With strong investor interest, Creator Fund has already raised twice as much as its previous UK fund from 2022. It will hold a final close at the start of 2026.

After US technology giants announced investments in AI departments of UK universities last week, this further shows the growing global investor interest in European research. Creator Fund also capitalises on the global talent that moves to Europe to study: 71% of its UK startups were founded by a student from another country. It shows how Europe could be well positioned to capitalise on tightening US student immigration rules under Trump, as long as it remains open to talent. 

Creator Fund has a different type of VC model. It has built a presence across 24 universities in eight countries. At each campus, it recruits students who receive carried interest and identify the best founders around them. This allows them to find the most innovative research inside the lab and support PhD founders from the start. 

For centuries, European universities have been at the forefront of discovery. The Fund will back startups built on this breakthrough science. The first four investments include Ovo Labs, which allows older couples to have children by reversing the decline of the human egg, and Sphotonix, which uses precision lasers to engrave data into glass to provide secure storage.

The new fund was anchored by German next-generation asset manager Equation Capital and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (“EIFO”). They are joined by an investor base of 60+ Limited Partners.

Over the past 5 years, Creator Fund has backed 55 companies. These PhD founders have gone on to raise over $250 million in follow-on funding from the world’s top VC funds. Unusually for a pre-seed fund, Creator Fund has already had two exits returning capital to its earliest backers.

This includes the sale of Loci to Epic Games in May, which was first backed by Creator Fund in December 2021. Creator Fund found the Cambridge Computer Science thesis of a student called Jack Davis online. Jack had created an immersive world out of a Roger Federer tennis match, using a technique called neural rendering. Creator Fund worked with Jack to set up a business out of his research, bring in a co-founder from industry, and sell the company four years later. 

Creator Fund discovers opportunities beyond traditional Golden Triangle hotspots. In the UK, it has backed three companies out of Glasgow University, including robotic laboratory pioneer Chemify, which has gone on to raise over $45 million. One of the new fund’s first investments is in Southampton.

CEO Jamie Macfarlane said: “We should treat our universities less like museums and more like foundries. People across the world dream of coming to study in Europe. It’s where roboticists, computer scientists, and geneticists converge at the forefront of science. When we ask: how does Europe remain competitive on the world stage? The answer lies in our universities. Creator Fund helps turn scientific discovery into world-defining businesses.”

Mark Schmitz, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Equation Capital said: “Creator Fund has built one of the most powerful networks across leading European universities. Our fragmented innovation landscape requires professional, pan-European funding providers that can unlock and commercialise groundbreaking research. We are excited to anchor the Fund and support the team in their journey.”

Head of Fund Investments at EIFO, Christoph Junge said: “This partnership underscores our belief in the power of science-driven innovation and highlights the importance of empowering young founders to create breakthrough companies in Europe.”

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