Old College Capital

Old College Capital (OCC) is the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture investment fund, founded in 2011 and operated as part of Edinburgh Innovations, the University's commercialisation service. OCC invests in high-growth, early-stage spinouts and startups associated with the University — either founded on University IP or by current students or staff — from pre-seed to Series A stages, typically writing cheques of £50K–£250K. It follows a co-investment model, partnering with experienced private sector investors, and has relationships with over 150 investors. OCC does not charge arrangement, research, or ongoing monitoring fees, and reinvests its returns to support successive generations of companies. Its portfolio spans deep tech broadly, including AI, cleantech, agtech, biotech, medtech, and therapeutics, with over 100 companies backed to date. Founders seeking investment should contact the team directly at investment@ei.ed.ac.uk; there is no formal open application portal.