Our Early Stage team back founders across the UK and Ireland that are turning bold, breakthrough ideas into world-leading businesses in deep tech and life sciences. We provide startups with an initial investment of £3m-£10m, plus access to follow-on funding, deep domain expertise, and ongoing support for their growth plans.
How we're different
We’re uniquely equipped to provide early-stage venture capital, but backed by the platform and resources of a later-stage growth investor:
- Deep technical and commercial expertise
- Evergreen fund structure, purpose-built to drive long-term growth
- Specialist team of early-stage investors to support you as you scale
- Built on a foundation of 600+ investments and 200+ exits, across the full BGF portfolio
Deep tech
We back pioneering technologies, grounded in scientific and engineering excellence, across:
- Semiconductors and photonics
- Advanced materials
- AI and software platforms
- Energy storage and management
- Energy and resource efficiency
Life sciences
We’re helping to turn world-class research and scientific discovery into meaningful patient outcomes in these verticals:
- Drug discovery and development
- MedTech
- Diagnostics
- Advanced tools and materials
Accelerating impact
Our Early Stage investors bring together deep domain knowledge, venture capital experience and commercial insight. Since 2019, we’ve built a track record of scaling science-led innovation into global success:
- £325m+ investment deployed
- 70+ companies backed
- 140+ transactions completed
Investment criteria
To be eligible for funding and support from our Early Stage team, businesses must meet these criteria:
- Headquartered in the UK or Ireland
- Privately-owned
- Operating in deep tech or life sciences
- IP-protected
- Late seed to series B
- Seeking £3m-£10m initial investment from BGF
Latest news
Join our portfolio
Across BGF, we’ve already helped hundreds of ambitious businesses to accelerate their growth. Yours could be next. Introduce yourself to our Early Stage team today to get started.