TSP Ventures closes debut Pathfinder fund, lands £3M from British Business Bank

What's the deal? TSP VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a London-based early-stage venture firm, has closed its inaugural Pathfinder (S)EIS Fund, backed by its existing investor base. The firm did not disclose the amount raised.

Why now? The close follows a £3 million commitment from the British Business Bank's Regional Angels Programme, delivered via partner HaatchDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. That capital will be co-invested alongside TSP's own investors to back UK founders.

What's the endgame? Launched in June, the FCA Sustainability Impact-labelled fund raises and deploys capital annually into UK early-stage environmental technologies. It marks TSP's shift from deal-by-deal SPVs toward a recurring fund structure for hard-science startups.

Founded in 2019 by Chris Smith and Mike Doswell, TSP invests in hard science and breakthrough technologies that can deliver sustainable, cost-effective supplies of critical resources like energy, food, water, and metals. It has backed 17 seed-stage companies spanning metal recycling, metal-organic frameworks, clean hydrogen, sodium-ion batteries, and bio-electrochemical waste treatment.

Those companies have since raised over £125 million in follow-on funding and created more than 150 jobs in the UK.

"We started TSP because we believed that resilient resources — abundant green energy, clean air, plentiful freshwater and food — would define the coming decades," said Mike Doswell, co-founder and chief investment officer. He called the British Business Bank's backing "a huge vote of confidence."

The Regional Angels Programme aims to reduce regional imbalances in access to early-stage equity finance across the UK. "TSP Ventures are investing in businesses across the country which are helping to build the resource resilience of the UK," said Mark Barry, senior investment director at the British Business Bank.

The signal: With the amount undisclosed, Pathfinder's weight lies less in its size than in its structure. It reflects a broader push in climate and deep-tech investing toward recurring funds — echoed by moves like the Northern European Footprint Firm's €76 million green-transition fund in January.

Read more: vcwire.tech

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