Oxford Sciences Innovation

Oxford Sciences Innovation is an early-stage venture capital firm with over $800 millions in AUM based in Oxford, UK.[1] It operates in partnership with the University of Oxford, as the University's preferred investor, several prominent financiers back the firm, including Google Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, Huawei and Invesco.[2][3] The firm uses academic research from the university's science departments to form commercial businesses, also known as spin-outs.[4][5][6]

Oxford Sciences Innovation
TypeVenture Capital
IndustryVenture Capital
PredecessorIP Group
Headquarters
Oxford
,
UK
Key people
Charles R. Conn David Norwood
Websitewww.oxfordsciencesinnovation.com

Founding & Management

The company was founded in 2015 by David Norwood, who was previously the founder of the IP Group, which initially invested only in spinoffs from the university's Chemistry department.[7] Oxford Sciences Innovation initially raised £600m from investors, which included Lansdowne Partners and  Google Ventures.[8][9][10][11] Google Ventures partners Tom Hulme and Dr Krishna Yeshwant also joined OSI's advisory board, along with Google AI researcher Demis Hassabis, founder of DeepMind.[8][12]

Charles Conn, previously CEO of the Rhodes Trust, was appointed CEO in March 2019. Former Google CFO Patrick Pichette joined him as Board Director.[7]

Structure

OSI is structured differently from other venture capital firms, being an evergreen patient capital, privately held company and not bound by an LPA .[13][14][15] As such, the company holds long-term investments, pursuing a patient capital model. OSI differentiates itself from classic venture firms because of its relationship with the university.[16] Unlike most university-linked venture firms, Oxford University is a shareholder in the company, with OSI receiving half of the university's stake in the intellectual property of a spinout.[17]

OSI works with the University's technology transfer office, Oxford University Innovation, which helps manage the intellectual property and patent estate of the University.[18]

In July 2019, The company announced an investment from Chinese telecommunications company Huawei owns £4.1m in OSI shares (approximately 0.7% of the total fund).[19]

References
  1. "$474M Fund Will Support Oxford University Spinouts". TechCrunch. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  2. "Backing from Google Ventures drives Oxford Uni spinout fund past £300M target". FierceBiotech. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  3. https://www.ft.com/content/009252f0-db13-4a7f-bdd8-4e1cebbd939f
  4. "The Valley of Death: the students vying to be millionaires". The Telegraph. 18 March 2018. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  5. "UK universities getting better at commercialising research". www.newelectronics.co.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  6. "City tycoon Spencer backs £70m blood-testing start-up Osler". Sky News. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  7. "Oxford Sciences Innovation Plc appoints new CEO and Chairman; prepares for next phase of growth | University of Oxford". www.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  8. Burn-Callander, Rebecca (19 June 2015). "Google and Charles Dunstone back Oxford University spin-out fund". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  9. Matters, Business (13 June 2018). "Metaboards secures $5 million in funding led by Oxford Sciences Innovation". Business Matters. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  10. McKee, Selina (3 September 2018). "Evox raises £35m for exosome therapeutics". PharmaTimes. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  11. Ward, Andrew (10 May 2016). "Oxford biotech deals highlight stature of UK university spinouts". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  12. Price, Rob. "Google's European venture capital fund just made its second investment". Business Insider. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  13. "The missing ingredient in innovation: patience". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  14. Ahmed, Murad (1 November 2015). "Patient capital overtakes VC for UK tech groups". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  15. "Patient capital overtakes VC for UK tech groups". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  16. "Big deal: OSI grows to $730m - Global University Venturing". globaluniversityventuring.com. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  17. UK, Shona Ghosh, Business Insider. "An Oxford University artificial intelligence startup has raised £17 million to check code for errors". Business Insider. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  18. March 2019, Clare Sansom20. "Nurturing the next biotech generation". Chemistry World. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  19. Fildes, Nic (October 2019). "Huawei buys access to UK innovation with Oxford stake". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
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