British Business Bank commits £10m to AI and deep tech fund

The British Business Bank has committed £10m to Odyssey Ventures’ early-stage fund, Odyssey Discovery I, to support UK AI and deep tech founders scaling into international markets.

The commitment is made through the state development bank’s Regional Angels Programme, which was launched in 2019 to address regional imbalances in funding.

Odyssey Discovery I is a $50m seed and pre-seed fund focused on UK founders building at the intersection of AI and deep tech.

Led by former founder-operators Ali Mitchell and Michelle Robson, London and San Francisco-based Odyssey Ventures functions as a transatlantic bridge, providing UK founders with seed capital, operator guidance, and direct access to US customers and networks.

The commitment aims to address the valuation and funding gap between UK scaleups and their US peers, helping domestic startups expand globally without relocating their headquarters.

“The UK is producing some of the world’s most extraordinary AI and Deeptech founders, but too many lose ground to better-capitalised US competitors before they have the chance to compete,” said Mitchell.

“Odyssey was built to close that gap — taking the boldest UK founders global from day one with the capital, customers and operating support they need to win.”

Mark Barry, senior investment director at the British Business Bank added: “The Odyssey team have built a differentiated fund designed to help ambitious UK AI and Deeptech founders access the capital, market connectivity and operator-led support needed to scale internationally.

“By combining institutional seed capital with strong San Francisco links, Odyssey is helping convert UK innovation into globally competitive businesses. This commitment will help ensure the UK’s most promising founders have the backing required to build category-leading companies from a UK base.”