About Episode 1 Ventures
Episode 1 Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2010. It is primarily based out of London, United Kingdom. As of Sep 2026, Episode 1 Ventures is an active investor, having invested in 139 companies, with 6 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Seed round in United Kingdom based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to High Tech and Consumer. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Veridue Overall, Episode 1 Ventures portfolio has seen 2 unicorns, 6 IPOs and 32 acquisitions including key companies like LinkedIn, FanDuel and Shazam. A lot of funds co-invest with Episode 1 Ventures, with names like Seedcamp sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Episode 1 Ventures has team of 17 people including 6 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 1 more
Portfolio Unicorns
Episode 1 Ventures' List of Top Investments
Episode 1 Ventures has a portfolio of 139 companies, including 2 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Fatmap and Fatmap.Their portfolio spans across United Kingdom, United States, Germany and 4 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Consumer and 30 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 1 more. Here is the list of top investments by Episode 1 Ventures:1. LinkedIn
Provider of professional networking services for career development and recruiting. This platform facilitates connections between individuals to support job searches, industry discussions, and skill acquisition. It offers tools for talent acquisition, business outreach, and educational training programs. Members access curated content, industry insights, and software product comparisons. The service includes messaging features to strengthen relationships and resources for tracking career opportunities.
Key facts about LinkedIn
- Founded Year: 2002
- Location: Sunnyvale (United States)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $144M
- Employee Count: 23,700 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Sprout Capital Partners, Glynn Capital and 51 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Apr 17, 2013, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
2. FanDuel
Developer of a fantasy platform for multiple sports. It provides users to play fantasy sports games for NFL, MLB, NBA, soccer, and golf. It also enables users to select the contests they wish to play, and players to participate in the competition.
Key facts about FanDuel
- Founded Year: 2009
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $416M
- Employee Count: 4,115 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Western Technology Investment, CapitalG and 42 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Sep 15, 2016, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
3. Shazam
App-based music identification platform. It allows users to identify songs and connect them with artists, TV shows, ads, cinema, radio, and retail environments. The app is available for Android and iOS users. It also provides top music charts on various platforms.
Key facts about Shazam
- Founded Year: 2000
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $149M
- Employee Count: 274 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Harmony Venture Partners, TTC and 21 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Feb 05, 2015, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
Developer of cloud software for payroll and human resources management. This platform automates workforce administration tasks, including time and attendance tracking, project job costing, and payroll processing. It supports compliance with regional legislative requirements and tax regulations. Additionally, the software provides tools for talent acquisition, performance management, and employee self-service portals. Data analytics features allow users to generate reports on financial, inventory, and workforce metrics. Security protocols include data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and disaster recovery services. The system integrates with existing operational tools to centralize employee data and facilitate administrative workflows for organizations of various sizes.
Key facts about The Access Group
- Founded Year: 1991
- Location: Loughborough (United Kingdom)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Late Stage
- Total Funding till date: $1.49B
- Employee Count: 7,356 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: GIC, TA Associates and 23 Others
- Latest Funding Round: PE, Jun 08, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. Zoopla
An online listing platform for residential and commercial properties. It is a listing platform to buy, sell, and rent residential and commercial properties. Users can register and search for properties by applying the location filter. Property owners/agents can list their properties by providing necessary information such as location, pictures, prices, area, and more. Additionally, the company offers a solution which offers an estimation solution of the market value of a home on any given day, calculated using a proprietary algorithm.
Key facts about Zoopla
- Founded Year: 2008
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Annual Revenue: £50M - £100M as on Dec 31, 2023
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $10.7M
- Employee Count: 414 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Atlas Venture, Fresher Ventures and 11 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Dec 15, 2010, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Episode 1 Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Episode 1 Ventures has invested in 139 companies over the last 12 years, with an average of 6 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 11 investments, while as of Sep 2026, it has made 7 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Veridue and most recent follow-on round was in RevEng.ai.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 5 | 2 | 7 |
2025 | 7 | 4 | 11 |
2024 | 9 | 5 | 14 |
2023 | 7 | 5 | 12 |
2022 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
2021 | 9 | 6 | 15 |
2020 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
2019 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
2018 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
2017 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
Episode 1 Ventures' Investments by Stage
Episode 1 Ventures has made 61 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $2.87M, 10 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $6.9M and 1 investment in Series B stage with an average round size of $30M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 61 |
Series A | 10 |
Series B | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Episode 1 Ventures' Investments by Sector
Episode 1 Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, Consumer, FinTech, High Tech and Vertical SaaS. Notably, it has invested in 115 Tech companies, 101 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 87 Software companies and at least 55 companies focusing on Saas.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 54 |
Consumer | 14 |
FinTech | 13 |
High Tech | 13 |
Vertical SaaS | 13 |
Others | 58 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Episode 1 Ventures' Investments by Geography
Episode 1 Ventures has made most investments in United Kingdom (63), followed by United States where it has made 3 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | 63 |
United States | 3 |
Germany | 2 |
Ireland | 1 |
New Zealand | 1 |
Others | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Episode 1 Ventures' recent investments
Episode 1 Ventures has made 7 investments in 2026 so far. Veridue and OSSPREY are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Episode 1 Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 08, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 9452 | [+3] | |
Jul 22, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 7621 | [+1] | |
Jun 10, 2026 | - | Seed | 5268 | - | |
Jun 10, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 8254 | - | |
Jun 02, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 6632 |
Unicorns in Episode 1 Ventures' Portfolio
Episode 1 Ventures has 2 unicorns in its portfolio - FluidStack and The Access Group. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is FluidStack. It became a unicorn in 2026, 6 years after Episode 1 Ventures first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Episode 1 Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
72 | Provider of high performance computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence workloads | 2017 | New York City | Series B | s{bvwao | ||
79 | Provider of business management software for diverse commercial industry sectors | 1991 | Loughborough | Late Stage | kifmzhp |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Episode 1 Ventures' Portfolio
6 of Episode 1 Ventures' portfolio companies have become public. Zoopla got listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SWX), in Jun 2014 and QinetiQ got listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) at marketcap of $145B.Here are Episode 1 Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 18, 2014 | - | - | 4728 | |
Feb 15, 2006 | - | - | 5568 | |
Jul 22, 2005 | - | - | 3848 | |
May 23, 1996 | - | - | 2822 | |
- | - | - | 2493 |
Acquired companies in Episode 1 Ventures' Portfolio
32 companies from Episode 1 Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was BioCatch in Aug 2026 by Visa for $*****.Here are Episode 1 Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 03, 2026 | - | - | 8232 | |
Feb 24, 2026 | May 08, 2019 | Seed | 7042 | |
Feb 06, 2026 | - | - | 8729 | |
Jan 21, 2026 | Mar 24, 2021 | Seed | 5800 | |
Dec 02, 2024 | - | - | 7449 |
Team profile of Episode 1 Ventures
Episode 1 Ventures has a team of 17 members including 6 Partners, 1 Venture Partner and 5 Principals located in United Kingdom. Episode 1 Ventures' team sits on the board of 4 companies.Here is a list of top team members in Episode 1 Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | London | |||
Partner | - | - | ||
Partner | London | - | ||
Partner | London | - | ||
Partner | London | - | ||
Partner | London | - | - | |
Venture Partner | London | - | - | |
Principal | United Kingdom | - | ||
Principal | London | - | - | |
Principal | London | - |
Co-investors of Episode 1 Ventures
Over the past 12 years, 388 investors have co-invested in Episode 1 Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Episode 1 Ventures: Techstars, CyLon and 28 others have invested in rounds before Episode 1 Ventures. There are 3 companies where Techstars has invested before Episode 1 Ventures and 2 companies where CyLon has invested before Episode 1 Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of Episode 1 Ventures: 151 investors entered a company along with Episode 1 Ventures. These include investors like Seedcamp (7 companies).
- Invested after Episode 1 Ventures: A total of 207 investors have invested in Episode 1 Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Plural (3 companies), Y Combinator (3 companies) and Mercia (2 companies).
Recent News related to Episode 1 Ventures
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Veridue Raises $4M to Accelerate Energy and Data Center Due DiligenceTechStartups.com•Sep 08, 2026•Episode 1 Ventures, HTGF, Pi-labs
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Ossprey Secures US$2.65 Million Pre-Seed to Protect Open-Source SoftwareStartup Rise EU•Jul 22, 2026•Osprey, Octopus Ventures, Episode 1 Ventures, Osney Capital
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Wise Alumni Launch Record OS Following $2m Pre-Seed RaiseFintech Finance•Jun 10, 2026•Record OS, Episode 1 Ventures
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UK Poindexter Labs Raises £2M For AI Training DataStartup Rise EU•Jun 02, 2026•First Cheque, Episode 1 Ventures, Record OS, Poindexter
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RevEng.AI Raises $15 Million to Secure Software Supply Chains with Binary AnalysisSiliconAngle•May 27, 2026•RevEng.ai, NIF, Sands Capital, IQ Capital and 3 others
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Bubble Robotics raises $5 million to build ‘the ocean’s autonomous workforce’Robotics and Automation News•Apr 21, 2026•Bubble Robotics, Norrsken Evolve, Episode 1 Ventures, Asterion
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UK AI drug safety startup Sable Bio raises €3.15 million; plans to grow its London teamEU-Startups•Feb 11, 2026•Sable Bio, Episode 1 Ventures, Seedcamp, MMC Ventures and 1 other
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UK HRtech Jack & Jill Secures $20M To Enter US MarketStartup Rise EU•Oct 16, 2025•Ada Ventures, Creandum, Jack & Jill AI, Mercor and 8 others
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London-Based Dragonfly Raises €3M to Revolutionize Software Decision-Making with AIStartup Rise EU•Oct 08, 2025•Portfolio Ventures, Dragonflyai, Episode 1 Ventures, Dreamcraft Ventures and 2 others
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Mantic Raises $4M Funding In Pre-Seed Round
Startup Rise EU•Aug 29, 2025•Episode 1 Ventures, DRW Trading Group, Mantic
