The ERA Foundation
The ERA Foundation is a London-based non-profit investment company founded in 1920 that provides funding to UK technology organizations to start their businesses, operating with 11-50 employees under chairmen Sir Alan Rudge and Sir John O'Reilly.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1920
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The ERA Foundation does
The ERA Foundation is a London-based non-profit investment company founded in 1920 that provides funding to technology organizations to start their businesses. Operating with 11-50 employees, the foundation functions as a grant-giving entity rather than a commercial enterprise, deploying capital to UK technology ventures rather than selling products or services. Its senior leadership includes Sir Alan Rudge (Chairman/President) and Sir John O'Reilly (Chairman), both of whom hold British engineering honors (FREng, FRS), reflecting deep ties into the UK engineering and academic establishment.
The foundation's business model is structured around charitable capital deployment: it raises or manages an endowment and disburses funds to technology-focused recipients, typically early-stage organizations. As a non-profit, it does not generate commercial revenue in the conventional sense; its financial inflows are most likely derived from endowment returns, donations, or accumulated reserves rather than product sales. The website (erafoundation.org) was inaccessible during the source extraction, displaying only a verification page, so no additional detail on grant criteria, portfolio composition, or annual disbursement levels was obtainable.
No product offerings, customer segments beyond the implicit startup beneficiary base, marketing channels, pricing models, partnerships, certifications, or geographic restrictions are documented in the available source material. The entity has no disclosed subsidiaries, funding rounds, M&A activity, regulatory actions, or leadership changes. Given the extreme thinness of operational data, the foundation should be understood primarily through its stated mission (UK technology funding), its century-long institutional history, and the stature of its chairmen rather than through any product- or revenue-driven analysis.
The ERA Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The ERA Foundation
- Website
- https://erafoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1920
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The ERA Foundation is a London-based non-profit investment company founded in 1920 that provides funding to UK technology organizations to start their businesses, operating with 11-50 employees under chairmen Sir Alan Rudge and Sir John O'Reilly.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The ERA Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Technology Investment & Grants
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)
Keywords
Where The ERA Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
The ERA Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others
The ERA Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The ERA Foundation is a non-profit investment foundation that provides capital and grants to technology organizations to help them start and develop their businesses. It channels funding into technology and engineering ventures, principally in the United Kingdom, through its investment and grant-making activities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Technology venture funding and grants Investment capital and grants provided to technology organizations to help them start and develop their businesses. The product is delivered to early-stage technology organizations, founders, and engineering ventures.
Companies that use The ERA Foundation
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
The ERA Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The ERA Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalExpansion highlights1 record
The ERA Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Techstars: Global accelerator and early-stage investor backing technology startups. Comparable as a capital provider to early-stage technology ventures, though operating as a commercial accelerator rather than a grantmaking foundation.
Regional players
- Sherwood Foundation: Small UK grantmaking foundation supporting science and technology education. Comparable in size and remit to a small UK tech-focused foundation, though operating with a narrower geographic and thematic footprint.
Broad incumbents
- Wellcome Trust: Large UK-anchored charitable foundation funding science, research, and innovation. Broader in scope than ERA (health, life sciences, social science, and discovery research) but directly comparable as a UK private foundation backing technology and research.
- Royal Society: UK national academy of sciences that funds research, innovation, and fellowship programmes. Comparable as a London-based institution that influences and supports science and technology research and entrepreneurship in the UK.
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC): UK government-funded research council that grants money to engineering and physical sciences research. Comparable as a UK institution that channels funding to technology and engineering organisations, though funded publicly rather than through an endowment.
Direct peers
- Gatsby Charitable Foundation: Major UK grantmaking foundation that funds science, engineering, and education initiatives. Directly comparable as a UK-based private foundation deploying capital into technology-adjacent areas with a similarly focused, mission-driven mandate.
- Leverhulme Trust: One of the UK's largest private foundations, funding research and education across the sciences and engineering. Comparable as a UK-anchored grantmaking institution backing technology and research-led activity.
- Nuffield Foundation: UK charitable foundation that funds research and policy in science, social science, and education. Comparable as a similarly sized UK private foundation deploying grants to research and technology-relevant activity.
- Royal Academy of Engineering: UK national academy that funds engineering research, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Comparable as an engineering-focused funding and policy body headquartered in London that supports technology ventures and research leaders.
- Wolfson Foundation: UK grantmaking charity that funds science, technology, and education. Directly comparable as a UK private foundation with a clear mission to back technology, research, and innovation.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
The ERA Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceThe ERA Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The ERA Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
The ERA Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The ERA Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments8 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The ERA Foundation
What does The ERA Foundation do?
The ERA Foundation is a non-profit investment foundation that provides capital and grants to technology organizations to help them start and develop their businesses. It channels funding into technology and engineering ventures, principally in the United Kingdom, through its investment and grant-making activities.
When was The ERA Foundation founded?
The ERA Foundation was founded in 1920. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The ERA Foundation based?
The ERA Foundation is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are The ERA Foundation's main competitors?
Techstars is listed as an emerging player. Sherwood Foundation is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Wellcome Trust, Royal Society and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Direct peers are Gatsby Charitable Foundation, Leverhulme Trust, Nuffield Foundation, Royal Academy of Engineering and Wolfson Foundation.
Does The ERA Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for The ERA Foundation.
What industry is The ERA Foundation in?
The ERA Foundation's product category is Nonprofit Technology Investment & Grants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAA, Private Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAI, Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211.