Osney Capital launches UK's first cybersecurity Seed Fund

UK venture capital firm Osney Capital today announced the first close of its debut fund to invest in the UK’s most promising cyber security startups. This fund is the UK’s first specialist cyber security seed fund, and it is oversubscribed from its original target of £50 million.

Osney Capital is led by three founders, Adam Cragg, Josh Walter, and Paul Wilkes. Together, they have decades of experience in technical, commercial, and regulatory environments in cyber and national security and early-stage investing.

The UK cyber security industry reached £13.2 billion in revenue in 2025, marking a 12 percent YoY increase, with growth driven by the increasing complexity of cyber threats, heightened regulatory pressures, and the rapid adoption of AI and other technologies. 

At the same time, sustained investment in UK universities and the expansion of specialist computer science and cybersecurity programs have boosted the country’s talent pipeline, fuelling innovation nationwide. 

However, the early-stage cyber security ecosystem is structurally challenging for generalist capital to access due to its decentralised and closed-networked nature. 

This presents a unique opportunity for a specialist seed investor like Osney Capital to back these companies early and provide tailored support and capital to help them scale and attract global investment.

The fund received a cornerstone investment from the British Business Bank and is accredited by the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF). The new fund is further supported by a group of institutional and private investors, such as IronGate Capital Advisors and East X Ventures, the venture capital arm of East X. In addition, the fund has raised capital from a number of exited UK cyber entrepreneurs and senior leaders in the cyber and national security communities.

Osney Capital was selected as part of the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) programme, which commits cornerstone capital to a small number of UK emerging managers who address high-potential equity funding gaps in the UK’s startup ecosystem.

The team plans to invest in 30 portfolio companies at Pre-Seed and Seed stage, writing cheques between £250k and £2.5m, with capacity for follow-on investments in Series A rounds. Prior to launching this fund, the team made a number of investments into early-stage UK cyber companies, including:

• MindGard, a Lancaster University spin-out that delivers AI security testing.
• Sitehop, a Sheffield-based hardware-enforced network security specialist.
• London-based RevEng.AI, an AI-powered binary analysis platform for reverse engineering and malware analysis.    

Joshua Walter, Partner of Osney Capital, said: 

“The UK’s cyber ecosystem is one of the country’s greatest untapped strengths. With world-class talent and the scale to produce the next generation of industry leaders, we have a unique opportunity to compete on the global stage.

Our mission with this fund is to identify and back the next wave of UK cyber founders - providing them with the specialist capital they need to build globally significant companies, products and technologies.”

Christine Hockley, Managing Director and Co-Head of Funds at the British Business Bank, said:

“Cyber resilience lies at the heart of the UK’s role as a responsible cyber power.

Our commitment to Osney Capital will capitalise on the strong investment opportunity offered by growing UK companies within the sector while also building the UK’s national resilience.”

Lead image: Osney Capital. Photo: uncredited.