Are you a founder looking for SEIS investment? Finding the funds that are actually active, and actually a fit, takes longer than it should.
Here are the most active SEIS funds in the UK for early-stage companies, followed by the pre-seed funds that write the earliest institutional cheques.
SEIS is being used more than ever. In the 2024–25 tax year, 2,430 companies raised £276m under SEIS, up 14% on the year before, according to
HMRC. We break those figures down in
SEIS statistics 2026: what HMRC’s latest figures mean for founders. Every fund below has been checked for recent investment activity.
Last checked: September 2026.
Fuel Ventures
Technology with early traction · SEIS fund, EIS fund and VCT · Up to £250k at pre-seed
Fuel Ventures is a
venture capital firm running a SEIS fund, an EIS fund and a VCT. Its SEIS fund is open and aims to back 20 to 30 companies a year with cheques of up to £250,000, then follows on through EIS at seed, typically £1m to £3m. It deployed £5m of SEIS money in the 2024–25 tax year.
Recent deals include Deaku, whose
£480,000 pre-seed round Fuel led in March 2026. Founders can submit a pitch through its website.
Oxford Technology
Science-led technology · In and around Oxford · Combined SEIS and EIS · Up to £150k
Oxford Technology runs a three-year combined SEIS and EIS fund, investing up to £150,000 at SEIS stage and up to £300,000 in EIS follow-on rounds. It backs science-led companies in and around Oxford that incorporate, in its own words, “genuinely novel science or technology”.
Companies added to the portfolio in 2026 include BeyondFence, Neurolase and Navyra, alongside longer-standing holdings such as Entia and Expend. Founders apply by email to
otseis@oxfordtechnology.com.
SFC Capital
Generalist · SEIS fund, EIS fund and angel network · £100k–£300k
SFC Capital has backed more than 600 companies since 2012, manages over £160m, and describes itself as one of the most active seed investors in the UK. It runs a SEIS fund, an EIS fund and an angel network, so a founder can be matched to whichever vehicle fits the round. It typically invests £100,000 to £300,000.
Recent investments include
Pontiro (£360,000) and Matresa (£315,000) in February 2026. Founders can
apply on its website.
What sets it apart is the length of the relationship. SFC backs companies from the first SEIS round through to exit, which means it has a reason to keep helping long after the money has landed.
Mercia Asset Management
Technology · Midlands, the North and Scotland · EIS and SEIS funds · £150k–£2m
Mercia Asset Management is a regional
venture investor focused on the Midlands, the North and Scotland. Its EIS and SEIS funds invest from around £150,000 up to £2m, and it is one of the longest-standing managers in the market.
Most of its recent activity is at
seed stage and beyond rather than in SEIS-sized first rounds, so it is often a better fit for your next round than your first. Founders can
apply online.
Symvan Capital
B2B software and AI · Symvan Technology SEIS Fund 3
Symvan Capital is a venture capital firm focused on software companies selling to business customers, and increasingly on AI. Its current SEIS vehicle, the Symvan Technology SEIS Fund 3, is open and backs five or six companies per fund. Recent investments include TIKOS, announced in February 2026. Founders can
apply on its website.
Jenson Ventures
Tech-enabled, all sectors · SEIS and EIS · Running since 2012
Jenson Ventures, formerly Jenson Funding Partners, invests in SEIS-eligible startups, with a focus on tech-enabled businesses across every sector. It is one of the longest-running SEIS funds, established in 2012, and reports more than 165 investments and 12 exits. It backs eight to twelve companies a year, investing up to £250,000 through its SEIS fund, released in tranches, with EIS follow-on of up to £500,000.
Recent deals include
YAi (£250,000 SEIS, March 2025) and Astratus (May 2026). Founders can
apply for funding on its website.
Guinness Ventures
New in 2026 · Guinness Founders SEIS · £100k–£250k
Guinness Ventures launched the Guinness Founders SEIS in early 2026, alongside its EIS and VCT funds. It sits inside Guinness Global Investors, which manages around £8 billion with a team of more than eighty. The SEIS fund invests £100,000 to £250,000 per company and is built from deal flow introduced by its own network of company founders.
The fund has now closed to new investors and is deploying during the 2026–27 tax year, so it is looking at companies now. As a new fund, it has no SEIS track record yet. Founders can
apply on its website.
Haatch
B2B SaaS · SEIS and EIS funds · Around £335k at pre-seed
Haatch is an operator-led investor focused on B2B software. It invests around £335,000 at pre-seed and up to £1m at seed, and looks for companies with contracts worth at least £12,000 a year. It says it can move from first meeting to investment committee in around 15 days.
Recent deals include Kinematic Trees, which
raised £585,000 through the Haatch SEIS Fund in July 2026.
Ascension
Generalist · SEIS, EIS and impact EIS funds · £150k–£850k
Ascension is a pre-seed and seed investor running SEIS, EIS and impact EIS funds. It backs around 25 new companies a year with cheques from £150,000 to £850,000, and commits to replying to founders within a week.
Recent deals include Voxmind, whose
£546,000 pre-seed round Ascension led in May 2026.
OnePlanetCapital
Climate tech · Climate Change SEIS Fund · £25k–£500k
OnePlanetCapital runs a SEIS fund dedicated to climate tech, launched in April 2024. It aims to back 10 to 20 companies a year with £25,000 to £500,000, and
backed 16 companies in 2024. Founders can
apply on its website.
Pre-seed funds: the first institutional cheque
Everything above is a SEIS fund, which means the individual investors behind it claim SEIS relief on what they put in. The funds below are not. They invest institutional money, so there is no SEIS relief for their own investors – but they write the earliest cheques into UK companies, often alongside a SEIS round, and at this stage they are worth talking to for the same reason.
Octopus Ventures (pre-seed)
Software, fintech, health and deep tech · Idea and pre-product stage
Octopus Ventures, one of the most active early-stage investors in Europe, has a dedicated pre-seed team that writes the first institutional cheque into UK companies at idea and pre-product stage. It also runs a separate pre-seed fund for deep tech.
The draw for a founder is what sits behind it: the wider Octopus platform can keep following on through
Series A and beyond, so an early cheque is not a one-off.
Alator Capital
AI, fintech, proptech and consumer · Fundraising advisory · Our sister company
Alator Capital is Entrepreneurs Collective’s sister company, so treat this entry as the disclosure it is. It works with companies at the intersection of technology and a handful of verticals – AI, fintech, proptech and contech, consumer and commerce – and its team is made up of investors and operators rather than pure financiers.
It is not a fund. Alator runs raises on behalf of founders, building long-term relationships with management teams instead of taking a position and waiting. That makes it the right call at a different moment from the funds above: when the round has outgrown SEIS scale and needs a structured process across VCs, family offices and institutions.
Want to meet SEIS investors?
Entrepreneurs Collective is a community of over 10,000 tech founders and investors. Our events regularly feature investors from the funds on this page – judging our pitch competitions, speaking on our panels, or simply in the room at our lunches.
If you are raising a SEIS round now, the fastest way to get in front of them is to pitch at one of our events.
