Select audience

Choose the option that best describes your role.

Search British Business Bank
Popular Search placeholder

British Business Bank makes £50 million cornerstone commitment to IQ Capital Fund V to back deeptech

Press release 20 January 2026

The British Business Bank commits up to £50 million to IQ Capital’s (IQC) Fund V. The Bank has made cornerstone commitments to all seven of IQC’s funds, the first of which was made to Fund I in 2006.

Founded in 2005, IQC is a UK-based early-stage deep tech venture capital firm based in London and Cambridge and supports companies from pre-seed through to the growth stages and has a track record of supporting over 250 deeptech founders.

The firm is built on the conviction that frontier technology will underpin the next generation of globally significant companies. IQC backs ambitious deep tech founders and supports them, with both capital and insights, at every stage on the journey from seed to scale up and exit.

The British Business Bank is the largest investor in UK venture and venture growth capital funds. By making cornerstone commitments, the Bank helps funds achieve a first close and provides a strong signal of confidence that helps to mobilise additional private sector capital.

The British Business Bank has a long-standing relationship with IQC, having made cornerstone commitments to its five flagship funds and its two growth strategy funds. In addition, the Bank has supported IQC by co-investing into four deeptech companies from its portfolio: Thought Machine, Paragraf, CyberSmart, and Cambridge GaN Devices.

IQC’s Fund V will continue its early-stage venture strategy, focusing on five key deep tech thematic areas: (i) AI & Automation, (ii) Computing & Semiconductors, (iii) Health & Bio, (iv) Advanced Engineering & Energy, and (v) Security & Resilience.  

Christine Hockley, Managing Director and Co-Head of Funds, British Business Bank, said,

We’re glad to expand our 20-year relationship with IQ Capital. The success of IQC perfectly demonstrates the long-term impact of the Bank’s fund commitments. We invested in their first fund, and the firm has steadily grown into the recognised and respected name it is today. This is why we consistently act as an anchor investor to UK venture capital firms, allowing new funds to get off the ground and helping to create a thriving venture landscape in the long run. It’s exciting to think that the first-time fund managers we back today could become the IQ Capitals of tomorrow.

Chris Smart, Investment Director, Funds, British Business Bank, said, 

IQ Capital has built a strong track record of identifying early-stage deep tech opportunities and supporting companies through critical stages of growth. Our continued support reflects both the strength of their investment approach and the role these companies play in building the UK’s technology market.

Max Bautin, Managing Partner, IQ Capital, said, 

The Bank has been a key partner in IQ Capital’s successful growth from a start-up to £1B AUM, and we are grateful for their support over the past 20 years. The Bank’s investments into our funds have been transformative for IQ Capital and the hundreds of deeptech founders we’ve backed. This continued partnership enables us to support the next generation of ambitious founders as they build globally significant companies.

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact mediaenquiries@british-business-bank.co.uk.

Notes to editors

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK.

In doing so, we help capture the economic value of innovation for the UK and create jobs and prosperity for people across the country.

The British Business Bank’s core programmes support £23bn 1  of finance to almost 64,000 2  smaller businesses.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. With the exception of BBB Investment Services Limited they are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority. BBB Investment Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at british-business-bank.co.uk.

The above transaction is operated by British Patient Capital Limited, a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc.

British Patient Capital Limited is registered in England and Wales with company number 11271076, and registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. British Patient Capital makes commitments and invests on its own behalf and on behalf of third-party investors whose investments British Patient Capital manages.

The transaction described above does not constitute or imply any endorsement, warranty or recommendation by the UK government, the British Business Bank plc, its subsidiaries or any other party in respect of IQ Capital or its products or services.

About IQ Capital

IQ Capital is a dedicated European deep tech venture capital firm, built on the conviction that frontier technology will underpin the next generation of globally significant companies advancing intelligence, reinventing energy, accelerating computation, decoding biology, and building resilience.

Since 2005, IQC has partnered with over 250 of Europe’s most ambitious deep tech founders, supporting them to iterate towards product-market fit, reach technical and commercial inflection points, and develop compelling narratives about why their technology and products matter.  

We lead rounds at pre-Seed to Series A and with our growth opportunity funds can follow-on with up to $40m. Over six fund cycles, our team has supported founders through to acquisition by some of the world's largest technology companies, including Apple, Meta, Google, Siemens, Qualcomm, and Oracle.

Quick links

Latest news