New Conception X angel syndicate bets on Europe’s top science startups before they incorporate
Conception X has launched a handpicked angel syndicate of leading UK scientists and engineers – including exited deeptech founders and alumni of Google and DeepMind – to back and mentor the best science founders across Europe at the earliest stage.
The oversubscribed syndicate, assembled in just a week, will make 15 investments of £40,000 this year (uncapped), selecting deeptech teams at the pre-incorporation and pre-seed stage. Founders are supported through incorporation, with a focus on fair, founder-friendly terms that set a new standard for Europe’s top technical talent.
The goal is to fill a major gap in the ecosystem: when a promising idea is ready to leave the lab, but there’s no immediate funding available to get started quickly – e.g. file a patent, buy essential hardware, build a proof-of-concept, spin out. Most VCs aren’t ready to step in, and grants take too long.
The Conception X syndicate will move fast, with the first investment decisions expected by 18 June. Science founders who are interested in this opportunity can apply here.
The model is built on Conception X’s work with over 500 early-stage technical founders from 60+ universities. This has resulted in the development of a proprietary pattern recognition system to identify high-potential founders long before they’re investor-ready, and offer them targeted support and guidance at a critical stage.
“We’ve spent the past eight years bringing together researchers, universities, industry and investors to build a scalable, distributed incubation platform for scientists,” Conception X founder and CEO Riam Kanso says. “Today, we’re adding another layer to address one of the biggest pain points for early-stage science founders in Europe: a curated group of angels ready to support the next global deeptech giant earlier than anyone else.”
About Conception X
Conception X is a UK-based not-for-profit that runs the largest cross-university deeptech venture programme for PhD students across Europe. Its mission is to turn more scientists into founders, accelerating scientific breakthroughs and building new career pathways for researchers. Since launching in 2018, Conception X has recruited eight cohorts from 60+ universities across 11 countries, built over 150 deeptech companies, and had two exits – quantum drug discovery company Rahko and energy optimisation startup Kapacity.io – with a third to be announced soon. Its startups have developed anything from vaccines for cancer metastasis to living building materials that absorb carbon. The Conception X portfolio is valued at £500 million.
