Operators and investors who know the science.
Empirical Ventures is a specialist deep-tech VC and venture builder, run by people who have discovered the science, built the companies and made the investments, not spectators to any of it.
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.
Built by people who have done it before.
Dr Ben Miles · General Partner
Dr Ben Miles.
Ben is a PhD physicist, company-builder and co-founder of Empirical Ventures. He works hands-on with founders from the lab to the market, and through Spin Up Science has helped accelerate more than 200 ventures.
He began his career as an early employee at Ziylo, the glucose-sensing biotech later sold to Novo Nordisk for $800m. Alongside investing, he hosts one of the world's largest science platforms, reaching a global audience of more than three million.
PhD Physicist (Nanophysics) who has lived inside the research.
Founder of Spin Up Science and Dr Ben Miles Media; co-founded Empirical Ventures.
A three-million-strong global science audience.
Dr Johnathan Matlock · General Partner
Dr Johnathan Matlock.
Johnathan is a PhD chemist and a co-founder of Empirical Ventures. He and Ben Miles first worked together as early employees at Ziylo.
He leads much of the firm's technical due diligence, drawing on his chemistry background to interrogate the science behind every investment, and has backed 65 early-stage science companies in his angel portfolio.
PhD Chemistry (Organic) who pressure-tests the science in every deal.
Co-founded Empirical Ventures.
Leads much of the firm's technical due diligence.
Backed by a bench of operators and scientists.
Beyond the partners, Empirical draws on a network of experienced entrepreneurs, operators, investors and domain scientists who support diligence and portfolio building across the fund.
Join us
We are always glad to meet exceptional scientists and operators who want to build in deep tech. If that is you, we would like to hear from you.
