British Business Bank backs Zinc's £46M deep tech fund
What's the deal? The British Business Bank will invest up to £46 million in ZincDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s new Science-for-Impact Fund. The £70 million fund aims to back 80 deep tech startups emerging from UK research in health and climate.
Why now? The commitment falls under the Bank's Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) programme, which supports new UK venture managers. It arrives as UK deep tech funding hit $11.3 billion in the first eight months of 2026, with deep tech making up 41% of European venture funding.
What's the endgame? Zinc backs sectors tied to government priorities, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, life sciences, engineering, biology, and AI. Unlike many managers, it engages scientists before any business plans exist and builds companies around them.
The founders: Chris Watson spent 15 years studying gene regulation in failing hearts at Queen's University Belfast, targeting hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition affecting one in 500 people in the UK. His company, SignaCor TherapeuticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, won Zinc's Discovery Spark cardiovascular group in March 2026 and joined its portfolio. "There are very limited treatment options for these patients today," Watson said.
Other portfolio companies include EpiomeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an AI biomarker platform founded in 2024 to detect Alzheimer's and Parkinson's from a blood sample years before symptoms appear; CellMineDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which recycles lithium-ion batteries chemically; and SpeekDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a clinician-backed platform that has helped over 600 families caring for teenagers who self-harm.
A familiar shape: This is the Bank's second investment in Zinc, after supporting its £28 million fund in 2022. The Science-for-Impact Fund is the 55th backed under the ECF programme. The Bank recently committed £50 million to Longwall Venture PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →' £100 million deep tech fund and £25 million to AntlerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s UK Fund II.
"Breakthrough businesses need support from the very earliest stages if they're to realise their potential," said Mark Sims, the Bank's managing director for development equity funds. Zinc co-founder and managing partner Ella Goldner said "too many breakthrough discoveries never become the companies that improve lives," pointing to the gap between UK research output and commercialised businesses.
The signal: With most European deep tech capital flowing into AI infrastructure and defence, Zinc's science-first model bets on turning underused lab research into companies. The Bank's repeated commitments suggest a deliberate push to seed new UK managers at the earliest, riskiest stages.
Image credit: Zinc
