9 rising stars in Oxford VC

Oxford’s venture ecosystem has always been steeped in innovation, driven by a rich history of groundbreaking research.

Now, a new generation of venture capitalists is stepping up to transform these innovations into scalable ventures. These young VCs, many of whom are Oxford alumni, are reshaping the startup landscape by backing the next wave of Oxford founders.

From climate tech to deep tech and health tech, they bring a mix of industry expertise, technical know-how, and operational support to the table.

Here are 9 of Oxford’s most promising next-gen VCs who are making waves in the venture scene.

1. Mark @ Acclimate Ventures ♻️

Mark, a partner at Acclimate Ventures, has over 15 years of experience in tech, including stints at Apple and Samsung. He focuses on climate tech and impact ventures across the US and UK. With investments in companies like Ravel (textile recycling) and Sparkz (cathode materials), Mark is dedicated to fostering sustainable innovation. His dual degrees from Harvard in business and public policy underpin his mission to back ventures at the intersection of tech and sustainability.

2. Sanne @ Oxford Science Enterprises ⚕️

Sanne joined Oxford Science Enterprises in February 2023, bringing over nine years of biotech investment experience. At OSE, she sources and structures new spinout opportunities from the University of Oxford and supports the life sciences portfolio. Previously, she was an investment manager at Gilde Healthcare, where she also launched a Fellowship program to bridge academia and venture capital. Sanne sits on the boards of MatchBio and Sitryx. MatchBio focuses on enhancing CAR-T therapy, while Sitryx develops therapeutics targeting cell metabolism for autoimmune diseases.

3. Chris @ Starboard 🤝

Chris, founder of Starboard, is on a mission to make startup boards more effective. As the Royal Society Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Oxford, Chris leverages his experience as the founder and former CEO of Lyst, a fashion technology platform that raised over $160M. Now, he supports startups in climate tech, deep tech, and creative industries, helping founders build transformative businesses.

4. Richard @ Oxford Capital 🤖

Richard joined Oxford Capital after founding and exiting three startups. With an MBA from Saïd Business School, Richard now focuses on supporting early-stage founders. His hands-on experience as a founder gives him unique insight into the challenges startups face, making him a valuable partner to entrepreneurs.

5. Katharina @ Oxford Science Enterprises 🧬

Katharina joined OSE in 2023, focusing on life sciences investments. With a PhD in Immunometabolism from Cambridge, her research has been published in top journals like Cell. Katharina’s scientific expertise, combined with her venture experience at Cambridge Innovation Capital, positions her as a key player in Oxford’s biotech ecosystem. She currently serves as a board observer for OMass Therapeutics.

6. Chris @ Oxford Capital 💰

Chris, an Investment Manager at Oxford Capital, focuses on deal origination and new investments. With a background in mechanical engineering and experience at fintech SaaS startup CloudMargin, Chris brings a technical edge to his investment strategy. His role involves identifying high-potential startups and guiding them through early growth stages.

7. Arif @ Oxford Seed Fund 🏋️

Arif, Managing Director of Oxford Seed Fund since 2023, spearheads investments in top Oxford-affiliated startups, backing 25+ founders with >£1m across AI, climate, fintech, health & biotech, and crypto tech. The student-and-alumni managed fund invest up to £100,000 into top Oxford-affiliated startups across the globe, and provide them with the network and support to scale. Since 2023, the fund exited Onfido for a 100x return. Arif is a dedicated backer of founders in Oxford and supporter of the team of students that run Oxford Seed Fund. Arif previously co-founded ArteMx - a provider of end-to-end platform for medical practices, automating vital chronic disease care processes. He has held roles at BlackRock and Future Planet Capital. The Oxford Seed Fund is supported by the Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre and backed by Oxford Science Enterprise.

7. George @ Oxford Science Enterprises ⚗️

George has been with OSE since 2021, specializing in deep tech. With a first-class MEng in Engineering Science from Oxford and experience as a strategy consultant at Mastercard, George excels in commercializing complex technologies. He sits on the boards of Mixergy (decarbonizing hot water systems) and Refeyn (mass photometry instruments), exemplifying his focus on impactful innovation.

8. Amit @ Nucleate UK 🧫

Amit is at the intersection of computational biology, biotech innovation, and scientific communication. As co-Managing Director of Nucleate Oxford with Abhi, he plays a pivotal role in bridging academia, startups, and industry, empowering early-stage founders in the biosciences. While not technically a VC, Nucleate’s outreach and programming - helping to connect researchers, investors, and entrepreneurs - has helped accelerate biotech innovation in Oxford & the UK! A DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, Amit’s research explores the gut-liver axis and the microbiome’s role in healthy aging. With a passion for translating complex science into impact, he’s also a prominent science communicator with a growing digital presence.

📢 Honorable mention to this year’s team at Oxford Seed Fund (Rebecca, Ellena, Scott, Yash, Theresia, Robert, Greta, Sachi) recently profiled here busy sourcing and evaluating early stage investments in the ecosystem. Also honorable shoutout to Susannah de Jager who founded Oxford+, a podcast which provides a critical lens on what happens in the Oxfordshire innovation ecosystem. Also kudos to Ahmed leading Oxford Venture Builder at the Said Entrepreneurship Centre. Quick shout out too to Udai and Francisco over at Oxbridge AI Challenge for activating the flywheel between Cambridge and Oxford.

If I missed anyone, let me know! I’ll add them in or write a new article for next month to help showcase the great work people are doing to activate the venture flywheel in Oxford.

I’ll be searching in and around Imperial College next - who should be on the list? Let me know!