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Oxford Capital participates in Oxford Quantum Circuits’ £260 million Series C funding round 

Oxford Capital is pleased to share that we participated in the £260 million Series C funding round for Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), the largest private quantum computing funding round ever completed in Europe. 

Backing co-founder Peter Leek and CEO Gerald Mullally, we are joining a brilliant international group of investors supporting one of the UK’s leading quantum computing companies. 

The oversubscribed round is a strong signal that quantum computing is moving beyond long-term potential and towards real-world commercial deployment. Founded in Oxford, OQC has established itself as one of the UK’s leading deep tech companies, developing superconducting quantum computers that are already being deployed and accessed by enterprise and government customers in London, Tokyo and New York. 

The company is building the infrastructure required to make quantum computing accessible at scale, helping organisations tackle problems beyond the reach of classical computing across areas including financial services, defence and national security. 

The round was led by Bullhound Capital and attracted support from a strong group of institutional and strategic investors, including Invus, Mastercard, COFIDES, Oxford Science Enterprises, Rokos Capital Management, SBI Card, Chevron Technology Ventures, UTEC, The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners, and others. 

At Oxford Capital, we look for exceptional teams turning breakthrough science into products and infrastructure with global impact. OQC is a clear example of the world-class innovation emerging from the UK’s deep tech ecosystem. 

Many congratulations to Peter, Gerald and the wider OQC team on this milestone. 

Quantum computing is moving from experiments to infrastructure, and we are pleased to be part of OQC’s journey. 

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Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  1. You could lose all the money you invest
    1. If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
  2. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
    1. Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
    2. Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
  3. You won’t get your money back quickly
    1. Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
    2. The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
    3. If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
  4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
    1. Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
    2. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest
  5. The value of your investment can be reduced
    1. The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
    2. These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

 

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.