4 | 20% |
| SaaS | 4 | 20% |
| Energy | 4 | 20% |
| Industrial Tech | 3 | 15% |
| Edtech | 2 | 10% |
| Space | 2 | 10% |
| Medtech | 2 | 10% |
Sector is our research. A firm can carry more than one sector.
Full lists, each with its own row count: Climate tech investors in the UK (146)Healthtech investors in the UK (194)Biotech investors in the UK (92)AI investors in the UK (214)Deep tech investors in the UK (135)Fintech investors in the UK (165)SaaS investors in the UK (223)Energy investors in the UK (63)Industrial tech investors in the UK (56)Edtech investors in the UK (33)Space investors in the UK (20)Medtech investors in the UK (58)
Method and limits
- Source
- No row on this list rests on an SEC filing. All 20 have a website we checked. Filing date and fund size are SEC data where a filing exists. Stage, sector and check size are our research.
- Inclusion rule
- Organizations that back startups. Individuals, buyout funds and firms we found to be inactive are left out. Type: we class every organization on this list as "Government or university fund", from its own site or a filing.
- Order
- Firms with a published profile come first. Activity score out of 100: recency of the latest fund filing or dated deal (50: full marks within 3 months, then stepping down at 6, 12 and 24 months), size of the fund on file on a log scale (35) and completeness of the public record (15). It is a measure of activity and fit, not of quality or returns.
- Last refreshed
- November 2026. Rows on this list were checked between 4 Nov 2026 and 5 Nov 2026.
- Fill rates
- Of 20 rows: stage 18, sector 20, fund size 11, website 20. In the paid file: named decision-makers on 19 rows, firm email on 9, LinkedIn page on 19, check size on 13.
- Corrections
- Email [email protected] or use the update form. We act within 5 working days.
Questions
How many government and university startup funds in the UK are there?
We list 20 as of November 2026. 9 of the 20 have a fund filing or a dated deal in the last 12 months. The cities with the most are London (2), Edinburgh (2) and Sheffield (2).
Which sectors do government and university startup funds in the UK back most?
On this list: climate tech (10), healthtech and digital health (8), biotech and life sciences (8) and AI (7). Sector is our research and a firm can carry more than one.
Which government and university startup funds in the UK raised a new fund in the last 12 months?
None of the 20 has a fund filing dated in the last 12 months on file; 9 have other dated activity in that time (fund announcement, new deal and portfolio news), most recently Cardiff Capital Region (fund announcement, Nov 2026), Cambridge Enterprise (portfolio news, Oct 2026) and LYVA Labs (portfolio news, Oct 2026).
Which stages do government and university startup funds in the UK back?
Of the 18 with a stage on file, seed (16), Series A (12) and growth-stage (9). A firm can back more than one stage, and 2 rows have no stage on file yet.
Where does the data on government and university startup funds in the UK come from and how often is it updated?
All 20 rows were checked on the firm's own website, with official registers and national venture capital association directories as the starting point. Filing date and fund size come from the filing. Stage, sector and check size are our research. Rows on this list were last checked on 5 Nov 2026 at the latest. The whole file is re-verified twice a year.
Can I download the list of government and university startup funds in the UK as a spreadsheet?
Yes. The file holds all 20 rows in Excel and CSV, with 134 named decision-makers and 9 firm emails, for $49 one-time. 10 rows are free on this page.
Broader lists
Related lists
Venture capital firms in the UK (192)EIS funds and investors in the UK (105)SEIS funds and investors in the UK (75)Active startup investors in the UK (73)International investors with a UK office (67)Angel networks in the UK (63)Startup accelerators in the UK (20)Corporate venture capital firms in the UK (17)
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