Insider Brief
- SuperSeed Fund III secured up to £50 million from the British Business Bank to invest in early-stage B2B AI and SaaS startups, particularly in physical AI sectors.
- The fund will focus on applying AI to industries such as manufacturing, energy, construction, and autonomous systems, backing full-stack solutions across software and hardware.
- The investment aims to scale UK innovation in strategic industries, leveraging SuperSeed’s track record and attracting additional private capital to support AI-driven industrial growth.
PRESS RELEASE — SuperSeed Fund III has secured a cornerstone commitment of up to £50 million from the British Business Bank to invest in B2B AI and SaaS startups. The Bank has made its commitment through the Enterprise Capital Funds programme, with the fund also having the benefit of being accredited by the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) as was SuperSeed’s prior fund.
As the largest investor in UK venture and venture growth capital funds, by providing cornerstone commitments, the British Business Bank enables a fund to achieve a first close and helps the fund to execute their planned strategy more effectively and often to a greater scale.
Fund III is focused on seed-stage companies building physical AI — artificial intelligence applied to physical industries such as manufacturing, energy, construction, and autonomous systems. SuperSeed’s portfolio companies build the software platforms, algorithms, and control systems that make industrial infrastructure intelligent, as well as the integrated hardware to deliver complete solutions. Fund III will back companies across the full stack.
SuperSeed was founded in 2018 by Mads Jensen and Dan Bowyer, both former technology company founders. The firm was built on a simple observation: the majority of American VCs had founded companies themselves, while fewer than 15 per cent of European VCs had ever worked in a startup. Every partner at SuperSeed has founded, scaled, and exited technology companies, and the firm works alongside its portfolio on commercial strategy, enterprise customer access, and building the sales teams that turn technical products into commercial businesses. It has since launched two funds and now has 38 portfolio companies.
The Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds programme aims to increase the supply of equity capital to early-stage UK companies with long-term growth potential and lower barriers to entry for fund managers looking to operate in the VC market, including providing a return structure that makes it more attractive to private sector investors. The programme has backed 52 funds to-date, representing more than £2.7bn of finance.
Mads Jensen, Managing Partner at SuperSeed, said:
The companies we back are deploying AI into manufacturing lines, energy infrastructure, and construction sites, sectors where the UK has genuine industrial strength and strategic interest. Two years ago most of these were pilots. Today, they are live production systems with paying enterprise customers. That transition is what Physical AI means in practice, and it is why the British Business Bank has returned as our cornerstone investor for a second fund.
Christine Hockley, Managing Director and Co-Head of Funds, British Business Bank, said:
SuperSeed has a strong track record of identifying innovators and a deep understanding of how AI can be applied to sectors of national strategic importance, including those of the modern Industrial Strategy. This cornerstone commitment will crowd in additional private capital, backing innovative companies developing applied physical AI systems that drive and optimise efficiencies in critical business infrastructure.
Mark Sims, Senior Director, Funds, British Business Bank, said:
SuperSeed’s focus on Physical AI aligns strongly with our ambition to strengthen technological capability in sectors that are central to future economic growth. Following our earlier commitment to SuperSeed’s Fund II in 2022, we are pleased to continue our support for SuperSeed as it backs founders turning advanced AI into real-world impact across the UK economy.
Further Information
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About SuperSeed
SuperSeed is a London-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2018 by Mads Jensen and Dan Bowyer, both former technology company founders. The firm invests in Physical AI: artificial intelligence applied to physical industries. SuperSeed has backed 38 companies across two funds, and lead investments in companies like Hive Autonomy, OctaiPipe, Ai Build and All3.
SuperSeed’s portfolio includes companies building AI for physical industries:
- Ai Build develops generative algorithms and computer vision software that automate large-scale 3D printing for aerospace and defence manufacturers, reducing manual intervention by up to 86 per cent in customer deployments
- OctaiPipe runs federated learning agents on energy-intensive industrial systems, delivering up to 30 per cent energy savings through real-time thermodynamic simulation. ABB is a strategic investor and distribution partner
- Hive Autonomy builds fleet management and autonomy software for industrial vehicles, enabling a single human operator to coordinate multiple machines across warehouses and construction sites
- All3, founded by Rodion Shishkov (who previously built and exited Samokat, Europe’s largest dark store network), combines AI-driven design software with automated manufacturing and autonomous assembly to deliver residential construction up to 50 per cent faster
About the British Business Bank
The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.
The British Business Bank’s core programmes support £23bn Read footnote text1 of finance to almost 64,000 smallerRead footnote text2 businesses. British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. With the exception of BBB Investment Services Limited they are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority. BBB Investment Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at British Business Bank.
The transaction described above does not constitute or imply any endorsement, warranty or recommendation by the UK government, the British Business Bank plc, its subsidiaries or any other party in respect of SuperSeed or its products or services.
