UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund

What UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund does

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) is a UK national, impact-first pre-seed and seed venture capital fund investing in early-stage science and technology spinouts. Founded in 2009 as the Rainbow Seed Fund and rebranded in 2018, the fund is managed by Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Limited, an FCA-regulated entity (FRN 148549) headquartered in Manchester with offices in London and Birmingham. UKI2S operates six thematic investment portfolios — Defence & Security, Engineering Biology, Fusion, Knowledge Assets, Partner Innovation, and Space — targeting companies spun out of UK universities and publicly-funded research establishments such as Harwell, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Babraham, the National Physical Laboratory, and UKAEA.

UKI2S's underlying "product" is structured equity capital combined with hands-on portfolio support: leadership coaching, board formation, executive recruitment, further funding strategy, ESG/DE&I advancement, and network leverage via Future Planet Capital. The fund typically leads or co-leads seed rounds (e.g., Optera, Messium, K3Metrology, Spaceflux) and participates in selected Series A and grant-matched financings. Its portfolio spans space domain awareness, neuromorphic sensing, fusion energy, agri-biotech, AI-driven drug discovery, metrology, geothermal critical mineral recovery, and battery diagnostics.

The fund's revenue model is standard venture capital: management fees on committed and invested capital plus carried interest on exits, with no product or service pricing. As of June 2026 the fund's AUM stood at £150 million following a £33.25m injection from the UK Space Agency, Ministry of Defence and UK Atomic Energy Authority. UKI2S reports £1bn+ of co-investment into its portfolio (£5.90–£25 of private capital per £1 deployed), 70+ companies backed, ~50% of portfolio capital in R&D, and 1,100+ high-value jobs created over its 20-year operating history.

Name

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund

Legal name

Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Limited

Website

https://ukinnovationscienceseedfund.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) is a UK national, impact-first pre-seed and seed venture capital fund that backs early-stage deep-tech spinouts from UK publicly-funded research across Defence & Security, Engineering Biology, Fusion, Knowledge Assets, Partner Innovation, and Space.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Vehicles (525990)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Impact Investment & Development Investment Funds (BPADACAO)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Deep-tech seed funding
• Science spinout investment
• Pre-seed investment fund
• Technology startup financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Harwell

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fund Management: UKI2S generates returns through successful exits of portfolio companies. As a patient capital investor, the fund provides early-stage funding to science-driven startups and aims to deliver both impact and financial returns through equity ownership in portfolio companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

UKI2S is a national pre-seed+ venture capital fund that invests equity capital into early-stage UK science and technology spinouts across six thematic portfolios: Defence & Security, Engineering Biology, Fusion, Knowledge Assets, Partner Innovation, and Space. In addition to funding, the fund delivers ongoing hands-on support including leadership coaching, board establishment, executive recruitment, follow-on funding strategy, DE&I and ESG advancement, and access to the Future Planet Capital investor network.

Product overview

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) is a national pre-seed+ investment fund with £110m AUM managed by Future Planet Capital. It is not a product company but rather an impact-first investor that provides seed funding and support to early-stage UK spinouts. The fund operates six thematic investment portfolios: Defence & Security, Engineering Biology, Fusion, Knowledge Assets, Partner Innovation, and Space. UKI2S supports portfolio companies through leadership coaching, further funding strategy, executive recruitment, network leverage, and ESG/DE&I advancement. The fund has backed 70+ companies, co-invested £1 billion, created 1,100+ high-value jobs, and reports £25 of private investment attracted for every £1 invested.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Defence & Security Portfolio Pre-seed and seed equity investment portfolio for UK startups developing technologies to protect citizens and empower defence and security services. Portfolio includes HonuWorx, Oxford Space Systems, Spaceflux, Aquark Technologies, CryogenX, and Silveray.
• Engineering Biology Portfolio Pre-seed and seed equity investment portfolio for UK startups applying engineering biology across agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing. Portfolio includes Cytotrait, Resurrect Bio, Ternary Therapeutics, Synthace, Tropic Biosciences, Ikarovec, NK:IO, Revolver Therapeutics, and others.
• Fusion Portfolio Pre-seed and seed equity investment portfolio for UK startups advancing fusion energy and adjacent technologies. Portfolio includes Tokamak Energy, Sention, Fusion Energy Partners, mach42, MuWave, and Wave Photonics.
• Knowledge Assets Portfolio Pre-seed and seed equity investment portfolio focused on commercialising intellectual property from the UK public sector, including the National Physical Laboratory. Portfolio includes K3 Metrology, Sona, Spotlight Pathology, HiDRA, and Presymptom Health.
• Partner Innovation Portfolio Pre-seed and seed equity investment portfolio for deep-tech spinouts from UK publicly funded research establishments, science campuses, and translational catapult centres. Portfolio includes Adamo Foods, Atheras Analytics, Atelerix, IGS, Vector Photonics, and QDot.
• Space Portfolio Pre-seed and seed equity investment portfolio for UK space startups developing space-based technology and space domain awareness solutions. Portfolio includes Oxford Space Systems, Spaceflux, Optera, and Messium.

Quantifiable outcome

• £1 billion co-investment into portfolio
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• UK Space AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKI2S works closely with the UK Space Agency to back relevant space sector entrepreneurs who seek to deliver on key aspects of the National Space Strategy and UK Space Agency Corporate Plan.
• National Physical LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNPL is a key partner providing spinout opportunities and technology commercialisation pathways for measurement and metrology innovations.
• Ministry of DefencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMoD is both an investor in UKI2S (providing £33.2m injection) and a source of defence and security spinout opportunities.
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKRI and its councils (including NERC, MRC, BBSRC) are key partners providing research spinout opportunities across multiple sectors.
• Department for Science, Innovation and TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDSIT is a key government partner supporting the fund's mission to advance UK science and technology innovation.
• Research Campuses NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner campuses include Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Babraham Research Campus, and others providing deal flow and research collaboration opportunities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Parkwalk Advisors: UK-based early-stage technology investor focused on university spinouts and deep-tech companies from UK research institutions. Directly comparable as a seed/early-stage fund targeting similar UK academic spinout deal flow.
• Mercia Asset Management: UK regional investor with university-linked funds and EIS-focused early-stage vehicles. Overlaps with UKI2S in backing UK spinouts and knowledge-intensive startups.
• Albion Capital: UK venture and growth investor with VCTs and institutional funds backing early-stage technology and life-science companies. Comparable UK early-stage tech investor with similar sector breadth.
• Foresight Williams Technology: UK investment manager focused on early-stage technology companies, with significant overlap in engineering biology, advanced materials, and deep-tech spinouts. Comparable scale and stage.
• Northern Gritstone: UK growth investment firm focused on science and technology-enabled businesses in the North of England, anchored by northern universities. Competes with UKI2S for university spinout deals across similar sectors.
• Cambridge Innovation Capital: Invests in deep-tech and life-science companies from the Cambridge ecosystem. Similar profile to UKI2S as a UK deep-tech specialist fund backing spinouts from leading research universities.
• Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE): Investment company created to commercialise University of Oxford research. Directly comparable deep-tech spinout investor with multi-vertical coverage of life sciences, health tech, and deep tech.

Regional players

• Scottish Enterprise / Highlands and Islands Enterprise (co-investment partners): Regional development agencies that co-invest in Scottish deep-tech and life-science spinouts. Adjacent regional capital provider to the same UK deep-tech ecosystem UKI2S targets.

Broad incumbents

• Octopus Ventures: One of the largest UK VCs, with a portfolio spanning health, fintech, and deep tech. Broader incumbent that overlaps with UKI2S in early-stage UK technology investing.
• British Business Bank - Future Fund / UK Innovation Finance: UK government-backed development institution providing venture and growth capital across the UK. Comparable as a public-mandated investor in UK innovation and deep-tech ecosystems, though broader in scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uki2s
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rainbow-seed-fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments150 records

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Frequently asked questions about UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund