About Octopus Ventures
Octopus Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2000. It is primarily based out of London, United Kingdom. As of Jul 2026, Octopus Ventures is an active investor, having invested in 393 companies, with 20 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Series A 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 OSSPREY Overall, Octopus Ventures portfolio has seen 2 unicorns, 5 IPOs and 84 acquisitions including key companies like LinkedIn, Depop and The Access Group. A lot of funds co-invest with Octopus Ventures, with names like LocalGlobe sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Octopus Ventures has team of 45 people including 5 partners.Key Metrics
Octopus Ventures' List of Top Investments
Octopus Ventures has a portfolio of 393 companies, including 2 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in London House Exchange and Jolt.Their portfolio spans across United Kingdom, United States, Germany and 26 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Consumer and 34 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Seed and 6 more. Here is the list of top investments by Octopus Ventures:1. LinkedIn
Network of resources for professional networking, job searching, and skill development. It provides a platform for individuals to connect with other professionals in their industry. The network facilitates opportunities to find employment and internships across various sectors. Additionally, it offers learning resources for developing business, technical, and creative skills.
Key facts about LinkedIn
- Founded Year: 2002
- Location: Sunnyvale (United States)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $144M
- Employee Count: 23,681 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Sprout Capital Partners, Glynn Capital and 51 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Apr 17, 2013, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
2. Depop
App-based marketplace platform offering pre-owned multi-category fashion products. The product catalog includes apparel like dresses, bottom wear, outerwear, lingerie, footwear, and accessories like jewelry, handbags, and more. It also allows sellers to upload mobile images and details of items where shoppers can follow sellers, like and comment on items and chat directly with sellers before they buy a product. The mobile application is available for Andriod and iOs users.
Key facts about Depop
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Annual Revenue: £50M - £100M as on Dec 31, 2023
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $100M
- Employee Count: 4,266 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Creandum, TempoCap and 19 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jun 07, 2019, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
Developer of business management software for finance human resources payroll. These applications facilitate accounting, procurement, and workforce administration tasks. The software suite includes tools for managing employee records, leave requests, and tax compliance. Systems are designed to integrate with existing business infrastructure to automate manual processes and data management.
Key facts about The Access Group
- Founded Year: 1991
- Location: Loughborough (United Kingdom)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $1.49B
- Employee Count: 7,362 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: GIC, TA Associates and 23 Others
- Latest Funding Round: PE, Jun 08, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
4. 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: 410 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: Atlas Venture, Fresher Ventures and 10 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Dec 15, 2010, $*****
- Highlight: Public
5. Cazoo
Online dealer of second-hand cars. Their platform enables buyers to search for cars and view their specifications, photos, service history, price, and more. Buyers can purchase the car via the platform, as well as, have the cars delivered to their location. Their platform also provides car financing and servicing.
Key facts about Cazoo
- Founded Year: 2018
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Annual Revenue: £10M - £50M as on Dec 31, 2023
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $563M
- Employee Count: 872 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: equitywestsecurities.com, Fidelity Investments and 37 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Feb 10, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Octopus Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Octopus Ventures has invested in 394 companies over the last 25 years, with an average of 23 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 20 investments, while as of Jul 2026, it has made 15 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in OSSPREY and most recent follow-on round was in Semble.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 11 | 4 | 15 |
2025 | 17 | 3 | 20 |
2024 | 28 | 5 | 33 |
2023 | 30 | 9 | 39 |
2022 | 50 | 15 | 65 |
2021 | 34 | 14 | 48 |
2020 | 17 | 13 | 30 |
2019 | 14 | 9 | 23 |
2018 | 20 | 8 | 28 |
2017 | 12 | 6 | 18 |
Octopus Ventures' Investments by Stage
Octopus Ventures has made 134 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $9.55M, 111 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $4.65M and 45 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $20.4M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 134 |
Seed | 111 |
Series B | 45 |
Series C | 5 |
Unattributed | 5 |
Others | 5 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Octopus Ventures' Investments by Sector
Octopus Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Consumer, FinTech and Vertical SaaS. Notably, it has invested in 347 Tech companies, 270 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 219 Software companies and at least 127 companies focusing on Saas.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 147 |
High Tech | 55 |
Consumer | 52 |
FinTech | 51 |
Vertical SaaS | 47 |
Others | 357 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Octopus Ventures' Investments by Geography
Octopus Ventures has made most investments in United Kingdom (211), followed by United States where it has made 34 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | 211 |
United States | 34 |
Germany | 8 |
Spain | 7 |
Sweden | 5 |
Others | 43 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Octopus Ventures' recent investments
Octopus Ventures has made 15 investments in 2026 so far. OSSPREY and GeoSurge are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Octopus Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 22, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 5703 | [+1] | |
Jul 03, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 1606 | [+5] | |
Jun 04, 2026 | United Kingdom | Series C | 7394 | [+2] | |
Jun 02, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 4471 | ||
Jun 01, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 9521 |
Unicorns in Octopus Ventures' Portfolio
Octopus Ventures has 2 unicorns in its portfolio - Pave and ManyPets. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Pave. It became a unicorn in 2022, 4 years before Octopus Ventures first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Octopus Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
60 | Provider of compensation management software for businesses of all sizes | 2012 | San Francisco | Series C | vnnrztu | ||
48 | Provider of cloud-based platform for pet insurance | 2012 | London | Series D | iusipdk |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Octopus Ventures' Portfolio
5 of Octopus Ventures' portfolio companies have become public. SmartKem got listed on the OTC Markets (OTCMKTS), in Feb 2022 and Cazoo got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at marketcap of undefined.Here are Octopus Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb 04, 2022 | Jul 15, 2014 | Series A | 3652 | |
Dec 18, 2020 | Dec 02, 2018 | Series C | 2233 | |
Jun 18, 2014 | Jan 18, 2009 | Series A | 4556 | |
Jun 11, 2004 | 2001 | Seed | 7470 | |
- | Jun 14, 2016 | Series C | 5614 |
Acquired companies in Octopus Ventures' Portfolio
84 companies from Octopus Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Mindstep in Jul 2026 by Onebright for $*****.Here are Octopus Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 07, 2026 | - | - | 2252 | |
Jun 02, 2026 | Jan 30, 2024 | Seed | 2012 | |
Mar 31, 2026 | Jun 15, 2021 | Seed | 9965 | |
Mar 24, 2026 | Jan 11, 2023 | Series A | 4599 | |
Feb 26, 2026 | Mar 03, 2022 | Series A | 9537 |
Team profile of Octopus Ventures
Octopus Ventures has a team of 45 members including 5 Partners, 3 Venture Partners and 8 Principals located in United Kingdom. Octopus Ventures' team sits on the board of 9 companies.Here is a list of top team members in Octopus Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | - | Elliptic, The Plum Guide and 3 more | - | |
Partner | London | - | - | |
Partner | London | - | - | |
Partner | London | - | - | |
Partner | United Kingdom | - | - | |
Venture Partner | London | - | ||
Venture Partner | London |
Co-investors of Octopus Ventures
Over the past 25 years, 1561 investors have co-invested in Octopus Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Octopus Ventures: Octopus Investments, LocalGlobe and 661 others have invested in rounds before Octopus Ventures. There are 9 companies where Octopus Investments has invested before Octopus Ventures and 8 companies where LocalGlobe has invested before Octopus Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of Octopus Ventures: 530 investors entered a company along with Octopus Ventures. These include investors like LocalGlobe (6 companies).
- Invested after Octopus Ventures: A total of 368 investors have invested in Octopus Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include BGF (8 companies), Octopus Investments (7 companies) and SVB (5 companies).
Recent News related to Octopus Ventures
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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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Semble Secures £30M Series C FundingTech Funding News•Jun 04, 2026•Mercia Ventures, Semble, Revaia, Partech Partners and 1 other
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Handshake Raises $3.2M to Scale AI-Native Retail PlatformPR Newswire•Jun 01, 2026•Bain & Company, Octopus Ventures, Handshake, Future Back Ventures
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Gradient Labs Doubles Series A to $26MTech Funding News•Jun 01, 2026•Gradient Labs, CommerzVentures, Octopus Ventures
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Gradient Labs Doubles Series A Funding to £20mBusinessCloud•Jun 01, 2026•CommerzVentures, Octopus Ventures
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Greenpixie Raises £4.7M in Pre-Series A FundingFinSMEs•May 18, 2026•Verbundx, Green Angel Ventures, Greenpixie, Octopus Ventures and 1 other
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Flexzo AI Raises $12m in Series A FundingFinSMEs•Mar 20, 2026•Fuel Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Flexzo
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Velaris Raises €4.7M in Seed Funding Led by Octopus VenturesThe SaaS News•Feb 01, 2026•365fintech, Velaris, ZAKA, Octopus Ventures
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Automata Raises $45M Series C to Build the Operating System for AI-Ready LabsBusiness Wire•Jan 29, 2026•Automata, Tru Arrow Partners, Dimensional, Danaher and 2 others
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AutoGrab expands to UK with £40m funding led by Octopus Ventures, valuing it at £116mBusinessCloud•Jan 27, 2026•Octopus Ventures
