Isis Innovation, the technology transfer office (TTO) of Oxford University, has closed its second fund.
Working in partnership with fund manager Parkwalk Advisors, the TTO closed the University of Oxford Isis Fund II at £2m ($3.1m), ahead of its original target of £1.5m.
Isis’ first fund, which closed at £1.25m, backed stroke-diagnostic spin-out Brainomix, life sciences firm Salunda, contactless sensor manufacturer Salunda, and online sentiment analysis firm TheySay.
The TTO is already making plans for a third fund with Parkwalk, due to launch sometime at the end of the year or start of 2016.
Linda Naylor, Isis Innovation’s executive director, said: “In 2014, Isis Innovation oversaw a record £2.6m in proof-of-concept funding flow into over twenty new Oxford technologies and ventures. The first University of Oxford Isis Fund was a cornerstone of this achievement, and we already have a pipeline of promising technologies which will apply to this second Fund over the coming year. These Funds will again play a critical role in providing finance so new companies are properly resourced for the initial stages of commercial product development.”
Moray Wright, CEO at Parkwalk Advisors, added: “These Funds provides private investors, particularly University of Oxford alumni and friends, with quite a unique chance to invest in early stage technology companies as they spin-out of the University. And as these companies become successful, investors in the funds also stand to gain from the tax reliefs offered under the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.”
