What is an SEIS fund?
SEIS, which stands for Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, is a tax-efficient fundraising programme run by the UK government. It’s designed to help early-stage companies attract investors by offering generous tax reliefs. An SEIS fund is a venture capital fund dedicated to investing in startups through SEIS.
Before approaching SEIS funds, you might want to apply for Advance Assurance from HMRC. Advance Assurance shows potential investors that, by financing your company, they could be eligible for SEIS tax relief.
Pre-seed and seed funding
If SEIS is on your radar, you’re probably preparing to raise pre-seed or seed funding. In 2023, we spoke to European VC Reshma Sohoni about recent market trends and what investors expect of startups at this stage.
In Reshma's experience, pre-seed is the “round of hopes and dreams”, while seed is “probably the most challenging and precarious stage. It’s the point at which you need to start showing product-market fit, gain some traction and prove you can hire brilliant talent while setting up a sustainable organisation”.
Read the full interview for insights on the typical seed round size, how to stand out from competitors and why timing is so important.
SEIS funds in the UK
There are many pre-seed and seed SEIS investment funds in the UK. Below we’ve listed some of the most reputable and active ones (in alphabetical order).
Accel is a global venture capital firm that takes exceptional teams from seed to IPO. The fund invests in B2C and B2B companies across a wide range of sectors – from media and ecommerce to SaaS, security and infrastructure.
Anthemis is a venture capital firm that supports pre-seed startups, growth stage companies and everything in between. It aims to create a more accessible, transparent and equitable financial ecosystem. Check out Anthemis’s pitching guidelines.
Ascension empowers the UK’s leading tech innovators to turn visionary ideas into impactful businesses. Having worked with over 150 startups, Ascension is one of the most active impact investors in the UK and was named ‘ Seed VC of the Year’ in 2022.
Balderton Capital has spent over two decades supporting hundreds of Europe’s best founders. Driven by a powerful community and an emphasis on founder wellbeing, Balderton is a well-trusted partner for entrepreneurs.
Concept Ventures is the UK’s largest pre-seed fund, offering first cheques of up to £750k. In order to be founder-first partners, the Concept team strives to create a flexible and transparent investment process for everyone involved.
Connect Ventures invests in opinionated products, writing cheques from $150,000 to $3 million. The fund operates with a partner-only investment team and has been financing pre-seed and seed-stage companies since 2012.
Crane Venture Partners helps early-stage founders take flight by providing capital for data-first SaaS businesses that are building open source tools and infrastructure.
Deepbridge Capital seeks to help companies achieve their full potential through a combination of financial support, mentoring and management. Deepbridge invests in technology, life sciences and renewable energy startups that qualify for SEIS or the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).
Episode 1 builds early relationships with founders with the aim of engaging them over the long term. The fund focuses on the ‘zero-to-one’ journey, helping B2B software companies progress from pre-seed and seed to Series A.
Frontline Ventures works with globally ambitious B2B companies on both sides of the Atlantic. The Frontline Seed fund is designed to help startups get to Series A and boasts one of the best graduation rates in Europe.
Fuel Ventures offers between £250,000 and £3 million of funding for tech startups with early commercial traction. After launching its SEIS fund in 2020, Fuel Ventures won ‘Best SEIS Investment Manager’ at the 2023 Growth Investor Awards.
Guinness Ventures has been investing in early-stage businesses across different industries since 2010. The team looks for opportunities with proven business models in developing markets.
Haatch aims to propel pre-seed B2B SaaS companies towards their first million in ARR. As an innovative fund, it seeks high-impact businesses that are addressing significant pain points. Pitch now to Haatch’s investment team.
Nauta Capital invests in early-stage B2B software to help founders reach new horizons. The fund looks for capital-efficient disruptors in Europe, partnering with entrepreneurs from seed and Series A.
Northzone is a multi-stage venture capital fund for US and European businesses. Since 1996, the Northzone team has focused on fuelling innovation and becoming a committed partner to founders and investors alike.
SFC Capital is an active UK investor operating a leading SEIS fund. To date, SFC has committed more than £100m to over 400 British startups that are driving innovation from the earliest stage.
SuperSeed Ventures backs early-stage technical teams using AI in a range of industries (including manufacturing, logistics, aerospace, agriculture, healthcare, energy and finance).
Sustainable Ventures is a fund for SEIS-qualifying climate tech startups with the potential to deliver impact at scale. The team works closely with its portfolio over a 12-month period to accelerate growth and facilitate further investments. Apply for funding from Sustainable Ventures.
TrueSight is an early-stage investor focused on primary and follow-on funding in Sweden and the UK. The fund covers a wide range of industries, from AI and healthcare to financial services and energy.
Vala Capital provides pre-seed, seed and Series A investments for tech, food and beverage and travel and leisure companies, as well as startups finding sustainable solutions to life’s challenges.
Fundraising resources
Below are some of the most popular Carta resources for early-stage companies. For more information on SEIS and EIS, explore our full collection of UK fundraising articles.
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