Outlier Ventures
About Outlier Ventures
Outlier Ventures was founded in London in 2014 by Jamie Burke, according to Indexed VC. Most directories give 2014, though one lists 2015. Stephan Apel has been CEO and Founding Partner since September 2023, after serving as Managing Partner from July 2016. Crunchbase also names Aron van Ammers, Founding Partner and CTO, among the founders. The firm operates through Outlier Capital LLP, and the UK investor profile on Entrepreneur Plus says it has stopped running its Base Camp accelerator and now invests directly from its second fund.
The firm's website describes a Triple AAA thesis covering AI, Atoms and Association, and names Outlier Fund II as the vehicle for it. The site says the thesis expects AI to move from software into manufacturing and biology and to become more autonomous. Its AI examples include Unicity Labs, a $3M seed round in February 2026 for infrastructure that lets AI agents find services and settle payments, where Blockchange Ventures led and Outlier participated, per DefiLlama. Other AI-linked companies on the firm's site are Revanta, an AI platform for drug design, and Mirai, which builds autonomous vessels and AI systems for maritime work. Fetch.ai, a blockchain and AI network, and Ocean Protocol, a decentralized data marketplace, are also listed among its earlier backings.
The firm's website lists a primary check of $50K to $1M, leading or co-leading, a syndicate check of $50K to $500K alongside specialist investors, and a secondary range of $250K to $2M for later-stage and OTC deals. It names pre-seed to growth as its stage range. Fund size for Outlier Fund II is not publicly disclosed in the sources reviewed.
- Unicity Labs: infrastructure for AI agents to discover services, verify counterparties and settle payments; $3M seed, February 2026 per DefiLlama
- Revanta: AI platform for drug design built for biotech companies; listed on the firm's website
- Mirai: autonomous vessels and AI systems for maritime surveillance, inspection and operations; listed on the firm's website
- Fetch.ai: blockchain and AI network; early Outlier investment, year not stated in the sources reviewed
- Ocean Protocol: decentralized data marketplace; early Outlier investment, year not stated in the sources reviewed
- outlierventures.io
- indexed.vc/companies/outlier-ventures
- crunchbase.com/organization/outlier-ventures-ltd-llp
- crunchbase.com/person/stephan-apel
- defillama.com/raises/outlier-ventures
- messari.io/organization/outlier-ventures
- entrepreneurplus.co.uk/investors/outlier-ventures
- adeline.co.uk/investors-and-accelerators/outlier-ventures
Investing activity
Outlier Ventures has made 358 investments according to Crunchbase across 350 portfolio companies, and has led 63 rounds and seen 8 exits.
Outlier Ventures appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $3M. The most recent is Unicity Labs (Seed, $3M, Aug 2026).
Outlier Ventures most often invests alongside Blockchange Ventures and Tawasal, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Outlier Ventures
When was Outlier Ventures founded?
Outlier Ventures was founded in London in 2014 by Jamie Burke, according to Indexed VC. A few directories list other years, but 2014 is the most common date.
Does Outlier Ventures invest in AI startups?
Yes. AI is one of three pillars in the firm's AI, Atoms and Association thesis, and its recent AI examples include Unicity Labs and Revanta.
What check size does Outlier Ventures write?
The firm's website lists a primary check of $50K to $1M, leading or co-leading, and a syndicate check of $50K to $500K. Its later-stage secondary range is $250K to $2M.
What stages does Outlier Ventures invest in?
The firm's website lists pre-seed to growth as its stage range. Tracker data shows most of its recorded deals are seed rounds.
How large is Outlier Fund II?
The fund size is not publicly disclosed in the sources reviewed. The firm's website names Outlier Fund II as the vehicle for its AI, Atoms and Association thesis.
What AI companies has Outlier Ventures invested in?
Outlier Ventures's AI investments include Unicity Labs. The 1 round on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Outlier Ventures based?
Outlier Ventures is based in London, England, United Kingdom.
What stage does Outlier Ventures invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, Outlier Ventures has invested at Seed, with a median round of $3M.
Who does Outlier Ventures co-invest with?
Outlier Ventures's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Blockchange Ventures (1 deal) and Tawasal (1 deal).
How can founders reach Outlier Ventures?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Outlier Ventures's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Outlier Ventures to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.