Investment FAQs

By “risk tolerant”, we don’t mean that we subscribe to the 90% rule, like other funders out there. What we do mean is that we’ll consider projects and business ideas of all sorts and levels of maturation wherever we see potential. We’re willing to mentor and work closely with our portfolio businesses to ensure not only their product’s success, but theirs too.

From researchers with a bit of running code to companies already up and running, we’re open to ideas of all sorts and levels of development.
What we’ve discovered is that often times ideas are trapped in a thesis or in post doctoral work that could spin out and develop into a successful service for the community if given the chance. We work on a number of levels, not just through investment, but in helping to change that culture, and give those ideas and entrepreneurs the support and business capacity they need to take it to the next level.

We specialize in tools for the scientific research community, because that’s what we know (and where many of us came from). Others may be able to provide you the same financial backing, but when it comes to the scientific context to scale your product and get it in front of users, our network is unparalleled. We also have the wisdom of our sister company Springer Nature, one of the leading scientific content providers out there.
As well as financial support, we also work closely with our investments in providing them with access and guidance from our core team of developers, UI and UX designers, product managers, marketing and outreach to advance their product and its reach.
Being a part of the Digital Science family also gives you the opportunity to link with our other portfolio businesses (where that makes sense). We are big fans of interoperability here at Digital Science, and continually keep our eye out for additions to our portfolio which may fit with other existing investments, with the goal of making for a more seamless work experience for the end-user (the researcher).

We decide these on a case-by-case basis, as not every funding model fits for every company, and it’s much more important to us to that we help build and support the innovation ecosystem these companies exist in. We encourage you to get in touch, then we can chat about what’s best suited for you or your company then.

Not at all – we work with companies based all over the globe. We already work with companies in London, Boston, Washington, Toronto and Tel Aviv. We also have offices in London, Boston, New York and Japan. Science is global – and so are we.

That’s OK – it’s still worth having a conversation. If you’re not ready for full investment, you may be a candidate for our Catalyst Grant programme, which is designed to spur on ideas, and help carry them from their initial stages to a working prototype and beyond.

Drop us a line and tell us a little more about your idea or business. In order for us to best understand your business and market, we encourage applicants to submit a pitch deck, if possible.