The UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), managed by Future Planet Capital, has secured an additional £33.25m across three of its investment areas, taking total fund capacity to £150m. The Ministry of Defence has contributed £4m to the fund’s Defence thesis, the UK Space Agency £9.25m to its Space thesis, and the UK Atomic Energy Authority £20m to Fusion technologies.
For the defence supply chain, the significance extends beyond the headline figure. UKI2S operates as an evergreen seed fund specifically designed to back deep-tech spin-outs and early-stage companies at the point where private capital alone will not move. It has deployed £55.7m across 123 UK deep-tech companies to date, catalysing more than £1bn in follow-on private investment, a leverage ratio of approximately £18 of additional private capital for every £1 initially invested.
The MoD’s £4m Defence allocation directly supports the 2025 Defence Industrial Strategy’s focus on dual-use technology and UK industrial growth, making UKI2S one of the practical delivery mechanisms for the government’s stated ambition to build sovereign capability through the supply chain rather than solely through prime contractors. Recent investments including neuromorphic sensing company Optera demonstrate how early public capital is being used to pull dual-use, sovereign-relevant technologies into the UK ecosystem.
For businesses in or adjacent to the defence supply chain, UKI2S represents a route to early-stage capital that carries government validation alongside the investment. As UKI2S has demonstrated with its exit portfolio, that early backing creates companies with the credibility and capital base to scale into defence programmes and attract commercial acquirers.
Douglas Hansen-Luke, Executive Chairman of Future Planet Capital, was direct about the fund’s purpose: “UKI2S exists to take that risk: backing strategically important companies ahead of private markets and consistently crowding in substantial additional investment behind UK innovation.”
The fund is actively investing across defence, space, fusion, and adjacent deep-tech sectors. Early-stage UK companies developing sovereign capabilities in these areas can explore engagement via Future Planet Capital.
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Post written by: Vicky Maggiani
Vicky has worked in media for over 25 years and has a wealth of experience in editing and creating copy for a variety of sectors.
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