Oxford Science Enterprises
About Oxford Science Enterprises
Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) is an independent venture capital firm and venture builder based in Oxford, UK. Established in 2015, OSE focuses on finding, funding, and building transformative science and technology companies that emerge from the University of Oxford’s research. It is recognized as the largest university-affiliated investment company globally, managing between $800 million and $1.45 billion in assets.
OSE operates as the University of Oxford’s preferred investor, granting it first access to the university’s promising intellectual property. The firm has invested between £0.5 Per Crunchbase, Oxford Science Enterprises has made 193 investments, 78 as lead investor across 104 portfolio companies, with 15 exits including 2 IPOs.
The firm was founded in 2015 as Oxford Sciences Innovation by David Norwood, who had earlier founded IP Group. It later rebranded as Oxford Science Enterprises. It first raised about £600M from investors that included Lansdowne Partners and Google Ventures. In 2022 it raised a further £250M, which took total equity funding above £850M. In April 2025 it added £175M ($232M) in venture debt, a bank facility reported as led by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. OSE is a privately held evergreen company, not a fixed-term fund. Charles Conn became CEO in 2019, and Alexis Dormandy was CEO by 2022. Third-party databases list Sam Harman as Partner and Head of Deep Tech, Claire Brown as Partner for life sciences, and Katherine Ward as Operating Partner. OSE does not publish a named AI partner, so founders should ask which team member covers their area.
OSE treats AI as one of its deep tech sectors, alongside quantum computing, fusion energy and robotics. Its AI deals cluster in three areas: healthcare AI, AI hardware and applied AI for industry. Recent examples are Mirae (conversational AI for chronic disease care), Allos (causal AI for drug reformulation), NavLive (an AI scanner for construction) and Salience Labs (photonic chips for AI data centres). It usually leads the first round in an Oxford spinout and follows on in later rounds. Founders without an Oxford link are less likely to fit, because the model rests on the university partnership and OSE's preferred access to its intellectual property.
Global Venturing reports that OSE invests at pre-seed and seed and writes cheques from £50,000 to £25M. It also makes follow-on investments through to exit. Other directories describe the range as seed to growth. OSE does not publish a standard cheque for a first round. The Lounge deals desk shows Allos and Mirae seeds of about $5M that OSE led.
- Mirae: AI continuous care platform for autoimmune disease, starting with inflammatory bowel disease. OSE led its seed round in July 2026, reported as $5.4M (£4.1M).
- Allos: causal AI platform for drug reformulation. OSE led its seed round in January 2026.
- Salience Labs: photonic switch chips for AI infrastructure. OSE co-led its 2022 seed, and it raised a $125M Series B in October 2026.
- Living Optics: hyperspectral vision company. It closed a round in October 2026 that inVISION News reported as £20M.
- NavLive: handheld AI scanner for building surveys. OSE led its £4M seed in May 2025.
- Ultromics: AI that supports echocardiography to detect heart disease earlier.
- Stateful Robotics: decision intelligence for autonomous mobile robots. OSE co-led its $4.8M pre-seed in March 2026 with Amadeus Capital.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Science_Enterprises
- globalventuring.com/university/europe/oxford-university-vc-firm-ose-ra
- adopter.net/green-tech-investors/oxford-science-enterprises
- oxfordscienceenterprises.com/portfolio
- oxfordscienceenterprises.com/what
- hitconsultant.net/2026/07/28/mirae-launches-5-4m-funding-oxford-ai-chr
- soapbox.vc/investors/oxford-science-enterprises
- caplight.com/investor/oxford-science-enterprises
Investing activity
Oxford Science Enterprises has made 193 investments according to Crunchbase across 104 portfolio companies, and has led 78 rounds and seen 15 exits, 2 of them by IPO.
Oxford Science Enterprises appears in 4 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $145M, and led 2 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, Series B and Growth, with a median round size of $20M and the largest at $125M. The most recent are Salience Labs (Series B, $125M, Oct 2026), Living Optics (Growth, $20M, Oct 2026) and Mirae (Seed, $5.4M, Jul 2026).
Oxford Science Enterprises most often invests alongside British Business Bank, Applied Ventures, Bullhound Capital and SBI Group, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI, AI infrastructure / photonic networking chips and Computer vision / hyperspectral imaging.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Oxford Science Enterprises
Does Oxford Science Enterprises invest in AI startups?
Yes. AI is part of its deep tech focus, and its portfolio includes Mirae, Allos, Salience Labs, NavLive and Stateful Robotics. Most of these companies are University of Oxford spinouts.
What check size does Oxford Science Enterprises write?
Global Venturing reports cheques of £50,000 to £25M, at pre-seed and seed with follow-ons through to exit. OSE does not publish a typical first-cheque size.
Does Oxford Science Enterprises only back Oxford spinouts?
Its model centres on University of Oxford research, and it has preferred access to the university's intellectual property. Founders from outside Oxford are unlikely to be a core fit.
Who founded Oxford Science Enterprises and how is it funded?
It was founded in 2015 as Oxford Sciences Innovation by David Norwood. It raised about £600M at the start and £250M more in 2022. In 2025 it added £175M in venture debt.
What AI rounds has Oxford Science Enterprises led recently?
It led the Allos seed in January 2026 and the Mirae seed in July 2026. It also co-led the Stateful Robotics pre-seed in March 2026. It took part in Salience Labs' $125M Series B in October 2026.
What AI companies has Oxford Science Enterprises invested in?
Oxford Science Enterprises's AI investments include Salience Labs, Living Optics, Mirae and Allos. The 4 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Oxford Science Enterprises based?
Oxford Science Enterprises is based in Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
What stage does Oxford Science Enterprises invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, Oxford Science Enterprises has invested at Seed, Series B and Growth, with a median round of $20M. Oxford Science Enterprises led 2 of those rounds.
Who does Oxford Science Enterprises co-invest with?
Oxford Science Enterprises's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are British Business Bank (2 deals), Applied Ventures (2 deals), Bullhound Capital (1 deal), SBI Group (1 deal) and Cambridge Innovation Capital (1 deal).
How can founders reach Oxford Science Enterprises?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Oxford Science Enterprises'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 Oxford Science Enterprises to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.