Luminous Ventures is a London-based VC fund investing in Deep Tech at Seed and Series A in Europe and North America. Luminous backs founders with a vision to significantly change the world with breakthrough technologies and applied science. Some of these technologies are unfolding now; others will take a decade or more to develop.
In particular, Luminous invests at the intersection of deep technology and human health, believing that the best returns will be delivered from the application of artificial intelligence (AI), VR, AR, edge computing, robotics, quantum technologies and synthetic biology to healthcare, life science, nutrition, food and agriculture.
Luminous has invested in 14 companies developing game-changing technologies, with many emerging from top university ecosystems such as Oxford, Imperial and UCL. Companies include Synthace, developing a revolutionary new operating system for laboratories; Hadean, building a new high-performance operating system for the cloud; Optellum, developing an AI-based diagnostic for lung cancer; Vital Biosciences, designing a new generation of tools to empower individuals in monitoring their health and managing disease; and Ellipsis Health, a new AI-based diagnostic for mental health. Luminous Ventures spun out of White Cloud Capital in 2018.
Luminous shares boards and has co-invested alongside leading investors such as Khosla, Draper Esprit, Iconiq, Hoxton Ventures, Speedinvest, Inovia, Horizons Ventures, Sofinnova, OSI and IQ Capital.
Luminous prides itself on working incredibly closely with founders and there are a number of examples where Luminous’ deep involvement has significantly helped the founders on their journey. Isabel Fox, founder of Luminous, applies her lengthy Silicon Valley experience and network to help founders across go-to-market strategy, commercial partners, PR and hiring. Lomax Ward, her co-founder, applies his later stage growth capital investing experience to add value to the founders as they scale operations, as well as having a deep understanding and value add on IP, regulation and commercial contracting, based on his legal background. Luminous also has a strong team of scientists, operators and investors who all add their valued insight to the founders.
Luminous Ventures illuminates European deep tech and dares to invest where others don’t.