OCC Launch

OCC Launch

Offers OCC Launch pre-seed support for University of Edinburgh associated companies at their earliest development stage.

OCC Launch is the pre-seed investment vehicle of Old College Capital (OCC), the University of Edinburgh's venture fund, which is part of Edinburgh Innovations — the University's commercialisation service. OCC manages the University's early-stage investment activities and a portfolio of over 100 companies spanning deep tech, life sciences, energy, and materials. OCC Launch specifically targets the earliest company-building stage, investing up to £100,000 per company to help founders establish traction, validate technology, achieve proof of concept, access co-investment, or reach a key value inflexion point enabling a subsequent full Seed round.

Investment is open to companies with a meaningful association to the University of Edinburgh — founders who are University staff, students, or formal spinouts. Eligibility is assessed on a case-by-case basis; candidates must present a specific work package, demonstrate potential co-investor leverage, or identify a clear inflexion point that justifies the pre-seed cheque. OCC's preferred instrument is its standard Advanced Subscription Agreement (ASA), which converts into equity at a future priced round, though convertible loan notes and other instruments are accepted. A template ASA is publicly available on the Edinburgh Innovations website.

There is no fixed application deadline or competitive round; founders apply by contacting the investment team directly at investment@ei.ed.ac.uk. OCC Launch sits below OCC Ventures (£150,000–£350,000, seed to Series A) in the fund's staged investment hierarchy. Recent portfolio exits and follow-on rounds in 2026 include Exergy3 (£10 million decarbonisation raise), Bioliberty (£7.7 million Series A), and a £5 million advanced manufacturing award, signalling an active co-investment ecosystem alongside OCC.