Investor profile
Imperial College Enterprise Funds
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Imperial College Enterprise Funds (ICEF) offer alumni and individual investors an opportunity to invest in companies based on the remarkable research undertaken at Imperial College London through an early-stage, tax-efficient EIS vehicle. First launched in 2020 and managed by Parkwalk Advisors, ICEF makes seed investments in early-stage, high-growth, research-intensive businesses that have emerged from Imperial's enterprising ecosystem — including spinouts based directly on academic research and deep science businesses developed by students. The fund targets companies across sectors of particular strength at Imperial, including healthcare, renewable energy, decarbonisation, clean water and nutrition. Imperial Enterprise acts as advisor, sourcing and evaluating opportunities from Imperial's ecosystem, while Parkwalk's Investment Committee makes final investment decisions. The fund aims to create a strong pipeline for larger follow-on investors and expects returns over a five-to-ten-year horizon.
Notable quotes
“Young companies can come to us, at any point in their planning, and say: we've got an idea and we need half a million pounds or a million pounds to implement it. If the committee likes the idea, it can give them some of that money, and we can help them find the rest.”
“We are used to fitting in with university timelines. We expect the fund to get a return in five to seven years, but we also realise that it might take ten years or more.”
“We are pleased to launch the third fund with the team at Imperial College Enterprise, which has an innovative ecosystem of deep science and technology businesses. With our expertise in scaling and commercialising early-stage university spinouts, and Imperial's impressive global top-10 position in R&D, we are excited to be supporting the next wave of entrepreneurs.”
Recent investments
| Company | Round | Size | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GripAble | Seed | $1m | 2021-02 |
| Charco Neurotech | Seed | $630k | 2021 |
| Cheesecake Energy | Seed | $1m | 2021-09 |
| NK:IO | Seed | $2m | 2023-07 |
| OSSTEC | Seed | $2m | 2023-03 |
| Koalaa | Seed | $1m | 2023 |
| SERG Technologies | Seed | $2m | 2022 |
| Bumblebee Power | Seed | $950k | 2022 |
| MintNeuro | Seed | — | 2024 |
| FreshCheck | Seed | $790k | 2021 |
Frequent co-investors
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