Bristol-based deep tech investor SCVC has completed the first close of its second fund, with a target of $100m (£80.2m).
Launched in 2020, SCVC, the venture capital arm of the Bristolian deep tech entrepreneur network Science Creates, will look to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups operating in advanced technology areas such as biotech and quantum computing.
SCVC is planning to make investments of $500,000 to $3m per startup, with funds allocated for follow-on rounds of up to $7m.
The firm has already announced the first startup to receive an investment from the fund: Cambridge-based semiconductor firm VyperCore. SCVC said its second startup will be a gene therapy platform.
“We believe the next decade will yield the most important industrial revolution in history,” said SCVC managing partner Harry Destecroix.
“The gap between hardware and biology is vanishing and unlocking an enormous untapped dataset of our own biology. Combined with AI, this gives us a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity to build high-impact technology companies.”
SCVC’s first fund, worth £14m, backed 12 companies, including underground mapping startup Delta g, sustainable material developer Kelpi and pre-clinical stage biotech company Isomab.
Along with the new funding, SCVC has also appointed John Williams, founder of Tokyo-listed software firm Kudan, as the company’s first venture partner.