A new venture capital firm is emerging from the Imperial College London community with a strategy built around the intersection of deep technology and artificial intelligence. Project Ventures has launched its debut £5 million fund to back pre seed and seed stage companies developing technologies that combine science, engineering and AI with applications in the physical world.
Backing early stage technology
Project Ventures plans to invest between £100,000 and £300,000 in each portfolio company, with three investments already completed. The fund is targeting startups where technical research, proprietary intellectual property and engineering capabilities can create differentiated products.
The firm’s official website says it focuses on Deep Tech and AI ventures emerging from the Imperial ecosystem and connected communities. Its investment thesis centres on companies building intelligent systems that bridge digital technologies with the physical world.
The areas of interest include robotics, healthcare, climate technology, energy and advanced manufacturing. These sectors reflect the firm’s broader focus on technologies that require substantial scientific or engineering expertise rather than purely software based business models.
An alumni powered model
More than 80 percent of Project Ventures’ limited partners are Imperial alumni, according to the firm. It describes the fund as an independent, alumni powered venture capital platform built around the university’s wider startup ecosystem.
The fund is led by Shahryar Barati, its founder and managing partner. Barati is a three time Imperial alumnus with qualifications spanning biomedical engineering, metals and energy finance and an MBA. Imperial’s own profile describes his transition from financial services and asset management into entrepreneurship and venture capital.
Project Ventures is using the Imperial alumni network to identify founders, connect startups with experienced operators and provide access to technical and commercial expertise. The firm says its wider community includes founders, investors, technical specialists and commercial leaders who can support portfolio companies as they develop.
Three investments already made
Although the debut fund has only recently launched, Project Ventures has already backed three companies.
Its portfolio includes Tewke, a home energy platform; NexusAM, which develops AI powered quality assurance technology for metal 3D printing; and Neubond, a neurotechnology company focused on stroke rehabilitation.
The investments illustrate the fund’s preference for businesses combining advanced technology with applications in areas such as energy, manufacturing and healthcare.
Project Ventures’ team also includes venture partners with backgrounds in entrepreneurship, physics, AI, startup growth and international technology businesses. The firm says these specialists contribute to technical due diligence, founder development, commercial strategy and access to international markets.
AI meets the physical world
Project Ventures believes recent advances in AI are changing the development cycle for deeptech companies. AI can accelerate areas such as research, engineering, design and automation while adding new capabilities to physical systems.
For the fund, the opportunity extends beyond conventional software. Its thesis focuses on companies using AI alongside frontier science and engineering to create technologies that can interact with the physical world.
Barati said the combination of Imperial’s strengths in science, engineering and medicine creates a strong environment for identifying companies operating at this intersection.
Building a wider European network
Project Ventures aims to close its debut fund by summer 2027 while continuing to develop its pipeline of Imperial linked startups.
The firm’s longer term ambition is to explore whether its alumni powered investment model can be applied to other technical university ecosystems across Europe. Such a model could connect university alumni with emerging founders while giving early stage companies access to specialist expertise, networks and capital.
For Project Ventures, the initial £5 million fund represents the starting point for a broader investment platform focused on deeptech and AI companies seeking to turn advanced scientific and engineering work into commercial technologies.
