Seraphim Space Fund – A new Frontier
Seraphim Capital has reached a £50m first close to launch its pioneering new venture capital fund focused on space-related early stage technology businesses. The initiative is supported by the British Business Bank. Newable has invested £1m.
Seraphim Space Fund.
Seraphim Space is thought to be the world’s first venture fund to focus on space and is to be launched at a time of significant change within the sector. The Fund is aiming to build a portfolio of c.20 investments in early stage technology companies that have a ‘case for space’. The Fund will invest across the space enabled ecosystem (in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, nanomaterials and the Internet of Things), downstream space (typically software businesses that exploit space data) and upstream space (typically hardware where data is the real business). The space sector is a £12bn industry that has ambitious plans to triple in the next 15 years.
The Back Story.
Seraphim Space is a successor fund to the innovative Seraphim Enterprise Capital Fund created by Newable (then known as GLE) in 2006 also with government backing through the British Business Bank.
Building business confidence.
Seraphim Fund sits well with Newable’s mission to help businesses start up, sustain and scale as well as speaking to one of Newable’s core values – Dream Big.
Newable has committed an investment of £1m and Chris Manson, Newable’s CEO has been invited to join the fund’s Advisory Board. The role of the Advisory Board will be to provide general governance to the Fund. Advisory Board members will also engage with the companies in the Fund’s portfolio.
Newable is also well place to help the Government meet its objective to expand the UK’s space industry. Newable is a long term delivery partner of both DiT’s services promoting exporting and Innovate UK the government programme to help businesses commercialise innovative ideas.
Chris Manson commented, “We are thrilled to continue to support Seraphim Capital and their Space Fund. We’re really proud to see what our baby from 2006 has grown up and become. Newable is a champion of business growth. Our expertise is enabling and nurturing smaller businesses and this is the key objective of the Space Fund. We look forward to playing a full part in the success of the Fund and the companies in it.”