Startups
Zinc exists to build and scale a brand-new way to solve the most important societal problems faced by the developed world.
Our approach empowers the most talented and motivated people in the world to redirect their careers and have a large-scale social impact as entrepreneurs, researchers and intrapreneurs.
We focus on specific ‘missions’ with an intensive programme that includes our two products: Venture Builder and The Academy, in each mission.
We believe that missions unite, mobilise and organise the best talent, knowledge and capital that are needed to break through at scale.
We have 3 criteria for choosing a Zinc mission:
1. It must tackle one of the great unmet needs in the developed world;
2. The target addressable market must exceed 100m people in the developed world alone;
3. There must be lots of unexploited opportunities to disrupt, extend and improve existing services through new technologies and insights from research.
Since we launched in 2017, we have been developing a unique ecosystem of diverse talent across many sectors, mobilising them around a common mission and building commercial and investable solutions to social problems.
We are building a new commercial innovation system for the social sciences, to increase the impact of existing research and to generate new R&D opportunities through our ventures. Zinc’s main financial backer is the London School of Economics. Zinc is also a member of the ASPECT consortium which is accelerating the commercial impact of social science.
Our first three Missions were to improve the mental and emotional health of women and girls in the developed world; to unlock new opportunities for people in places that have been hard-hit by globalisation and automation; and to add five high-quality years to later life. Our 4th Mission, starting in October 2021, is to ensure every child & young person can develop and maintain good mental and emotional health. Learn more at https://www.zinc.vc/venture-builder
Our approach empowers the most talented and motivated people in the world to redirect their careers and have a large-scale social impact as entrepreneurs, researchers and intrapreneurs.
We focus on specific ‘missions’ with an intensive programme that includes our two products: Venture Builder and The Academy, in each mission.
We believe that missions unite, mobilise and organise the best talent, knowledge and capital that are needed to break through at scale.
We have 3 criteria for choosing a Zinc mission:
1. It must tackle one of the great unmet needs in the developed world;
2. The target addressable market must exceed 100m people in the developed world alone;
3. There must be lots of unexploited opportunities to disrupt, extend and improve existing services through new technologies and insights from research.
Since we launched in 2017, we have been developing a unique ecosystem of diverse talent across many sectors, mobilising them around a common mission and building commercial and investable solutions to social problems.
We are building a new commercial innovation system for the social sciences, to increase the impact of existing research and to generate new R&D opportunities through our ventures. Zinc’s main financial backer is the London School of Economics. Zinc is also a member of the ASPECT consortium which is accelerating the commercial impact of social science.
Our first three Missions were to improve the mental and emotional health of women and girls in the developed world; to unlock new opportunities for people in places that have been hard-hit by globalisation and automation; and to add five high-quality years to later life. Our 4th Mission, starting in October 2021, is to ensure every child & young person can develop and maintain good mental and emotional health. Learn more at https://www.zinc.vc/venture-builder
Overview
Location
United Kingdom, England, London
Employees
1-10
Total raised
$4.07M
Founded date
2017
Founders name
Ella Goldner (Levy)
Founders Related Locations
United Kingdom, England, London
Funding Rounds 1
| Date | Series | Amount | Investors |
| Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see |
Persons 1
| Date | First Name | Last Name | Title | |||
| Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see |
Mentions in press and media 20
| Date | Title | Description |
| Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see |
| Sep 4, 2026 | Wonderful raises $550M, Mykhailo Fedorov's new defencetech investment fund, and Londoners can now hail AVs (with safety drivers) | This week, we tracked more than 50 tech funding deals worth over €4.6 billion and over 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe. If email is more your thing, you can always subscribe to our newsletter ... |
| Sep 2, 2026 | British Business Bank commits up to £46M to Zinc’s new deeptech fund | The British Business Bank has agreed to commit up to £46 million to Zinc Capital Management's second institutional fund, the Science-for-Impact Fund, helping to accelerate the creation and growth of innovative UK deep tech startups tackling... |
| Jul 8, 2026 | Respiro Diagnostics secures £1M to advance lung diagnostics | Respiro Diagnostics, a UK-based startup developing breath-based diagnostics for lung diseases, has raised £1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Zinc Venture Capital and SFC Capital. The round also included participation from Amadeus... |
| Mar 9, 2026 | Advancing cardiovascular health – SignaCor Therapeutics lands €288k investment as pat of €1.1 million Seed round | Darach Neeson, CEO at SignaCor, says: “The Spark programme’s content was exceptional – value-filled insights from UK life science industry experts and meaningful investor engagement. The lessons learned have influenced our strategy, and we ... |
| Dec 10, 2024 | Glasgow-based Clyde Hydrogen launches €6 million funding round amid breakthrough in high-pressure hydrogen production | Clyde Hydrogen Systems, a spin-out from the University of Glasgow, has launched a €6 million seed funding round to propel the commercialisation of its hydrogen production technology. This funding will allow the company to refine its decoupl... |
| Apr 11, 2024 | Clyde hydrogen raises £1M for hydrogen production tech | Scottish cleantech Clyde Hydrogen has raised over £1M for its decoupled electrolyser technology that aims to increase the production of hydrogen safely at scale and at low cost. If large-scale hydrogen production is made possible, it would ... |
| Sep 12, 2022 | 15 U.K.-Based Venture Capital Investors Supporting Underrepresented Founders | These 15 U.K.-based angels and venture capital investors are worth following on the topic of ... [+] investment in underrepresented foundersVARIOUS |
| May 31, 2022 | Zinc announces a new €32.9 million fund to back mission-driven founders who are addressing the most pressing societal issues | Zinc, a London-based venture builder and early-stage investor, today announced that it has completed the first close at €32.9 million, of a fund targeting a final close of around €38.8 million. The goal is to invest in the huge global wave ... |
| May 31, 2022 | UK-based Zinc VC completes the first close of its new fund at €32.8M; looks to back 500 entrepreneurs | Zinc VC, a London-based firm that claims to back new companies that solve the developed world’s toughest social issues, announced on Tuesday that it has completed the first close of a new fund at £28M (approximately €32.85M) with a target o... |
Show more
Reviews 0
FAQ about ZINC
When was ZINC founded?
ZINC was founded in 2017.
How much funding has ZINC raised?
ZINC has raised $4.07M in total across 1 funding round.
What has the press written about ZINC?
Parsers VC has collected 20 articles mentioning ZINC, among them “Wonderful raises $550M, Mykhailo Fedorov's new defencetech investment fund, and Londoners can now hail AVs (with safety drivers)” (Sep 4, 2026) and “British Business Bank commits up to £46M to Zinc’s new deeptech fund” (Sep 2, 2026).
Is ZINC still active?
Yes, ZINC is active; its latest activity on Parsers VC dates from Sep 9, 2026.