Ahren Innovation Capital
Venture capitalCambridge, Cambridgeshire · Pre-Seed–Late Stage · 33 people tracked
Also known as AHREN INNOVATION CAPITAL LLP
Investment thesis
Ahren Innovation Capital seeks outsized returns by investing at the intersection of ground-breaking science and high-end technology, guided by an ambition to have a positive impact on the world. Its founding and science partners bring deep technical expertise and are actively involved across sourcing, deep-tech diligence, and portfolio support. The firm backs bold visions and dedicates resources such as a Commercial Engine and unicorn-founder advisors to help entrepreneurs succeed. It also cultivates strategic LP partnerships that give portfolio companies access to expertise, customers, and market reach, positioning major LPs as disruptors. Ahren emphasizes strong values and building trusted relationships with founders.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.
Team · 33 people
from the firm's website & curated & public directories
Founder mafia
3 people who came through Ahren Innovation Capital went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 29 of 40 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×14Deep Tech ×14Biotech ×13Healthtech ×7Hardware ×5Cleantech ×4Digital Health ×4Energy ×4
HQs:United Kingdom×6United States×5Germany×1Latvia×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 8 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×32 founders×13 founders×34+ founders×1
Investments · 40 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 12024 · 22022 · 12021 · 12018 · 12014 · 17 dated
Mogrify is a biotechnology company developing in vivo cellular reprogramming therapies, using its proprietary MOGRIFY and epiMOGRIFY platforms that apply transcriptomic and epigenetic data to identify transcription factor combinations for converting one cell type into another.
BiotechDeep TechHealthtech
Julian Gough(Co-founder)Owen Rackham(Co-founder)Jose Polo(Co-founder)Darrin M. Disley(CEO)
BoardJane Osbourn(Chair)
Co-investorsAstellas Venture Management LLC
Switchback Systems develops a benchtop DNA synthesis platform that combines onboard oligonucleotide synthesis and gene assembly, aimed at putting synthetic biology tools directly in scientists' hands.
BiotechDeep TechHardwareSan Francisco Bay Area, US
Co-investorsGENERAL INCEPTIONVertical Venture PartnersOMX Ventures
Zya develops naturally-derived enzymes that change how the body processes food after eating, aiming to improve nutrition without altering taste.
BiotechFoodTech
Joshua Sauer(Co-Founder & CEO)inNiels Wicke(Co-Founder & CSO)in
Co-investorsAstanor VenturesBetter VenturesBetter Ventures Central LlcCavallo VenturesSiddhi CapitalUnruly Capital
The company develops a 6-base sequencing platform (duet evoC) that simultaneously profiles methylation (5mC, 5hmC), genetic variants, and fragmentomics from a single cfDNA sample.
BiotechDeep TechHealthtechCambridge
Jason Mellad(Executive Officer, Director)Martin Murphy(Director)Bobby Yerramilli-Rao(Director)Somasundaram Subramaniam(Director)Timothy Rink(Director)Thomas Hulme(Director)
Board seatAlice Newcombe-EllisShankar Balasubramanian· per SEC Form D · $12.3M raise · filed May 2018
Co-investorsThird Point VenturesAhrenGV (Google Ventures)New Science VenturesSequoia Capital
Co-investorsPresence CapitalShasta Ventures
Early-stage drug discovery platform, acquired by Insmed
Aerones provides robotic inspection, cleaning, coating, and repair services for wind turbine blades.
Advanced ManufacturingCleantechClimate TechDeep TechEnergyRoboticsRiga, LV
Dainis Kruze(Founder/CEO)inJanis Putrams(Founder/CTO)inDAINIS KRUZE(Executive Officer, Director)JANIS PUTRAMS(Director)
BoardPHILIPP GOEHRE(Director)ANDRIS BERZINS(Director)
Co-investorsACTIVATE CAPITAL PARTNERSCarbonChange VenturesEvergy VenturesFranz Haniel & Cie. GmbHFuture Positive Capital+5 more
AI21 develops trustworthy artificial intelligence technology to enhance human productivity.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software
Ori Goshen(Co-CEO & Co-Founder)inProf. Yoav Shoham(Co-CEO & Co-Founder)Yoav Shoham(Founder)in
Co-investors8VCCoatue ManagementComcast VenturesFelicis VenturesIntel CapitalSamsung Next+4 more
Ambi Robotics builds AI-powered robotic systems for parcel sorting and warehouse operations, addressing supply chain and logistics challenges.
AI & Machine LearningLogistics & Supply ChainRobotics
Co-investorsBerkeley SkyDeck FundBow CapitalVertex Ventures
Bicycle Therapeutics develops precision-guided therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide (Bicycle) technology, designed to penetrate deep into tissues and target intractable solid tumor cancers.
BiotechHealthtechCambridge
GREGORY WINTER(Director)KEVIN LEE(Executive Officer, Director)inNIGEL CROCKETT(Executive Officer)inNICHOLAS KEEN(Executive Officer)SANTIAGO ARROYO(Executive Officer)inMICHAEL HANNAY(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsAstellas Venture Management LLCCambridge Innovation CapitalLongwood FundSR One Capital ManagementSV Health InvestorsVertex Ventures HC
Biomodal develops genomic and epigenomic sequencing technologies for life scientists and clinical researchers, enabling simultaneous analysis of genetic data and modified cytosine bases from a single DNA sample.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical DevicesCambridge, GB
BoardShankar BalasubramanianBobby Yerramilli-Rao
Co-investorsJIMCONew Science Ventures
Bitfount provides a federated learning and data science platform that enables organizations to run AI models, conduct analytics, and perform model training on private data without transferring it to third parties.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDigital HealthEnterprise SoftwareHealthtechLondon, GB
Co-investorsPace VenturesSpeedinvest
Cellarity develops medicines using artificial intelligence and single-cell biology to address disease at the cellular level rather than targeting individual disease markers.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechMedical Devices
Co-investorsFlagship PioneeringManta Ray Ventures
Constructive Bio is a biotechnology company that rewrites the genetic code to give cells access to non-canonical amino acid building blocks, expanding the range of proteins that can be designed, engineered, and manufactured.
BiotechDeep TechNew Materials
Jason Chin(Professor)
Co-investors+ND CapitalAmadeus Capital PartnersFine Structures VenturesGENERAL INCEPTIONLongeVCOMX Ventures+2 more
Edifice Health offers the Inflammatory Age test, a biomarker composite scoring system that measures and monitors a person's inflammatory and immune health for early detection and prevention of chronic disease.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDigital HealthHealthtechLongevitySan Mateo, US
David Furman, PhD(Co-Founder & Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board)Mark Davis, PhD(Co-Founder & Scientific Advisory Board Member)inWolfgang Daum(Executive Officer, Director)David Goldberg(CEO)inDavid Furman(Director)
BoardNaveen Krishnan(Director)
Co-investorsBetter Food VenturesJoyance PartnersPaladin Capital GroupSocial StartsLeaps by Bayer
Graphcore builds processor hardware and systems for machine intelligence and AI workloads.
AI & Machine LearningHardwareSemiconductors
Nigel Toon(Co-founder and Executive Chairman)inNick Bishop(Chief Financial Officer)Sally Doherty(Chief Marketing Officer)John Walsh(Chief Operating Officer)Marcus McElroy(General Manager)Helen Byrne(VP AI Technology)
Co-investorsAir Street CapitalBalderton CapitalBMW i VenturesBosch VenturesC4 VenturesDCVC (Data Collective)+9 more
Engineering cost-effective Direct Air Capture using natural processes to remove carbon dioxide.
Co-investorsAutodesk FoundationLowercarbon CapitalPrelude Ventures
Heirloom operates Direct Air Capture (DAC) facilities that use limestone and carbon mineralization technology to permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere at scale.
CleantechClimate TechDeep TechCalifornia, US
Shashank Samala(Founder & CEO)
Co-investorsBreakthrough Energy VenturesBreyer CapitalCarbon Removal PartnersFloating PointHAWKTAILIncite.org+4 more
Hiverge builds an AI discovery engine that uses multiple parallel agents to automatically write and optimise algorithms for critical optimisation problems, from speeding up AI model training to solving combinatorial optimisation tasks.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDeveloper ToolsCambridge, GB
Alhussein Fawzi(Founder)in
Co-investorsAlpha Intelligence CapitalFlying Fish VenturesVela Partners
Mentee Robotics designs and manufactures vertically integrated humanoid robots that combine proprietary hardware and AI software to perform tasks in households, warehouses, and manufacturing environments.
AI & Machine LearningHardwareRobotics
Co-investors10DSamsung Next
Micropsi Industries develops MIRAI, an AI-vision software that guides industrial robots to perform tasks in changing factory conditions, including handling reflective and transparent objects.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningRobotics
Ronnie Vuine(Founder)in
Co-investorsAsgard - human Capital for AIConvergeProject A VenturesVsquared VenturescoparionM Ventures+1 more
New Culture produces animal-free dairy cheese products, starting with mozzarella for pizzerias, using food science to replicate the taste, melt, and stretch of conventional cheese.
Climate TechFoodTech
Co-investorsAsymmetry VenturesBee PartnersGenoa VenturesS2G InvestmentsSynthesis Capital
Nu Quantum develops quantum networking solutions to enable commercial quantum computer scaling.
Deep TechHardwareQuantum ComputingCambridge, GB
Dr. Carmen Palacios-Berraquero(Founder and CEO)Carmen Palacios-Berraquero(Founder)in
Co-investors7percent VenturesAmadeus Capital PartnersEMV CapitalExpeditionsIQ CapitalMartlet Capital+4 more
Co-investorsBlue Wire Capital
Phaidra develops an AI control platform that uses reinforcement learning to optimize energy efficiency and operational performance in data centers and AI factories.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeep TechEnergySeattle, US
Jim Gao(Chief Executive Officer)inVeda Panneershelvam(Chief Technology Officer)inKatie Hoffman(President and Chief Operating Officer)inVedavyas Panneershelvam(Founder)in
Co-investorsCollaborative FundCool Climate CollectiveEast Valley VenturesFlying Fish VenturesIncubate USIndex Ventures+8 more
Pictura Bio develops a point-of-care diagnostics platform called VISTA that delivers laboratory-quality infectious disease test results in about a minute, aimed at frontline healthcare professionals in settings such as emergency departments.
BiotechDigital HealthMedical Devices
Co-investorsIQ Capital
Rubedo Life Sciences develops therapeutics targeting aging by eliminating senescent cells to extend human healthspan.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechLongevityMedical Devices
Co-investorsBeiersdorf Innovation FundCDP Venture CapitalEvolution VenturesKhosla VenturesLongeVCModi Ventures+1 more
Sunfire develops solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) and alkaline electrolysis (AEL) technologies for producing green hydrogen and synthetic fuels, serving the industrial decarbonization market globally.
Advanced ManufacturingCleantechEnergyHardwareDresden, DE
Carl Berninghausen(Founder, former CEO, Supervisory Board member)Christian von Olshausen(Founder)Nils Aldag(Founder, CEO)
Co-investorsEuropean Investment BankBlue Earth Capital AGInven Capital
Velocys licenses advanced Fischer-Tropsch reactor technology and catalysts for the commercial production of sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, and synthetic eFuels.
CleantechDeep TechEnergyAbingdon
Roy Lipski(Executive Officer, Director)Susan Robertson(Executive Officer, Director)Paul F. Schubert(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardPierre Jungels(Director)Jan Verloop(Director)Andrew Jamieson(Director)
Zapata Quantum is a publicly traded company (OTCQB: ZPTA) that develops quantum algorithms and applies agentic AI to automate quantum resource estimation workflows.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechQuantum ComputingCambridge, US
Christopher Savoie(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardReed Sturtevant(Director)inAlán Aspuru-Guzik(Director)Russ Wilcox(Director)
Co-investorsBosch VenturesComcast VenturesCXO FundPropagator VenturesRaptor GroupRobert Bosch Venture Capital+2 more
ZOE is a digital health company that uses continuous glucose monitoring and personalized nutrition science to help users make food choices aligned with their individual biology and optimize their metabolic health.
ConsumerDigital HealthHealthtechWellness & FitnessLondon</hq_city> <parameter name="hq_country">GB
Jonathan Wolf(Co-founder & CEO)Sarah Berry(Co-founder & Chief Scientist)
Co-investorsAccompliceAir Street CapitalBalderton CapitalMosaic Ventures
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Exits · 2
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioAdrestia Therapeuticsacq. by InsmedGraphcoreacq. by SoftBank Corp. Website
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesMentee Robotics · en.wowtale.net · Aug 25, 2026
Bicycle · ocregister.com · Aug 11, 2026
Graphcore · graphcore.ai · Jul 31, 2026
AI21 Labs · calcalistech.com · Jul 7, 2026
Rubedo Life Sciences · fightaging.org · Apr 8, 2026
Constructive Bio · nature.com · Oct 20, 2025
Phaidra · geekwire.com · Oct 1, 2025
Principals & officers · per Companies House
what is this? ⓘLLP designated member · since 2017
Corporate LLP designated member · since 2020
Corporate LLP member · since 2020
Corporate LLP member · since 2020
Alice Vanessa Ilse Newcombe-Ellis — 75–100% of voting rights, right to share surplus assets 75 to 100 percent limited liability partnership, right to appoint and remove members limited liability partnership
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Ahren Innovation Capital made?
- Ahren Innovation Capital has 23 tracked investments, 2 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO.
- What stage does Ahren Innovation Capital invest at?
- Ahren Innovation Capital invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth, Late Stage stages.
- What sectors does Ahren Innovation Capital focus on?
- Ahren Innovation Capital focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Climate Tech, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Energy, Enterprise Software, Hardware, Healthtech, IoT, Longevity, Quantum Computing, Robotics, SaaS, Space Tech.
- Where is Ahren Innovation Capital located?
- Ahren Innovation Capital is headquartered in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, GB.
- Does Ahren Innovation Capital lead rounds?
- Ahren Innovation Capital typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Ahren Innovation Capital co-invest with?
- Ahren Innovation Capital most often shares deals with Astellas Venture Management LLC, S2G Investments, 8VC, among 60 tracked co-investors.
Images
Co-investors · 12
Comcast Ventures is the venture capital arm of Comcast NBCUniversal, backing early- to growth-stage companies in sectors relevant to Comcast's future, and offering portfolio companies access to Comcast NBCUniversal's expertise, scale, network, and resources.
Pitango is a venture capital firm that has backed founders across multiple stages for decades, providing capital along with network access to customers, partners, and experienced leaders.
Morpheus Ventures is a venture capital fund that backs early-stage companies and supports founders through the challenges of scaling toward hyper-growth.
Moonstone invests in startups working to drive systemic change and build a more sustainable future by addressing challenges at their core, supporting up to 60 companies with a founder-friendly approach and active partnership model.
Alumni Ventures (AV) is a venture capital firm that co-invests alongside lead VCs in startups, backing founders with capital and access to a large investor and operator community.
SOSV is a deep tech venture capital firm that makes first-check pre-seed investments and follow-on rounds in startups focused on human and planetary health, providing lab space and hands-on support at its US locations.
Baruch Future Ventures is a climate-tech focused family investment firm that backs entrepreneurs building companies in the climate economy.
Refactor is a seed-stage venture firm run as a solo capitalist by Zal, backing founders building hard tech companies that address real-world problems.
Rembrandt Venture Partners (RVP) is a growth capital firm investing in emerging enterprise technology companies, bringing operational and venture experience to its portfolio.
Firms observed investing alongside Ahren Innovation Capital, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Ahren Innovation Capital's recorded portfolio.
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