British Business Bank backs Oxford spinout Living Optics in $20m round
The British Business Bank has invested in Living Optics, an Oxford University spinout, as part of a $20 million financing round announced on 5 October 2026. The bank, the UK government's economic development bank, joined as a new investor alongside Lockheed Martin Ventures, Applied Ventures, Lam Capital and GK Goh.
The round was led by BRV Capital Management. Living Optics, founded in 2019, makes computational hyperspectral cameras, which record light across many narrow wavelength bands instead of just red, green and blue, so they can tell materials apart.
Who backed the Living Optics round
Existing investors Octopus Ventures, Foresight Group and OTIF Ventures took part in the round. Oxford Science Enterprises and Braavos Group are listed as other existing backers, which makes this a follow-on round in which early investors stayed in as new money came on top.
The mix of investors is typical of a UK deep tech company moving from spinout to scale-up. University-linked and specialist funds fund the early years, and a larger lead investor and strategic corporate backers arrive when the company needs to sell into industry. The British Business Bank release describes the new money as coming from financial and strategic investors.
What the money is for and where hyperspectral cameras are used
The release says the funding will help Living Optics scale its hyperspectral camera business across key vertical markets and geographies. The application areas it names are industrial inspection, defence, life sciences and environmental monitoring.
Mark Barry, senior investment director at the British Business Bank, said: "Living Optics' hyperspectral imaging platform is highly differentiated with potential across critical industries. We believe it strengthens the UK's position in next-generation sensing and imaging technologies."
What the British Business Bank deal means for UK founders
The release does not state how much the British Business Bank invested, nor which of its programmes the money came from. Those details matter for founders trying to judge how the bank acts in a round, and they could not be confirmed.
What the deal does show is the bank acting as one investor among several in a company with a commercial route to scale, rather than as a lone lender. For founders outside the usual venture capital circles, a state-backed investor joining a priced round alongside strategic investors can be a signal to other investors that the company has passed a credible round of scrutiny.
Living Optics is also a reminder that the UK's university spinouts are raising from international strategic investors, not only domestic funds. This is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.
Key takeaways
Living Optics announced a 20 million dollar round on 5 October 2026, led by BRV Capital Management.
The British Business Bank, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Applied Ventures, Lam Capital and GK Goh joined as new investors.
Octopus Ventures, Foresight Group and OTIF Ventures, existing investors, took part in the round.
The company, founded in 2019 as an Oxford University spinout, says it will scale across vertical markets and geographies.
The size of the British Business Bank's investment and the programme it used were not disclosed in the release.
Sources
How Living Optics got here
Living Optics was set up in late 2019 to commercialise hyperspectral imaging research from the University of Oxford's Department of Physics. Its founders include Professor Peter Norreys, his current and former doctoral students Robin Wang and Dr Muhammad Kasim, and Zackary Yerushalmi of Oxford Science Enterprises. Robin Wang leads the company as chief executive.
Its funding path is a familiar UK deep tech staircase. In April 2020 the company raised £3.3 million in a round led by Oxford Sciences Innovation, now Oxford Science Enterprises, including £540,000 from the Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund. At the end of 2022 it completed a second Series A round of more than £20 million, and in February 2023 it moved out of shared space with Oxford Science Enterprises into its own offices at Milton Park in Oxfordshire to make room for a growing team.
The October 2026 round, which the British Business Bank describes as oversubscribed, brings in BRV Capital Management, a venture and growth investor based in the US and Asia, as lead. The bank's statement links its investment to the UK's industrial strategy, naming advanced manufacturing and technologies such as semiconductors.
What it means for UK founders
The early EIS cheque is the detail worth noticing. A specialist EIS fund wrote a £540,000 ticket into a very young spinout, and its manager, Foresight Group, was still in the round six years later. EIS funds remain one of the few sources of risk capital at that stage, and HMRC advance assurance helps keep that route open. Founders may want to take professional advice on whether their company and share structure qualify.
The bank's reference to industrial strategy is also useful. Founders working in the sectors it names, such as advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, have a clearer case for state-backed capital. And with Lockheed Martin Ventures on the register and defence named as a use case, founders building dual use technology may need to consider the National Security and Investment Act 2021, which can require some investments in sensitive sectors, including defence, to be notified to government before they complete.
Key facts at a glance
Founded in late 2019 on technology from the University of Oxford's Department of Physics.
April 2020: £3.3 million round led by Oxford Sciences Innovation, including £540,000 from the Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund.
End of 2022: second Series A round of more than £20 million.
February 2023: move to new offices at Milton Park, Oxfordshire.
5 October 2026: oversubscribed $20 million round led by BRV Capital Management.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
How much did Living Optics raise and who led the round?
Living Optics announced a $20 million financing round on 5 October 2026, led by BRV Capital Management.
Which investors backed Living Optics in its $20 million round?
The British Business Bank, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Applied Ventures, Lam Capital and GK Goh joined as new investors. Existing investors Octopus Ventures, Foresight Group and OTIF Ventures also took part.
What does Living Optics make?
Living Optics, an Oxford University spinout founded in 2019, makes computational hyperspectral cameras. These record light across many narrow wavelength bands instead of just red, green and blue, so they can tell materials apart.
How much did the British Business Bank invest in Living Optics?
The British Business Bank release does not state how much the bank invested, nor which of its programmes the money came from.
Where are Living Optics hyperspectral cameras used?
The application areas named in the release are industrial inspection, defence, life sciences and environmental monitoring. The funding is intended to help the company scale across key vertical markets and geographies.
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