Oxford Seed Fund
About Oxford Seed Fund
The fund is housed in the Entrepreneurship Centre at Saïd Business School and is run by students and alumni. SuperScout dates its operations to 2012, while the school's own announcement says the fund launched in 2013. A predecessor, the SBS Venture Fund, was created in 2004 after a donor pledged support. A £2.5m raise from Oxford Science Enterprises, to be deployed over three years, made the fund the largest student-led seed fund in Europe. LinkedIn lists Alex Prittie, Celina Nanbara, Yusuf Raza and Viktoriia Oliinyk as directors, though that listing is dated. For the academic year starting September 2023, the team reviewed more than 200 applications and reported 20 investments totalling about £1M.
The fund's mandate covers early-stage startups where a current Oxford student, alumnus, researcher or staff member is on the founding team. Its news pages name AI companies among recent investments. Louisa applies AI to knowledge sharing inside corporates, and Allia Health uses AI-driven insights from wearable data for mental health treatment. The fund has also co-invested alongside Y Combinator, a16z crypto, Notion Capital and Techstars. PitchBook records a 2025 seed investment in Structured AI. On the Lounge deals desk, recent AI seed rounds include Zeit AI and Beltic.
The fund invests at pre-seed and seed stage, with investments of up to £100,000. A former investment director of the fund wrote that checks ranged from £20,000 to £100,000 during 2022 to 2024. After the 2024 raise, the school said it aimed to fund about ten pre-seed startups a year and that the fund had redesigned its structure to allow larger tickets.
- Zeit AI: seed round of $5.8M (EUR 5.0M), per the Lounge deals desk, September 2026. Business description not confirmed in public sources.
- Beltic: seed round of $7.3M, per the Lounge deals desk, October 2026. Business description not confirmed in public sources.
- Structured AI: seed round recorded by PitchBook on 30 July 2025. Round size not listed.
- Louisa: AI-driven knowledge sharing for corporates. Round not disclosed.
- Allia Health: AI-driven insights from wearable data for mental health treatment. Round not disclosed.
- sbs.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-seed-fund-wraps-year-ps1m-invested
- sbs.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-seed-fund-ramps-deploy-over-ps500k-year-oxfor
- sbs.ox.ac.uk/news/europes-largest-student-led-seed-fund-set-support-le
- sbs.ox.ac.uk/news/david-bonderman-friend-said-business-school-and-insp
- superscout.co/program/oxford-seed-fund
- pitchbook.com/profiles/fund/28282-96F
- linkedin.com/company/sbs-seed-fund
- x.com/oxfordseedfund?lang=en-gb
Investing activity
Oxford Seed Fund appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $7M. The most recent are Beltic (Seed, $7.3M, Oct 2026) and Zeit AI (Seed, $5.8M (EUR 5.0M), Sep 2026).
Oxford Seed Fund most often invests alongside Norwest Venture Partners, Collide Capital, Restive and Martin Schoeller, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Oxford Seed Fund
What stage does Oxford Seed Fund invest in?
The fund invests at pre-seed and seed stage in startups with an Oxford student, alumnus, researcher or staff member on the founding team. Investments are up to £100,000.
Does Oxford Seed Fund invest in AI startups?
Yes. Recent AI investments named in its news include Louisa and Allia Health, and the Lounge deals desk lists Zeit AI and Beltic seed rounds.
How much does Oxford Seed Fund invest per startup?
The published maximum is £100,000. A former investment director wrote that checks ranged from £20,000 to £100,000.
Who runs Oxford Seed Fund?
The fund is run by students and alumni within the Entrepreneurship Centre at Saïd Business School. LinkedIn lists Alex Prittie, Celina Nanbara, Yusuf Raza and Viktoriia Oliinyk as directors.
How much capital does Oxford Seed Fund have?
Oxford Science Enterprises committed £2.5m to the fund, to be deployed over three years. The fund has said it deployed about £1M in one academic year.
What AI companies has Oxford Seed Fund invested in?
Oxford Seed Fund's AI investments include Beltic and Zeit AI. The 2 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Oxford Seed Fund based?
Oxford Seed Fund is based in Oxford, United Kingdom.
What stage does Oxford Seed Fund invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, Oxford Seed Fund has invested at Seed, with a median round of $7M.
Who does Oxford Seed Fund co-invest with?
Oxford Seed Fund's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Norwest Venture Partners (1 deal), Collide Capital (1 deal), Restive (1 deal), Martin Schoeller (1 deal) and Cervin Ventures (1 deal).
How can founders reach Oxford Seed Fund?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Oxford Seed Fund'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 Seed Fund to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.