Imperial College London has backed a $53.7m fund set up by incubator Entrepreneur First to support graduating startups.
Imperial College London has become a limited partner in a £40m ($53.7m) fund launched by incubator Entrepreneur First yesterday, according to TechCrunch.
The largest limited partner for the Next Stage Fund is UK state-owned economic development bank British Business Bank with a £26m commitment.
Freston Ventures, Isomer Capital, angel investors, family offices and funds have also contributed cash.
Entrepreneur First runs a six-month program that sets up teams, made up of recent graduates, with the aim of launching new companies at the end. The incubator held its sixth demo day in London yesterday with 21 new businesses.
The fund will provide a £70,000 loan note to graduating startups and aims to participate in follow-on seed and series A rounds. Entrepreneur First will not lead any rounds in order to avoid creating the impression that it is picking some startups over others.
The fund is expected to last until the tenth cohort, scheduled for September 2018.
The vehicle will be managed by general partners Joe White and Wendy Tan White alongside Entrepreneur First co-founders Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck.
Clifford has called Imperial College’s involvement a coup, stating that the incubator is more interested in attracting entrepreneurs than creating a deal flow.
