The UK’s deeptech ecosystem has received a new boost as the British Business Bank increases its support for Bristol-based Empirical Ventures with a fresh £10 million commitment through its Regional Angels Programme. The new investment brings the Bank’s total support for Empirical to £15 million, following an earlier £5 million commitment announced in 2023.
The additional capital will enable Empirical Ventures to expand its backing of founders, translating cutting‑edge scientific research into commercial ventures across energy, advanced materials, robotics, and life sciences. The initiative is designed to help more scientists step beyond academia and build globally competitive deeptech companies.
The move aligns with the UK government’s 2026 Modern Industrial Strategy, which prioritises unlocking greater commercial value from national research strengths. By channelling patient capital into early‑stage deeptech, the British Business Bank aims to help de‑risk science‑based innovation and create high‑quality jobs across the UK’s regions.
From spinout success to venture building
Empirical Ventures was founded by Dr. Ben Miles and Dr. Johnathan Matlock, who first collaborated at Ziylo Ltd, a University of Bristol spinout acquired by Novo Nordisk in 2018. Both remain active figures in the UK’s science‑commercialisation landscape. Miles also launched Spin Up Science in 2018, an initiative that has supported over 4,500 scientists and helped catalyse more than 200 deeptech companies nationwide.
Their collective experience shapes Empirical’s model, which focuses on helping technical founders navigate the shift from research to commercial operations and scale.
Empirical’s portfolio represents a diverse group of science‑driven startups, including Quantum Dice, Wave Photonics, Senisca, Forefront RF, Zero Point Motion, Scarlet Therapeutics, Lumi Industries, and Intrinsic Semiconductor Technologies.
A new playbook for deeptech investing
Empirical’s “Venture Scientist” thesis argues that the next wave of transformative companies will be built by founders who can bridge fundamental research and commercial impact. Supported by a mix of SEIS, EIS, and syndicate structures, Empirical invests from the earliest stages, when many traditional funds hesitate to take technical risk.
With the British Business Bank’s new £10 million commitment, Empirical Ventures continues to empower scientists to turn discovery into world‑changing enterprises.
