OSI returned to back its inaugural investment Oxford Flow, which develops actuated pressure valves for industrial pipelines including oil and gas.
Oxford Flow, a UK-based oil and gas flow control equipment spinout of University of Oxford, has secured £8.5m ($10.6m) in a round featuring the university, NS Energy reported yesterday.
University of Oxford was joined by its fellow existing investors, venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), fund management unit Parkwalk Advisors, part of commercialisation firm IP Group, and Oxford Investment Consultants.
Together, the existing shareholders contributed $7m. The remaining $3.6m was invested by GE Piping Systems, a subsidiary of fluid transfer systems producer Georg Fisher, along with private investor Nick Harbinson and unnamed institutional associates of investment group GK Goh.
Founded in 2015, Oxford Flow manufactures actuated valves to regulate pressure in pipes which transport gas or fluids for purposes such as oil and gas production.
The design is intended to be more compact than conventional alternatives, generating hydraulic force from within the valve’s body rather than from a standalone, mechanical gearbox.
The technology, which can be retrofitted on the client’s existing machinery, is currently undergoing field trials as part of multiple actuator flow applications.
Oxford Flow was the first spinout to be backed by OSI in 2015, when the fund supplied $1.2m.
Parkwalk then led the company’s $8.4m round in early 2018, investing alongside OSI and University of Oxford as well as trade organisation Institute of Mechanical Engineering, RT Capital Management, Thompson Taraz and private investor Simon Henry.
