Eka Ventures Closes $107M Second Impact Fund in UK

A London-based venture capital firm has just secured a significant new fund, reinforcing its belief that building a better world and achieving strong financial returns are not mutually exclusive goals. Eka Ventures has closed its second fund at $107 million, bringing its total assets under management to $200 million. This milestone solidifies its position as the largest early-stage impact VC in the UK, focusing on the interconnected sectors of health, wellbeing, and sustainability.

The new fund, Eka Ventures Fund II, will target up to 30 pre-seed and seed-stage companies across the UK. The firm plans to write initial checks averaging around $2 million, with capital reserved for follow-on investments. Maintaining a disciplined strategy from its first fund, Eka intends to lead or co-lead 90% of its deals. Its investment thesis remains sharply focused on consumer technology that operates where preventative healthcare, sustainable consumption, and wider access to essential services like housing and education converge.

A notable coalition of backers supports this vision. The firm’s limited partners for the new fund include a mix of public and philanthropic institutions such as the British Business Bank, Better Society Capital, and foundations like Guy’s & St Thomas’ and The Health Foundation. This LP base underscores a growing alignment between institutional capital and measurable societal impact.

Eka points to the performance of its debut fund as validation of its approach. While unaudited, the firm states its 2021 vintage fund ranks in the top 5% for both distributions and total value relative to paid-in capital. Its portfolio includes companies like Runna, acquired by Strava earlier this year, alongside Urban Jungle, Axle, and Flok Health. Several of these startups have subsequently attracted funding from prominent firms like Index Ventures and Accel.

The market opportunity Eka is addressing is vast, though not always categorized as traditional tech. Recent data indicates the UK spent over 10% of its GDP on health, with total healthcare expenditure reaching approximately £317 billion last year. However, a critical imbalance exists. Government spending on preventive care accounted for just over 5% of that total. Eka identifies this gap between treatment and prevention as a major commercial opportunity, targeting businesses that use digital tools for early detection and behavior change to address systemic inefficiencies costing the NHS billions annually.

On the sustainability front, consumer expenditure is now the largest contributor to UK greenhouse gas emissions. This reality means decarbonisation increasingly hinges on shifts in consumer behavior. Companies that innovate in how people eat, travel, and manage their homes are positioned at the center of this essential transition.

Navigating the intersection of venture capital and climate tech presents challenges, as sustainability startups often need longer development timelines. Eka’s strategy of early investment in consumer-facing companies with clear product-market fit is one model for bridging this divide. A key part of its operation is a proprietary, AI-powered sourcing platform, which the firm credits for originating 47% of its first fund’s investments since 2021. This systematic approach to finding founders outside typical networks serves as a distinct competitive advantage in a crowded seed market.

Founded by partners Jon Coker and Camilla Dolan, who have backgrounds with companies like Gousto and Bloom & Wild, Eka’s portfolio reflects its consumer tech roots. The firm backs product-led businesses solving clear consumer problems in markets where regulatory and demographic trends provide a tailwind, rather than deep-tech ventures requiring decades of research.

Jon Coker emphasized the firm’s conviction, stating that startups innovating in health, sustainability, and access are building a better future while engaging with some of the largest market opportunities in history. He noted the success of the first fund demonstrates the long-term potential of this model, which is already showing promise in the initial investments from the new fund.

Camilla Dolan added that their philosophy has always centered on backing the right founders and granting them the autonomy to pursue ambitious goals, which unlocks transformative outcomes both commercially and for society.

While a single £80 million fund cannot alone bridge Europe’s persistent venture funding gap with the US, its successful raise signals that appetite for purpose-aligned capital is growing among investors committed to the long term. The central question now is whether Eka can maintain its top-tier performance as it scales from its first fund. The answer will unfold over the coming years.