Velocity Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Velocity Capital (formally Velocity Capital Advisors Limited) is a UK-based venture capital fund specialising in SEIS and EIS tax-efficient investments in early-stage technology and digital businesses. Founded by entrepreneurs and marketers, the firm backs pre-seed through Series A companies that are innovative, capital-efficient, and scalable — with a focus on companies that have achieved meaningful early traction (typically around £1M ARR) and are targeting £10M ARR within three years and £20M within five.
The firm describes its approach as active rather than passive, leveraging the team's own backgrounds as entrepreneurs, financiers, and marketers to provide hands-on support to portfolio companies. Velocity backs both B2C and B2B businesses, with a particular emphasis on UK-based D2C and B2B2C startups with international expansion potential.
Stage Focus
Velocity invests across pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages, corresponding to the SEIS and EIS UK tax incentive programmes:
- SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme): Very early-stage companies, typically pre-product or just post-launch, with gross assets under £350K and under 25 employees.
- EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme): Slightly more mature companies at seed to Series A, with growing revenue and a clear path to £10M+ ARR.
Velocity SEIS Technology Fund 4 targets 2.5x returns over a 5-year holding period with a minimum subscription of £10,000. Velocity EIS Technology Fund 5 targets 3x returns over 5 years with the same minimum. Both funds are currently open for investment.
Check Size
Velocity typically writes cheques of £250,000 to £1.5M per investment. They invest as both lead and follow-on investor depending on the round dynamics.
Lead Tendency
Velocity participates as both lead and follower. Recent examples include leading Lucida AI's $7M seed round (July 2026) and participating alongside Pembroke VCT in Kaizan's funding round.
Recent Activity
Velocity has been actively deploying through 2025 and into 2026. Notable recent milestones:
- July 2026: Led Lucida AI's $7M seed round for speech-to-speech AI; co-investors included Next Tier Ventures, Look AI Ventures, Boğaziçi Ventures, and ÜNLÜ & Co. Lucida had grown to 3 million users and 2.2 billion minutes of spoken interaction in 15 months.
- July 2026: Portfolio exit — Wenup (prenup/relationship agreement platform) acquired by Blackfinch Group.
- Q1 2025: Portfolio exit from Swoop (SME funding platform), the firm's fourth profitable exit.
- 2026: Kaizan (AI client service platform) raised a $3M round with Velocity participating alongside lead investor Pembroke VCT.
- 2025: Fussy (sustainable deodorant) follow-on round alongside co-investors including Guinness Ventures.
- 2024: 3fin (e-commerce management for Amazon sellers) seed investment.
The firm has achieved four profitable exits to date: Coverholder/Crea (insurtech MGA), Snatch Media (AR game), Swoop (SME funding), and Wenup (legal marketplace).
Portfolio Highlights
Velocity has invested in over 70 companies total across its fund history, with approximately 46 active portfolio companies as of mid-2026. Sector breadth is notable:
- Fintech/Payments: Ryft (embedded payments, 1,500+ businesses, cuts costs up to 70%), Sprive (mortgage app, grew from £500K to £14M ARR in one year), Mintago (financial wellbeing platform), Payr (rent payment via credit cards), Brickflow (commercial real estate finance platform)
- HealthTech: Patchs (AI-powered patient triage, UKCA-marked Class I medical device), Sportlight (LiDAR + AI player tracking for professional sports), Machine Medicine (Parkinson's AI assessment)
- Consumer D2C brands: Fussy (sustainable deodorant, Health & Beauty Brand of the Year 2026 at Grocer Gold Awards, stocked in Tesco/Sainsbury's/Boots), Feel (wellness supplements), DRTY (UK's leading hard seltzer), Fullgreen (low-carb rice alternative)
- AI/Enterprise Software: Bolt Insight (AI consumer intelligence, works with L'Oréal, Vodafone, Unilever, 15M+ consumer conversations), Kaizan (AI client service platform), Kritmatta (AI agents for SMEs), Lucida AI (speech-to-speech AI, 3M+ users)
- Media/Entertainment: SEEN (personalised video at scale, clients include Amazon, AC Milan, WWF), Gotobeat (concert promoter tech, 150K+ attendees in 2025, 4x YoY growth), NextUp (comedy streaming)
- Gaming: Kohort (mobile game cohort forecasting), Outsmarted (trivia board game, 150K+ units sold in 10+ countries)
Team
- Rajeev Saxena, Founder & CEO — Educated at University of Edinburgh and IMD Business School. Previously in advertising. Founded Velocity Capital and the Juice product (scalable credit line for e-commerce companies). Contact: [email protected]
- Thomas Lindup, COO — Quoted in the Lucida AI investment announcement as driving deal evaluation and portfolio relationships.
- Ashley Smith, Head of Business Development — Former professional rugby player (Loughborough University). Leads founder sourcing and commercial relationships. Contact: [email protected]
- Kyle Soulsby — Investment team, active on LinkedIn regarding portfolio companies and UK VC ecosystem commentary.
- Hugo Sunnucks — Investment team. Contact: [email protected]
Decision Process
Investment decisions go through an investment committee process. Fund management is formally handled by Sapphire Capital Partners LLP (the regulated fund manager), with Velocity Capital Advisors Limited acting as the investment adviser. The team operates out of Epsom, Surrey (2A The Quadrant, Epsom, Surrey, KT17 4RH).
Geographic Focus
Primarily UK-based companies, with preference for international expansion potential. Velocity backs companies across the UK, with the portfolio distributed across London and wider UK markets.
Founder Preferences
Velocity looks for founders with relevant domain expertise and personal investment in their space. The firm has a stated commitment to diversity — 44% of its 46 portfolio companies have female founders and 36% have ethnic minority founders. The team hosts regular events and maintains close relationships with portfolio founders throughout the investment lifecycle.
Anti-Thesis
Velocity does not invest in pure hardware companies, mining/natural resources, property development (vs. proptech software), or businesses outside the technology/digital sector. Given SEIS/EIS eligibility requirements, they also cannot back companies in excluded sectors such as banking, insurance underwriting, farming, or energy generation.