The future belongs to the scientists who build it.
You made the breakthrough, or you're ready to make one. We help you own the company, from the lab bench to the world, and we back it with £150k of formation capital.
£150k formation capital · a co-founding team · a path to your first raise
The scientists behind the breakthroughs shouldn't need permission to build.
You'll be told scientists can't do business. It's the most expensive lie in deep tech. Somewhere right now, at the end of a PhD, mid-postdoc, or years into industry, someone has discovered something the world needs, only to be told to hand it off for others to build.
We disagree. The same instincts that drive a successful PhD, interrogating evidence, running experiments and refining models, are the foundations of building a company. We've done it, and we've backed it. Now we're building the infrastructure, the team and the £150k of formation capital to make it happen repeatedly, and at scale.
You just need the mindset, the team and the belief that it's yours to build.
Two paths, one starting line.
Every journey begins at a Venture Science Weekend. From there, two paths open up, whether you want to lead the company or learn how they are built.
Venture Science Weekends
Selected applicants join our Studio team in person for intensive training, networking and pitches, meeting peers, key opinion leaders, founders and investors in a high-energy but informal setting. Run every four months, so you never miss out, it is the gateway to both paths below.
Cohort 01 · Autumn 2026
Empirical Venture Studio
For pre-seed science and engineering founders. We wrap a bespoke team of scientists-turned-investors and operators around you as co-founders, and back the company with £150k of formation capital. You stay in the driving seat, and we de-risk your path from breakthrough to business.
- £150k formation capital
- A co-founding studio team
- A de-risked path to your first raise
Vanguard Science Fellows
For those who want to sit at the cutting edge of taking breakthrough science into the world. Build commercial literacy, gain hands-on experience, and join a talent pool connected to career-defining opportunities across our portfolio and the wider deep-tech ecosystem.
- Hands-on commercial literacy
- Access to our portfolio and network
- A route into career-defining roles
Good science should not die in a journal.
Science first
We evaluate the physics, the biology and the chemistry before the pitch deck. Technical truth is the foundation of every decision.
Founders who build
We back scientists who take ownership of the whole journey, from the finding to the funding, from the paper to the product.
Deep-tech timelines
Frontier science does not fit software-style development models. We invest and support on the timelines the science actually needs.
Ventures that matter
We invest in breakthroughs that advance human capability and address real problems, from accessible healthcare to a habitable planet.
Companies we backed and built.
A selection of the ventures we have co-founded and capitalised through the studio model, each begun by a scientist who chose to own the company behind their science.
EnsiliTech
Ensilication that removes the cold chain from biopharma.
Visit site →Transdermal Diagnostics
Needle-free continuous glucose monitoring.
Visit site →Nuclear Turbines
A direct-cycle modular high-temperature reactor.
Visit site →Albotherm
Smart glass coatings for passive cooling.
Visit site →