The 25 step guide to completing your first funding round
We prepared this handy overview of all the legal documents and steps you’ll need to do for a UK seed funding round.
London has one of the best funding landscapes in the world, so you won’t be short on options if you’re looking for venture capital. We’ve curated this list of the most active VC firms in London to help you refine your search. You’ll find a wide range of sectors and missions in the VC firms listed below, so we hope you’ll discover a few VCs that could be right for you.
Top tip: VC firm websites give information about who they are and what they look for - make sure you read through their website to decide whether you’re aligned. If not, you’ll waste your time and theirs.
1. 2150
They invest in: startups reshaping how cities are designed, constructed and powered.
They’re great because: they take a sustainable approach to investment. They choose to put their money and expertise into companies that change the structure of our cities for the better.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Normative and Biomason
Approx fund size: £230 million in a single fund
Investments made: Less than 20
2. 7Percent
They invest in: early-stage tech startups in any sector.
They’re great because: they think big and support founders who want to transform a market. If your startup is aiming to cause some serious disruption, this might be the VC that ‘gets you’.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Luma and Blue Vision Labs
Approx fund size: £37 million across 2 funds
Investments made: 120+
Fun fact: The name 7Percent comes from the idea that a good early-stage growth rate is 5-7% per week.
3. Accel Partners
They invest in: early-stage (and beyond) startups in any sector.
They’re great because: they have a large global community and tons of experience, having overseen more than 350 exits.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Meta and Razer
Approx fund size: £15 billion across 33 funds
Investments made: 1,800+
4. Amadeus
They invest in: early-stage tech companies across a number of sectors.
They’re great because: they’re a well-established firm with over 20 years of experience investing in tech companies around the world.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: lastminute.com and IndiaMART
Approx fund size: £434 million across 5 funds
Investments made: 250+
5. Anthemis
They invest in: Early-stage tech companies creating positive change in financial systems. Anthemis focuses on fintech.
They’re great because: They have a super-strong network and global presence. Anthemis has offices in London, New York, Luxembourg and Geneva and a wealth of expertise to draw on.
Notable companies in their portfolio: Tide and Currencycloud
Approx fund size: £1billion across 9 funds
Investments made: 220+
Fun fact: Hacking Finance is a blog, podcast, newsletter and events platform run by Anthemis - sign up for free for valuable insights and opinions.
6. Ascension
They invest in: Tech and impact companies based in the UK.
They’re great because: they give their founders access to a strong mentor network, plenty of workshops and social events and a good set of perks, too.
Ascension has a variety of VC funds as well as their Ascension Syndicate club, which is a group of angel investors that often co-invests with the VC funds.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Credit Kudos and ZigZag Global
Approx fund size: £2 million
Investments made: 270+
Also interested in angel investment? Check out our post on the most active angel groups in London
7. Balderton Capital
They invest in: early-stage and growth-stage tech companies with global ambitions.
They’re great because: they’re one of the most well-established VC firms in the UK and Europe. Their executive council is made up of global leaders in the tech industry, which gives founders a great deal of expertise to draw upon.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Revolut and Recorded Future
Approx fund size: £5 billion across 11 funds
Investments made: 375+
8. BGF Growth Capital
They invest in: early-stage companies and SMEs across sectors.
They’re great because: they’re one of the UK and Ireland’s most active VCs. They don’t give exit deadlines, instead they empower companies to do things their way, in their own time.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: BigBlu Broadband and Gym Box
Approx fund size: £2.5 billion
Investments made: 400+
Need some inspiration? Stories of Growth series explores the journey and mindset behind 50 successful companies in their portfolio.
9. Connect Ventures
They invest in: software companies.
They’re great because: they make a big effort to empower their founders with the resources they need to grow their expertise and develop themselves. They offer founders wellbeing resources like executive coaching, meditation, breathwork, therapy sessions and more.
Notable companies in their portfolio: Thursday and Typeform
Approx fund size: £143 million across 3 funds
Investments made: 110+
10. Crane
They invest in: software startups in the UK, Europe, US and Israel.
They’re great because: they focus on helping founders build the foundations of their companies, communities and success.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: H2O.ai and Centrifuge
Approx fund size: £191 million
Investments made: 70+
11. Downing Ventures
They invest in: tech companies across the globe in the enterprise, healthcare and deep tech sectors.
They’re great because: they have a lot of expertise in their core sectors that they use to support founders.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Trouva and Destiny Pharma
Approx. fund size: £2.3 million in a single fund
Investments made: 165+
12. Episode 1
They invest in: early-stage B2B software companies.
They’re great because: they’re a small team of eight who’ve been entrepreneurs themselves. They have strong connections with Silicon Valley and are committed to sharing their knowledge and network.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: PassFort and Feedr
Approx fund size: £97.5 million across 2 funds
Investments made: 85+
13. Entrée Capital
They invest in: tech companies across sectors in the UK, US and Israel.
They’re great because: they’re a well-established firm with a £1 billion fund led by a team of entrepreneurs that take a ‘for founders, by founders’ approach.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Monday.com and Stripe
Approx fund size: £688 million across 7 funds
Investments made: 220+
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14. Felix Capital
They invest in: companies in the lifestyle sector.
They’re great because: they have an approachable style and a diverse team (equal split of 50% women, 50% men). They have some impressive companies in their portfolio, too.
Notable companies in their portfolio: Deliveroo and Peloton
Approx fund size: £1 billion across 6 funds
Investments made: 96+
15. Fuel Ventures
They invest in: globally scalable marketplaces, platforms and software (SaaS).
They’re great because they: were founded by Mark Pearson who exited his company, MarkCo Media (parent company of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk) at £55 million. Mark has created a network “for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs” of over 200 founders, investors and advisors.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: ContentCal and Suggestv
Approx fund size: £127 million across 5 funds
Investments made: 95+
Looking outside London as well? Top VCs in Bristol and Investors in Manchester
16. Frontline Ventures
They invest in: B2B SaaS companies with plans to go global (and a particular focus on the US).
They’re great because they: have plenty of expertise to draw on when it comes to global expansion. If going global (and expanding to the US particularly) is a big part of your ambitions then Frontline might be the VC for you.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Pointy and Boxever
Approx fund size: £244 million
Investments made: 134+
Fun fact: Frontline literally wrote the playbook on US expansion. Worth a read if you’re thinking about getting into the US market.
17. Future Planet Capital
They invest in: tech and life science companies from leading research centres. They focus on climate change, education, health, sustainable growth and security.
They’re great because: they’re committed to creating a lasting impact. Their network provides access to leading academic institutions and innovation hubs.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Halo Neuroscience and 23andMe
Approx fund size: £18.4 million across 9 funds
Investments made: 85+
18. Hoxton
They invest in: tech companies with global ambitions.
They’re great because: they’re well connected in the tech economy and with venture capital firms in Silicon Valley.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Babylon, Deliveroo, Darktrace, Epic Games (that’s four unicorns they’ve backed from early stage).
Approx fund size: £296 million across 3 funds
Investments made: 75+
19. Index Ventures
They invest in: tech companies across sectors, across the globe.
They’re great because: they’re the most active VC in London with an impressive portfolio and network. They have offices in San Francisco and New York too. Despite being a prestigious firm, they have a grounded ‘all about the people’ philosophy.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Dropbox, Notion and SeedLegals
Approx fund size: £10 billion across 19 funds
Investments made: 1,065+
20. LocalGlobe
They invest in: tech companies creating positive change.
They’re great because: they’re an impact-driven firm that’s been investing in positive change for over 20 years.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Citymapper and Wise
Approx fund size: £1.2 billion across eight funds
Investments made: 340+
Top tip: Learn about getting ready for VC investment in ourAre you ready for VC funding? article.
21. MMC Ventures
They invest in: tech companies with a focus on enterprise software, fintech, digital health and cloud and data infrastructure.
They’re great because: they are active participants in helping their portfolio companies succeed while knowing when to step back.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Gousto and Poc Doc
Approx fund size: £1 billion across 4 funds
Investments made: 180+
22. Notion Capital
They invest in: SaaS and cloud companies across Europe.
They’re great because: they’re a VC firm of SaaS entrepreneurs and operators turned investors. They follow a set of guiding principles that emphasise having fun on the journey of building a business.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: GoCardless and Paddle
Approx fund size: £386 million across 5 funds
Investments made: 160+
23. Octopus Ventures
They invest in: tech companies, focusing on health, fintech, deep tech, consumer and B2B software.
They’re great because: they’re one of Europe’s largest VC investors. They have an impressive support structure for founders from venture partners who’ve created unicorns to a network of the world’s finest coaches.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Cazoo and Mindstep
Approx fund size: £1 billion across six funds
Investments made: 330+
24. Parkwalk Advisors
They invest in: scientific discoveries made at the UK’s globally-ranked research universities.
They’re great because: they’re the UK’s most active investor in the university spin-out sector.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Fresh Check and Cheesecake Energy
Approx fund size: £434 million across 29 funds
Investments made: 275+
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25. Passion Capital
They invest in: digital media and tech companies.
They’re great because: they recognise that your passion and abilities as a founder are your key differentiator. They’ve also been involved in some of the largest exits in European tech.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Digital Shadows and Wickr
Approx fund size: £155 million across 3 funds
Investments made: 160+
26. Playfair Capital
They invest in: tech companies across sectors.
They’re great because: they combine the passion and excitement of angel investing with the benefits of a VC fund. Playfair was founded by an angel investor and the angel perspective informs their core philosophy.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Trouva and Jukedeck
Approx fund size: £51 million across two funds
Investments made: 90+
27. Seedcamp
They invest in: tech startups across sectors in the UK and Europe.
They’re great because: they’re one of the most active VCs in Europe and support their founders with an impressive global community and network of expertise.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Revolut and Wise
Approx fund size: £186 million across five funds
Investments made: 490+
28. SFC Capital
They invest in: startups across sectors.
They’re great because: they’re one of the UK’s most active VCs. They combine their award-winning funds with an active angel network to create maximum exposure.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: TapTrip and WorkClub
Approx fund size: £14 million across 18 funds
Investments made: 385+
29. SpeedInvest
They invest in: tech startups in multiple sectors.
They’re great because: their team has exceptional understanding of the industries in which they invest. This means you’ll have access to reliable expertise and well-informed decision-makers.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Planetly and FinCompare
Approx fund size: £524 million across 8 funds
Investments made: 355+
30. Target Global
They invest in: tech companies in fintech, healthtech, consumer-enabled SaaS, mobility, and edtech sectors.
They’re great because: they have a strong network with six offices in tech hubs across Europe and have fueled many companies to global success.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Bird and Cazoo
Approx fund size: £1 billion across seven funds
Investments made: 180+
31. Nauta Capital
They invest in: early-stage software companies, with a focus on B2B.
They’re great because: they operate in London, Barcelona and Berlin, plus they run Nauta Labs – a specialist venture programme for Europe’s B2B pre-seed deeptech companies.
Notable companies in their portfolio include: Zephr and Social point
Approx fund size: £487 million across five funds
Investments made: 130+
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Carles FerrerOften founders wonder how much to raise at Seed. Regardless of the economic environment, the best option is to think about it sensibly. Founders should look at their business plan and consider how much they will need for an 18–24-month runway. They should also remember that fundraising takes time, so founders should leave enough time (at least 6 months) before the cash runs out. Too much pressure ahead of the future round is a huge risk, so valuations and amounts raised at seed stage need to fit well with several scenarios at the subsequent round.
General Partner,
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