British Business Bank commits £10m to Odyssey Ventures to back the UK’s boldest AI and deeptech founders go global
The British Business Bank today announces a £10m commitment to Odyssey Ventures, the transatlantic venture capital firm investing in AI and deeptech. The commitment is to invest alongside its early-stage fund, Odyssey Discovery I, and is made through the Bank’s Regional Angels Programme. This investment reinforces Odyssey’s mission to back the UK’s boldest founders and help them build global category leaders from day one.
The Regional Angels Programme was launched in 2019 with the objective of addressing imbalances in access to early-stage equity finance. The programme targets angel networks and other early-stage investors, helping to enhance access to capital for early-stage businesses across diverse sectors.
Odyssey Discovery I is a $50m seed and pre-seed fund focused on UK founders building at the intersection of AI and deeptech — across applied AI and automation, energy and sustainable industry, and human and planetary health. The fund is now 50% closed with investments from Thema and other blue chip LPs, and is on track for a final close after the summer.
The UK leads Europe in AI and deeptech entrepreneurship, yet many high-potential founders are outpaced by better-capitalised US competitors. UK and European early-stage businesses typically attract valuations significantly below US peers, while Europe’s funding gap exceeded $375bn between 2015 and 2024. Odyssey was established to address this challenge by helping ambitious UK founders scale internationally from day one through seed capital, US market access and hands-on operational support.
Odyssey is led by former founder-operators Ali Mitchell and Michelle Robson, who together have backed five unicorns and many more valued above $500m. Fewer than 8% of UK and European VCs are run by founder-operators, yet operator-led funds deliver exits at 1.6x higher multiples — a structural advantage Odyssey brings to a new generation of UK founders.
Mark Barry, senior investment director at the British Business Bank, said: “We are pleased to commit £10m to Odyssey Ventures. The Odyssey team have built a differentiated fund designed to help ambitious UK AI and Deeptech founders access the capital, market connectivity and operator-led support needed to scale internationally. By combining institutional seed capital with strong San Francisco links, Odyssey is helping convert UK innovation into globally competitive businesses. This commitment will help ensure the UK’s most promising founders have the backing required to build category-leading companies from a UK base.”
Ali Mitchell, managing partner at Odyssey Ventures, added: “The British Business Bank has been an exceptional partner from the outset, and this commitment is a powerful endorsement of Odyssey’s strategy. The UK is producing some of the world’s most extraordinary AI and deeptech founders, but too many lose ground to better-capitalised US competitors before they have the chance to compete. Odyssey was built to close that gap — taking the boldest UK founders global from day one with the capital, customers and operating support they need to win. The Bank’s backing comes at a critical moment, as the UK has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build the next wave of category-defining AI and deeptech companies. We are proud to have the British Business Bank alongside us on that journey.”