Investor Profile: Founders Factory

Founders Factory is a hybrid venture studio and startup accelerator based in London, co-founded in 2015 by Brent Hoberman and Henry Lane Fox. Rather than operating as a conventional VC fund, it combines capital with a 60-strong team of in-house operators and deep corporate partnerships — what it calls its "unfair advantage". The firm now backs 500+ startups across five continents.

The model: studio + accelerator

Founders Factory works in two modes. Its venture studio co-founds new companies alongside entrepreneurs, contributing designers, marketers, engineers and playbooks to reach product-market fit fast. Its accelerator runs pre-seed and seed-stage investment programmes in focused sectors: fintech (London & Global), deep tech and climate (Perth & Global), health (London & Global) and deep tech (Singapore & SEA). As a studio rather than a classic fund, it does not publish a fund size — the relevant "capital" is the corporate-backed commitment behind each programme.

The corporate coalition

Corporate partners are the engine of the model, each typically committing several million pounds and opening distribution channels, market intelligence and pilot opportunities. Flagship partnerships include:

• Aviva — a decade-long fintech pact extended for another three years, with the insurer investing to build new ventures in insurance, wealth, property, asset management and cybersecurity; the partnership has supported 60+ startups that have raised over £500 million in follow-on funding
• Rio Tinto — A$14.4 million committed over three years for pre-seed and seed mining-tech startups, each entering a four-month accelerator
• Vonovia, Mediobanca, Fastweb and Pico — studio partners spanning proptech, fintech, telecoms and media across Europe and Asia

Notable portfolio

The portfolio skews toward AI, health and climate ventures. Names include Storyblok (Series C headless CMS), Scan.com (Series C diagnostics booking), Perlego, Dronamics and Fundamental VR, alongside exits such as Flourish (acquired by Canva), Honest Health (acquired by Hims & Hers) and Feedr (acquired by Compass Group). In 2025 it was named the UK's top venture studio and accelerator — and a top-five startup hub in Europe — in the Financial Times European Startup Hubs ranking.

Programmes and support

Accepted startups receive pre-seed capital plus operational support: commercialising technology, building the company, raising the next round — and access to the corporate coalition's customers and distribution. There is no generic credits bundle; the perk is market access itself.