IQ Capital

IQ Capital is a Cambridge, United Kingdom-based seed and Series A venture capital firm focused on deep technology, artificial intelligence, enterprise software, and security companies that originate from or have connections to the Cambridge and broader UK research ecosystem, investing in technically ambitious founders who are building companies where scientific breakthrough or fundamental engineering innovation creates genuinely defensible competitive advantages. The firm was founded in 2006 and invests with initial checks from $1 million to $5 million, typically leading rounds and taking active board roles, applying technical expertise from its investment team that includes former scientists, engineers, and technology operators alongside financial investors. IQ Capital has developed particular strength in backing Cambridge University spinouts and companies founded by researchers from other leading UK and European institutions, providing the patient early-stage capital and commercial guidance required to transform research-stage innovations into scalable commercial businesses. Portfolio companies include Raspberry Pi, the single-board computer that became one of the most widely sold computer hardware products in history and completed an IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2024; Speechmatics, the Cambridge-based AI speech recognition company; PolyAI, the AI-powered customer service automation platform using large language models; and Thought Machine, the cloud-native core banking platform for global banks. Beyond its original investments in Raspberry Pi, Speechmatics, PolyAI, and Thought Machine, the portfolio includes additional UK and European deep technology and AI companies.