Empirical Ventures, which backs what it calls “venture scientists”, PhDs building deeptech companies across energy, materials, and life sciences, has received a fresh £10M commitment via the BBB’s Regional Angels Programme, taking total support to £15M.
Empirical Ventures, the Bristol-based deeptech fund co-founded by two scientists-turned-investors, has secured a £10 million commitment from the British Business Bank through its Regional Angels Programme, bringing the Bank’s total support for the firm to £15 million.
The first £5 million was committed in April 2024. The new capital will allow Empirical to write larger cheques to early-stage science-led founders across the UK, particularly outside London, using its SEIS and EIS fund alongside an angel syndicate.
The firm was founded by Dr Ben Miles (PhD, Physics) and Dr Johnathan Matlock (PhD, Chemistry), who first worked together at Ziylo Ltd, a University of Bristol spinout developing glucose-sensing molecules for diabetes treatment.
In 2018, Novo Nordisk acquired Ziylo in a deal potentially worth over $800 million, one of the largest acquisitions of a UK spinout at that time. After the acquisition, both went on to build careers in deep science investing.
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Miles also founded Spin Up Science in 2018, an entrepreneurship programme that has supported more than 4,500 scientists and helped catalyse more than 200 deeptech companies across the UK.
Empirical’s thesis is that generalist investors are structurally poor at evaluating early-stage deep science startups, because they lack the domain knowledge to assess what is novel, what is technically de-risked, and what timelines are realistic.
The firm’s response is to invest with scientific conviction rather than pattern-matching on founder pedigree alone. It backs what it calls “Venture Scientists”, founders with deep technical expertise who are navigating the transition from academic research to commercial operation.
The fund targets pre-seed and seed rounds in energy, advanced materials, robotics, and life sciences, writing high-conviction cheques and taking board seats. Portfolio companies include Quantum Dice, Wave Photonics, Senisca, Forefront RF, Zero Point Motion, Scarlet Therapeutics, Lumi Industries, and Intrinsic Semiconductor Technologies.
Mark Barry, Senior Investment Director at the British Business Bank, said the programme is designed to “bring together finance, business experience and skills to support the development of high-growth smaller businesses” and described Empirical’s work as helping to bridge a “critical funding gap for science-led businesses outside London.”
Matlock framed the expanded commitment in terms of geographic ambition: “Whether they are in Bristol, Manchester, or Edinburgh, we are here to ensure that the founders capable of rewriting the rules of what’s possible get the resources to do so.”
