Oxford Innovation Fund
Oxford Innovation Fund is the EIS Growth Fund run by Oxford Innovation Finance, a generalist UK angel investor in early-stage science and technology. EIS, the Enterprise Investment Scheme, is a UK tax-relief wrapper. The fund backs pre-seed and seed companies sourced through Oxford's OION angel network, two of them water-tech. As of 2026 it is in its sixth year.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Oxford Innovation Fund is not a water specialist, and pretending otherwise would do it no favours. It is the EIS Growth Fund run by Oxford Innovation Finance, the Oxford outfit behind OION, one of Britain's longest-running angel networks. Each tax year it raises a fresh pot from UK angels, hunts for early-stage science and technology, and spreads it across a small batch of companies. As of 2026 the fund is in its sixth year and has opened its 2026/27 vintage, the year's new crop of deals, to investors.
Oxford Innovation Fund's water exposure is real but occasional, which is exactly how the directory rates it. Two of its bets sit squarely in water. InferSens builds low-cost inline sensors that watch water flow and temperature inside buildings, cutting the manual checks that UK Legionella safety rules demand. Envorem exploits an awkward property of water to rupture and clean oily sludge, the sort the oil industry struggles to dispose of. Both are British deep-tech with a water problem at the core, not a climate flag bolted onto a pitch deck.
Oxford Innovation Fund writes pre-seed and seed cheques, the earliest institutional money a company takes, alongside the angels in its own network. The picking is done by a ten-person investment committee, three from the firm and seven drawn from the OION angels, with managing director Richard Cooper running the show day to day. For a newcomer that is the real tell: this is angel-network investing wrapped in EIS tax relief, not a thematic water fund. If you want a dedicated water vehicle, look elsewhere; if you want diversified UK early-stage exposure with the odd water name in the mix, it is exactly what it says on the tin.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 2 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Oxford Innovation Fund invest in?
- Oxford Innovation Fund backs early-stage UK science and technology companies at pre-seed and seed stage, across sectors rather than one theme. Its water exposure is occasional but real, with two water-tech holdings, InferSens and Envorem, sitting alongside non-water deals sourced through the OION angel network.
- Is Oxford Innovation Fund a water fund?
- Oxford Innovation Fund is not a water-only fund. It is a generalist EIS Growth Fund managed by Oxford Innovation Finance that invests across science and technology. (don't) Waste Water rates its water commitment Occasional, reflecting two water-tech investments rather than a dedicated water thesis.
- Who runs Oxford Innovation Fund?
- Oxford Innovation Fund is managed by Oxford Innovation Finance, led by managing director Richard Cooper and executive chairman Jens Tholstrup. Investment decisions rest with a ten-member committee, three from the firm and seven external angels drawn from Oxford's long-running OION investor network.
- What is EIS and how does Oxford Innovation Fund use it?
- Oxford Innovation Fund invests through the Enterprise Investment Scheme, or EIS, a UK government tax-relief structure that rewards investors for backing young, higher-risk companies. The fund pools money from angels each tax year and spreads it across a diversified portfolio of early-stage science and technology startups.
- Where is Oxford Innovation Fund based?
- Oxford Innovation Fund is based in Oxford, United Kingdom, where its manager Oxford Innovation Finance runs the OION angel network. The fund invests in UK early-stage science and technology companies, including water-tech names such as the sensor maker InferSens and the sludge-treatment startup Envorem.