Who We Are
A conviction-driven seed fund illuminating pathways to breakthrough innovation at the frontier of deep technology.
Backing the Founders Who Refuse Easy Answers
Lumino Capital was founded on a simple premise: the most important problems facing civilisation - decarbonising energy systems, removing physical limits from computing, extending healthy human life - require new science, not new interfaces.
We were established in 2019 by a team of former scientists, engineers, and operators who wanted to bring deep technical credibility to venture investing. Our goal is not simply to provide capital, but to serve as the first institutional partner that genuinely understands what our founders are building and what it will take to succeed.
We manage a dedicated seed fund with a portfolio of 18 companies and maintain significant reserves for follow-on participation as our companies mature. Our geographic focus is European founders, with a global commercial ambition.
Why Deep Tech, Why Now
We believe a structural shift is underway in where venture-scale returns will be generated over the next twenty years.
The Software Arbitrage is Over
The easy gains from moving analogue processes onto software platforms have been captured. The next category of transformative companies will require genuine innovation at the level of materials, processes, and fundamental physics.
Science is Commercialisable
Decades of publicly funded research have created a deep reservoir of commercialisable science. Advances in materials characterisation, protein folding, and semiconductor fabrication are making it possible to translate laboratory breakthroughs into products faster than ever before.
Demand is Structural and Growing
The demand for clean energy, advanced compute, and better therapeutics is driven by irreversible macro trends. Unlike consumer technology, the market for deep tech does not vanish with a change in fashion. The customers are large, creditworthy, and urgent.
Deep Moats, Durable Returns
Hard technology creates lasting competitive advantages. Patent estates, proprietary processes, and years of accumulated experimental data are extraordinarily difficult to replicate. When deep tech works, it tends to work for a very long time.
How We Work
Our values inform every aspect of how we engage with founders, limited partners, and the broader ecosystem.
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Intellectual Honesty
We say what we believe, even when it is not what a founder wants to hear. We do not make commitments we cannot keep, and we do not pursue deals for social reasons. Honesty is the foundation of every partnership we build.
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Long-Term Orientation
Deep tech takes time. We are patient capital with an investment horizon that matches the ambition of the companies we back. We do not push founders to optimise for short-term milestones at the expense of long-term potential.
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Technical Credibility
We hold ourselves to a high standard of scientific and engineering understanding. Our team includes PhDs and former practitioners across our three focus domains. We earn respect by knowing what we are talking about.
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Founder-First
We are in business to serve exceptional founders. Every decision we make - from deal structure to board governance - is designed to maximise the probability that our founders succeed, not to protect our own interests at their expense.
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Rigorous Process
We take due diligence seriously. We conduct independent technical reviews, speak to domain experts, and stress-test commercial assumptions before committing capital. Our founders benefit from this rigour - they know we have done the work.
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Responsible Investment
We consider the broader societal and environmental implications of the technologies we fund. We do not invest in dual-use technologies with substantial weaponisation potential, and we actively encourage our portfolio to measure and reduce their environmental footprint.
Key Milestones
Fund I Established
Lumino Capital Ltd incorporated in London. Fund I closes with commitments from a select group of family offices and institutional limited partners focused on European deep technology.
First Investments
First six portfolio companies backed across energy storage, quantum photonics, and diagnostics. Initial team expanded with specialist advisors in materials science and computational biology.
Portfolio Growth and First Exits
Portfolio reaches twelve companies. Two early portfolio companies raise significant follow-on funding from top-tier growth funds, delivering early realised returns for Fund I investors.
Fund II Launch
Fund II launched with an expanded mandate. Eighteen portfolio companies under active management. New office partnership network spanning London, Berlin, and Stockholm.
Active Investment Period
Fund II actively deploying capital. Three new seed investments completed in Q1 2025. Portfolio collectively employs over 340 scientists, engineers, and operators across seven countries.
Backing the same companies as the world's best
Lumino Capital Ltd has co-invested alongside Bessemer Venture Partners in select portfolio companies, reflecting our shared conviction in backing exceptional founders at the earliest stages. We maintain strong relationships with leading institutional investors who share our long-term perspective on technology transformation.
Backed by leading institutional investors
Our investor base includes university endowments, family offices, and institutional allocators who share our conviction in early-stage technology investing. Our LPs provide not just capital but deep networks that benefit our portfolio companies.