What Ada Ventures does

Ada Ventures is a UK-based pre-seed and seed venture capital firm founded in 2018 by Check Warner and Matt Penneycard, operating through Ada Partners LLP (LLP OC423404) and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference 814738). It invests £250k–£1.5m in first-round cheques, leads more than 70% of its deals, and targets 10% ownership in three thematic verticals — Climate Equity, Healthy Ageing, and Economic Empowerment — across UK founders and Northern European companies with a UK link. As of end-2025, the firm has closed two institutional vehicles: Fund I at $34m (2019, 28 portfolio companies) and Fund II with a first close of £36m (October 2022, targeting ~30 pre-seed and 10 seed over four years).

The firm's proprietary technology stack centres on the trademarked Inclusive Alpha® investment framework, supported by a Synaptiq-powered psycholinguistic founder assessment scored against a dataset of 171 unicorn founders across 159 traits, plus internal deal-memo bias-checking tooling. In November 2025 it productised part of this capability as Deck Genius (deckgenius.ai), an AI-powered pitch deck review tool built by Principal and Head of Product Michael Tefula that uses NLP, computer vision and generative AI to deliver actionable feedback; the AdaGPT predecessor served 1,000+ founders and Deck Genius processed 1,091 decks within three weeks of launch. Complementary sourcing infrastructure includes the Ada Scout network (70+ members) and Ada Angels programmes (UK 20-strong cohort with £50k pots; Danish cohort of up to 10 angels with access to ~kr.7M/~£800k pool), which together source roughly 30% of investments.

Revenue mechanics are standard for an early-stage VC: recurring management fees on Fund I and Fund II AUM, plus carried interest and equity returns on portfolio exits. Scout referral fees (£45,000 paid in Fund I) are a minor secondary stream. The portfolio generates measurable impact metrics — 11 million lives improved, 453 tonnes CO2 removed, Fund I generating £40m+ aggregate ARR and £100m follow-on, and 8 Fund II companies graduating to Series A in 2025 with over £72m follow-on raised. Geographic expansion has progressed from UK-centric to a Nordic cluster (Denmark Angels 2024, Norway Venture Partner March 2026), with strategic content assets (Inclusive Alpha Founder Report, bio-infrastructure thesis, AI investing framework, GLP-1 economy, spacetech analysis) underpinning brand visibility in Sifted, Forbes, Impact Loop, TechFundingNews and Entrepreneur UK.

Name

Ada Ventures

Legal name

Ada Partners LLP

Website

https://adaventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ada Ventures is a UK pre-seed and seed VC fund (Ada Partners LLP) investing £250k–£1.5m in Climate Equity, Healthy Ageing, and Economic Empowerment founders, using its trademarked Inclusive Alpha® framework, Synaptiq psycholinguistic assessment, and a Scout/Angel network to back underrepresented European founders from pre-seed to Series A.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Recurring annual management fees on Fund I and Fund II AUM, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference 814738) as Ada Partners LLP. Standard VC fund management fee economics.
2. Carried Interest & Investment Returns: Performance-based carried interest on realised gains from portfolio exits, alongside equity returns from Fund I portfolio (which generated over £40m aggregate ARR and £100m follow-on) and Fund II portfolio (8 portfolio companies graduated to Series A in 2025, £72m+ follow-on raised).
3. Scout Referral Fees: Referral fees paid to Ada Scouts on successful investments (£45,000 paid in Fund I) plus long-term carried interest entitlement (10% per scout on investments they source).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Ada Ventures is a UK pre-seed venture capital firm (operating as Ada Partners LLP) that invests £250k to £1mn in first-round funding into European founders, typically leading more than 70% of deals. Investments are concentrated in three theses — Climate Equity, Healthy Ageing, and Economic Empowerment — with active post-investment support via the Ada Growth Lab. Around the core fund vehicles sit complementary offerings: an AI-powered pitch deck review tool (Deck Genius), the Ada Angels UK and Denmark programmes, and the Ada Scout referral network of 70+ members.

Product overview

Ada Ventures operates as a UK-focused pre-seed VC fund (Ada Partners LLP, authorised and regulated by the FCA) that backs European founders across three theses: climate equity, healthy ageing and economic empowerment. Around its Fund I and Fund II investment vehicles sits a platform of complementary named offerings: Deck Genius (an AI-powered pitch deck analysis tool, designed by Principal Michael Tefula, alongside its predecessor AdaGPT) gives founders instant VC-level feedback; the Ada Angels programme operates separate UK and Denmark cohorts that channel capital from diverse angel investors into Ada-sourced deals; the Ada Scout network of 70+ members sources investments and earns carry; and the Inclusive Alpha framework is the proprietary investment philosophy underpinning the entire platform, supported by Synaptiq-led psycholinguistic founder assessment tooling and internal bias-checking AI tooling for deal memos.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Deck Genius: AI-powered pitch deck analysis platform built by Ada Ventures to provide founders with VC-level feedback on their decks (deckgenius.ai).

Products and services

• Ada Ventures Fund I First institutional pre-seed venture capital fund investing in UK-based overlooked founders addressing underserved markets. Provided £250k-£750k cheques, generating £40m+ aggregate ARR and £100m follow-on for portfolio companies.
• Ada Ventures Fund II Second venture capital fund targeting roughly 30 pre-seed and 10 seed investments over four years, with 60% committed to socially impactful investments. First close of £36m in October 2022; average cheque £522,000.
• Ada Angels Programme (UK) 20-strong UK cohort of angel investors from under-represented communities with investment pots up to £50,000 per angel; each angel expected to make three to five investments over a 12-month programme. UK cohort invested in 6 fund deals.
• Ada Angels Programme (Denmark) Cohort of up to 10 Danish angels with access to a pool of up to £800,000 (~kr.7M); 200,000 DKK (~£20,000) per investment, with three investments expected over 12 months. Secured 19 investments including Evewave, Ruumi, and Interhuman AI.
• Deck Genius AI-powered pitch deck analysis tool that provides startup founders with instant, anonymous, VC-level feedback on their pitch decks. The platform analyzes both pitch content and design using natural language processing and computer vision, offering actionable recommendations to enhance proposals before founders seek funding. Available at deckgenius.ai.
• Ada Scout Network Network of 70+ scouts who source and refer investment opportunities to Ada Ventures, generating ~30% of overall investments. Scouts receive finder fees (£5,000 per referral) and 10% carried interest on sourced deals; scout-sourced companies have 10x more all-female and 6x more all-Black teams than UK benchmark.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15x more inclusive than UK benchmark portfolio
• +6 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Pathfounders / Deck GeniusflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 11 November 2025Ada Ventures' flagship productised marketing asset — Deck Genius AI-powered pitch deck review tool launched November 2025, built by Principal & Head of Product Michael Tefula; 1,091 decks analysed within three weeks of launch.
• SynaptiqflagshipTechnology or IntegrationApplied psychology company powering Ada Ventures' selection-stage psycholinguistic assessment. 30-minute assessment administered to founders, scored against a dataset of 171 unicorn founders and the Ada Founder Framework, producing comprehensive psychometric reports that de-bias selection.
• BubbleflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAda Ventures portfolio company (also backed by Ada at Seed) providing 40 hours of back-up emergency childcare to portfolio founders for a 12-month period — unique portfolio welfare benefit in the industry.
• SpillflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAda Ventures portfolio company providing anonymous mental health support to every portfolio founder — used by Research Grid CEO Amber Hill as 'important part of my journey as a Founder'.
• Mills & ReevecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaw firm partner co-hosting London Life Sciences Week bio-infrastructure panel with Ada Ventures; moderated by Mills & Reeve's James Foster with panellists including Ada's Check Warner and portfolio CEO Julia Fan Li (Micrographia Bio).
• Danish Growth Fund (EIFO)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnering organisation supporting Ada Ventures' first European Ada Angels programme in Denmark; helping to launch cohort of up to 10 Danish angels with access to ~kr.7M investment pool.
• TechBBQcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCopenhagen-based startup event partner hosting Ada Angels and Founders event in September as part of Danish Angels programme; Ada team also takes stage at TechBBQ.
• Startup AarhuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner hosting StartUp Aarhus Townhall in May for unveiling of Danish Angels cohort; supports Ada's Nordic ecosystem expansion.
• Unconventional VenturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organisation supporting the launch and delivery of Ada's Danish Ada Angels programme.
• University College London (UCL) Behavioural Insights Exchange (BIX)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerResearch partner for Ada Ventures' Scout network study demonstrating that scout-sourced companies have 10x more all-female teams and 6x more all-Black teams than UK benchmark.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kindred Capital: UK pre-seed venture fund with a thesis-driven, collaborative model (the 'kinder' approach). Most direct comparable to Ada given UK pre-seed focus and mission-aligned ethos.
• LocalGlobe: One of the most active UK pre-seed/seed funds, typically leading rounds in UK founders. Comparable stage, geography and lead-investor posture to Ada Ventures.
• Episode 1: UK-based pre-seed VC focused on early-stage founders, often pre-product-market-fit. Directly comparable stage and geography to Ada's £250k-£1m cheques.
• Connect Ventures: European pre-seed/seed fund investing in product-led founders. Closely aligned with Ada's £250k-£1m cheque range and product-focused selection criteria.
• Hoxton Ventures: London-based early-stage VC backing European founders at pre-seed and seed. Co-invested with Ada in MultiOmic; similar UK/European stage profile.
• Bethnal Green Ventures: UK-based pre-seed impact VC backing mission-driven founders using technology to address social and environmental challenges. Strong mission/thesis overlap with Ada's Climate Equity and Economic Empowerment themes.

Broad incumbents

• Atomico: Major European growth-stage VC led by Niklas Zennström. Returning LP in Ada's funds. Operates at later stages than Ada but offers a benchmark for European thesis-led VC at scale.
• Speedinvest: European multi-stage VC with thematic funds covering climate, health, fintech and deep-tech. Comparable thematic breadth to Ada's Climate Equity and Healthy Ageing verticals.
• Creandum: Leading Nordic/European early-stage VC. Led Jack & Jill's seed round that Ada participated in. Comparable Nordic/European geographic footprint and stage focus.

Emerging players

• Backstage Capital: US-based VC explicitly backing underrepresented founders. Direct overlap with Ada's inclusive mission and Inclusive Alpha thesis, though primarily US-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ada-ventures
• Xx.com/adaventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments78 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ada Ventures