Octopus Ventures

Over nearly two decades, Erin Platts has worked at the beating heart of the UK and European tech ecosystem. She’s a committed advocate for UK and European tech, and joined us this month as CEO of Octopus Ventures. We sat down with Erin to hear some reflections on her career journey so far – what she's learned and why she remains very excited about the future. A huge welcome to Erin! You can read more here: https://lnkd.in/dt8iVwcf

When Magic Circle lawyers Nnamdi Emelifeonwu and Feargus M. set out to develop a tool to make life easier for visually impaired lawyers, they quickly realised it had far wider-reaching applications. Learn more about Nnamdi, Feargus and the Definely story in our latest video. Click through to watch. https://lnkd.in/dx3Ufzeq

Fancy a taste of life at Octopus? We’re looking for a talented, results-focused marketing and communications professional to join our team for 12 months. If you’re passionate about helping us to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world, then apply today through the below link. We’re looking forward to hearing from you! https://bit.ly/3EwV1nk

Last week, The Rt Hon. the Lord Mayor Alastair King, and organisers WCIT Entrepreneurship Panel, hosted a groundbreaking event at Mansion House. Pioneering start-ups were brought together with figures from the City of London. The objective? Driving the adoption of technologies that give us in the UK a competitive advantage. We were proud to attend along with three of our portfolio companies, who showcased their revolutionary solutions for an audience of 200 potential customers and investors. Fayola-Maria Jack, PC.dp., FWCC, MCIPS, MBA, PhDc, CEO of Resolutiion ®, William Tunstall-Pedoe FREng, founder and CEO of UnlikelyAI and Nnamdi Emelifeonwu, co-founder and CEO of Definely took the stage to tell their stories. Huge congratulations to our founders for their participation – and our thanks again to The Rt Hon. the Lord Mayor Alastair King and WCIT. Technology holds the power to shape the future, and these events are instrumental in unleashing it

Welcome to Octopus Ventures Hitesh Sanganee Hitesh joins from AstraZeneca where he held the position of Executive Director and Global Head of Emerging Innovations. In his role as Venture Partner, he’ll be supporting our Biotech team and portfolio companies. With decades of experience in life sciences and biotech, and a longstanding commitment to supporting the next generation of start-up founders, he has a huge amount to offer our burgeoning Biotech portfolio – we can’t wait for him to get started. https://lnkd.in/dz7ceBKb

US expansion can transform a business - but what does it take? We welcomed two experts in US fundraising and expansion to share their insights with our portfolio company founders. In her latest blog, Laura C. Willming unpacks their advice and shares their top tips on: ❓When ❓Why ❓And how to expand into the US market Featuring insights from Matt Oxley, co-founder at Opal and US expansion and scale up advisor, and Daniel Glazer, London-based partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and a specialist in helping UK/European start-ups raise and grow in the US, catch up with Laura’s latest blog here: https://lnkd.in/dAHvh3xW #usexpansion #venturecapital

We had a fantastic morning at Westminster yesterday, connecting some of the talented and innovative founders we’ve backed with Members of Parliament.  Kindly hosted by Callum Anderson MP, some of our portfolio companies discussed how they’ve grown their businesses to date, and how we can all work together to ensure funding continues to flow to the UK’s talented entrepreneurs. Many thanks to ExpressionEdits, Quantum Motion, Big Health, and Orbex for their time and for sharing their insights. 

Welcoming Maria Callaway to Octopus Ventures! We’re delighted to have Maria joining our colleagues, putting her experience to work finding and backing the B2B SaaS businesses of tomorrow. https://lnkd.in/dxanh5Zv

For too long, post-viral and energy-limiting conditions have been treated as ‘invisible’. But founders Harry Leeming and Luke Martin-Fuller are on a mission to change this. They founded Visible to shine a light on overlooked, life limiting conditions – and give the millions living with them a tool to manage their symptoms and energy. Click the link in comments to learn more about their mission, and what Octopus Ventures is doing to support them.

Many congratulations to Orbex on their Series D fundraising! We've been backing them since 2020, and always knew they would go on to achieve great things. It's exciting to be investing alongside the UK Government as they make this incredible commitment to the UK space industry - a testament to the Orbex team's hard work. 🚀