We are delighted to announce that our University of Oxford Innovation Fund VI is now closed, surpassing its target and raising £3m. As featured in an article by UKTN, the Fund is run in conjunction with Oxford University Innovation, backing cutting-edge technology and science spin-outs from the University of Oxford.
Oxford University Innovation and Parkwalk Advisors have closed £3m for its latest fund backing early-stage start ups.
Shared exclusively with UKTN, the University of Oxford Innovation Fund was initially set up in 2014 to back tech and science spinouts from the university. The close marks the sixth Innovation Fund to date.
The fund – known officially as UOIF VI – will focus on areas including AI, digital health and Industry 4.0, with investments currently in the pipeline.
“Against a backdrop of lower levels of fundraising for funds, we are delighted that the University of Oxford Innovation Fund VI is the largest fund ever raised,” said Adam Workman, Head of Investments and New Ventures at Oxford University Innovation.
“In a challenging time for investment into spinouts, UOIF VI will make a significant impact for Oxford’s early-stage companies.”
According to the University of Oxford’s tech transfer office, its portfolio has gone on to secure £6bn in outside funding since 2010 and assisted in the establishment of more than 300 businesses. It has almost 5,000 patents under management.
This year Oxford University Innovation has helped seven companies spin out of the university, following on from 15 last year.
Alun Williams, investment director at Parkwalk Advisors, said: “As our partnership with Oxford passes the decade mark, I’m thrilled to see the deployment of these funds into companies seeking to commercialise world-changing discoveries.”
Parkwalk is lining up a third EIS fund with Imperial College London, which will be launched “shortly”.
Parkwalk Advisors was set up by Chief Investment Officer Alastair Kilgour and CEO Moray Wright in 2009. In 2023 it was the most active investor in university spinouts, according to a report from data firm Beauhurst.
Read the original piece by UKTN here, and for more information on our University of Oxford Innovation Funds, please visit our website.
