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Turning breakthroughs into outsized returns

Building the VC we wish we had as founders

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    Total capital raised

    £53m+

    Capital deployed

    £25m+

    Deep Tech focus

    100%

    Portfolio companies

    16
    SCVC Icon

    SCVC

    Early-stage investment for Deep Tech startups — by founders, for founders

    SCVC is an award-winning Deep Tech VC specialised in early-stage UK companies.

    Led by exited founders with deep technical expertise, we draw on our lived experience to understand what makes a core technology revolutionary and how to help founders harness its potential.

    We back founders who, like us, want to change the world through advanced technologies, from biotech to quantum.

    We support Deep Tech startups with investment from pre-seed to series A and apply our ‘technology-product fit’ model to guide teams through technical and commercial de-risking.

    What is Deep Tech?

    Deep Tech refers to innovations rooted in significant breakthroughs in science and engineering.

    Unlike regular ‘tech’, these technologies are often built upon years — even decades — of research and development, using intellectual property and proprietary technology to tackle global challenges.

    Rather than small incremental improvements, Deep Tech companies create transformative category-defining solutions with a long-term focus, in fields like AI, quantum, synthetic biology and advanced materials.

    Why Deep Tech?

    Deep Tech doesn’t just solve big problems — it builds the next giants.

    Backed by IP, not just hype, these companies are uniquely positioned to generate category-defining returns by creating entirely new markets and technologies.

    We believe this is where the next generation of $10B+ companies will come from — and therefore where early-stage investors will see the greatest upside.

    Our focus

    We invest in founders developing breakthrough technologies that we believe can deliver outsized returns.

    Our exclusive focus on Deep Tech reflects our conviction that this is where the next generation of market leaders — and the most substantial value creation — will occur.

    From proprietary IP to untapped markets, we support companies with the potential to redefine sectors and dominate new categories.

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    Our portfolio

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    Quantum/AI
    Biotech
    Biotech
    Materials
    Biotech
    Biotech
    Engineering
    Biotech
    Biotech
    Engineering
    Biotech
    Biotech
    Biotech
    Quantum/AI
    Engineering
    Leading the sustainable materials revolution

    Kelpi is tackling plastic pollution by developing sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic packaging. It uses seaweed to create a unique bioplastic coating that provides a world-leading water barrier for new-generation packaging while being recyclable, biodegradable, and low carbon. By working with major food and drink, cosmetics and home care brands, Kelpi is already reducing reliance on fossil-fuel plastics and paving the way for a greener future in these industries.

    Leveraging gravity to see the unseen

    Delta.g is harnessing the power of gravity and quantum technology to improve navigation and transport conditions. Its portable gravity gradient sensing capability accurately detects ‘buried’ features below surfaces from their gravity profile alone. This world-first offers a cost-effective technique for measuring previously impossible environments, unhindered by noise sources.

    Developing the Gentrafix platform technology to revolutionise gene therapy

    Bitrobius Genetics is transforming the treatment of genetic diseases by intercellular transmission of DNA. Its Gentrafix™ platform technology overcomes a major challenge in gene therapy - ensuring therapeutic genes reach the majority of cells in an affected area - by generating plasmids that can replicate, spread and carry genes within human cells. This paves the way for more cost-effective manufacturing of potential cures, addressing the limited number of gene therapies currently available on the market, which are among the most expensive medicines in history.

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    Our goal

    Backing companies at the earliest stageto deliver the biggest outcomes

    For Founders

    Building the VC we wish we had as founders

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    For Investors

    Turning breakthroughs into outsized returns

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    SCVC team

    Harry Destecroix

    Founder & Managing Partner

    Harry is the Founder of the Science Creates ecosystem, Founder & Managing Partner of SCVC, and Trustee of Science Creates Outreach. He founded his first company, Ziylo, in 2014 during his chemistry PhD. As CEO, he led Ziylo to acquisition in 2018 in a deal worth up to $800m. Three years prior, Harry built Bristol’s first Deep Tech incubator (thus founding Science Creates) after identifying the need for specialised lab space for startups in Bristol. In 2020, he founded SCVC, Science Creates’ VC arm, to back category-defining Deep Tech companies in the UK.

    Harry’s work has been recognised multiple times, winning the 2023 RSC award for Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year and Barclays’ Icon of the Year entrepreneurship award in 2021. In 2025, Harry was awarded an MBE in the King’s 2025 New Year Honours List for his services to science.

    John Williams

    General Partner

    John is a self-taught software engineer turned Deep Tech entrepreneur. As Co-Founder and CTO of Kudan Inc, he pioneered computer-vision based augmented reality in 2011, responsible for some of the most popular apps and games of the era and building the largest full-stack AR developer ecosystem. He was instrumental in pushing early deep learning into computer vision, which in 2014 led to Kudan moving deeper than AR to create Artificial Perception – an advanced form of AI used by autonomous robots and vehicles to understand and interact with the world around them. Kudan enjoyed a spectacular IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2018, going on to exceed a $1bn market cap. John was involved in Kudan’s corporate venture capital and oversaw Kudan’s acquisition of VC-backed Artisense GmbH, a Deep Tech AI spinout from Technical University of Munich.

    Catherine Fletcher

    General Partner

    Cath joined SCVC at its inception, leveraging her scientific expertise to transition from academic research to a leadership role in venture capital. Since helping to found SCVC, she has developed and implemented all key investment and portfolio management processes. Cath manages SCVC’s deal and fund structures, executing over 30 deals in the last 3 years and establishing SCVC Fund 2 with a novel structure. She also directs SCVC’s contributions to Science Creates' national accelerator programmes and provides mentorship within the Science Creates ecosystem. She has a PhD in Supramolecular Chemistry from the University of Bristol and has completed a number of Post-Doctoral positions across Imperial, Southampton & Queen Mary Universities.

    Laura Davies

    Principal

    Laura is a Principal at SCVC, where she invests in early-stage Deep Tech companies and is Investor Director on the board of SCVC portfolio companies.

    Laura has broad experience across the life sciences. She is a Biochemist with seven years research experience across industry and university settings, holding Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford. Her research experience includes three years at TCR T-cell therapy biotech Adaptimmune.

    Before joining SCVC in 2021, Laura worked at BBSRC-UKRI developing funding programmes to support the commercialisation of academic research.

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    Public Event
    22 Jul 2025
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    Our EngBio Roadshow in partnership with URKI is coming back to London

    Public Event
    23 Jul 2025
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    Arrow Right Corner

    Our EngBio Roadshow in partnership with URKI is coming to Glasgow for the first time

    Knowledge Hub

    Latest updates from the Science Creates ecosystem