Osney Capital launches the UK’s first specialist cyber security seed fund, oversubscribed against its £50m target, to capitalise on UK’s world-class cyber talent, whilst strengthening national resilience
Joshua Walter, Adam Cragg, Paul Wilkes
● Osney Capital launches its oversubscribed debut fund; the first UK-focused cyber specialist seed fund to specialise exclusively in early-stage UK cyber security, a sector of growing strategic importance and economic opportunity
● British Business Bank provided a cornerstone commitment through its Enterprise Capital Funds programme; the fund is accredited by the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF)
● Other LPs include IronGate Capital Advisors, East X Ventures, and a number of exited UK cyber founders
LONDON, 7th April 2025: UK venture capital firm Osney Capital today announces the first close of its debut fund to invest in the UK’s most promising cyber security startups, marking it the UK’s first specialist cyber security seed fund. The fund is oversubscribed from its original target of £50m.
The fund received a cornerstone investment from the British Business Bank and is accredited by the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF). The new fund is further supported by a group of institutional and private investors, such as: IronGate Capital Advisors, a US-based defence-focused fund of funds, and East X Ventures, the venture capital arm of East X, a London-based quantitative systematic research and investment firm operating across global commodity markets. In addition, the fund has raised capital from a number of exited UK cyber entrepreneurs and senior leaders in the cyber and national security communities.
Osney Capital was selected as part of the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) programme, which commits cornerstone capital to a small number of UK emerging managers who address high-potential equity funding gaps in the UK’s startup ecosystem.
Osney Capital is led by three founders, Adam Cragg, Josh Walter and Paul Wilkes, who together have decades of experience in technical, commercial, and regulatory environments in cyber and national security as well as early-stage investing.
The team plans to invest in 30 portfolio companies at pre-seed and seed stage, writing cheques between £250k and £2.5m, with capacity for follow-on investments in Series A rounds. Prior to launching this fund, the team made a number of investments into early-stage UK cyber companies, including:
● MindGard, a Lancaster University spin-out that delivers AI security testing
● Sitehop, a Sheffield-based hardware-enforced network security specialist
● London-based RevEng.AI, an AI powered binary analysis platform for reverse engineering and malware analysis
● ESProfiler, a Manchester-based security investment platform delivering continuous optimisation of the security tech stack to CISOs
This separate portfolio of companies is performing well and has attracted subsequent investment from some of the largest global venture capital firms.
The structural market opportunity for specialist seed capital in UK cyber security
The UK cyber security industry reached £13.2bn1 in revenue in 2025, marking a 12% YoY increase, with growth driven by the increasing complexity of cyber threats, heightened regulatory pressures, and the rapid adoption of AI and other technologies. At the same time, sustained investment in UK universities and the expansion of specialist computer science and cybersecurity programs have boosted the country’s talent pipeline, fuelling innovation nationwide. However, the early-stage cyber security ecosystem is structurally challenging for generalist capital to access due to its decentralised and closed-networked nature. This presents a unique opportunity for a specialist seed investor like Osney Capital to back these companies early, and provide tailored support and capital to help them scale and attract global investment.
Dame Fiona Murray DCMG CBE, who serves on the UK Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the NATO Innovation Fund, said: “Science and technology are essential to national competitiveness and increasingly, our competitiveness is grounded in national security. Osney Capital’s fund is an opportunity for the UK to build on the UK’s strong advantage and excellence in cyber security. In times of global uncertainty, we must foster a safe, secure and trusted digital economy in the UK — across all our digital and physical infrastructure. This means investing in and promoting innovation in the UK’s cyber security ecosystem. The work of Osney Capital’s fund is a matter of national security, digital sovereignty, and economic leadership.”
Joshua Walter, Partner of Osney Capital, said: “The UK’s cyber ecosystem is one of the country’s greatest untapped strengths. With world-class talent and the scale to produce the next generation of industry leaders, we have a unique opportunity to compete on the global stage. Our mission with this fund is to identify and back the next wave of UK cyber founders — providing them with the specialist capital they need to build globally significant companies, products and technologies.”
Christine Hockley, Managing Director and Co-Head of Funds at the British Business Bank, said:
“We are pleased to make this commitment to Osney Capital’s Fund I, which aligns with our objective of supporting promising companies to access the long-term investment they need to fulfil their growth potential. Cyber resilience lies at the heart of the UK’s role as a responsible cyber power. Our commitment to Osney Capital will capitalise on the strong investment opportunity offered by growing UK companies within the sector while also building the UK’s national resilience.”
Press contact
Toby Andrews, Ballou PR
toby.andrews@balloupr.com or osney@balloupr.com
+44 7590 258 616
About Osney Capital
Osney Capital is a sector specialist venture capital firm, focused exclusively on the early-stage cyber sector in the UK. Everything they do is geared around supporting the UK cyber founders and companies they invest in during the early stages of their growth.
Osney Capital LLP is an appointed representative of JTC GAS UK LLP trading as JTC AIFM Solutions UK which is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under FRN 551769.
For more information, visit https://www.osneycapital.com/
Osney Capital Announces Launch of Oversubscribed £50m Cyber Fund was originally published in Osney Capital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.