UK Impact VC Eka Ventures Closes Second Fund at $107M April 13, 2026 - 7:38 am When Eka Ventures held the final close of its first fund at £68 million in 2021, the London-based firm asserted that impact investing and venture-scale returns were not mutually exclusive-a stance few UK VCs were willing to embrace at the time. Five years later, they are doubling down on this belief. Eka has closed its second fund at $107 million (£80 million), bringing its total assets under management to $200 million and solidifying its position as the UK's largest early-stage impact VC focusing on health, well-being, and sustainability.
Fund II will back up to 30 pre-seed and seed-stage companies in the UK, with an average first cheque of approximately $2 million, and reserves dedicated to follow-on investments. The firm pledges to continue leading or co-leading 90% of its deals, a commitment maintained throughout its debut fund. The investment thesis remains centered on: consumer technology startups operating at the intersection of preventative healthcare, sustainable consumption, and improved access to essential services such as housing, insurance, and education. ** backers include a diverse mix of public-interest capital and philanthropic foundations**, such as: British Business Bank (committed £36 million to Fund I) Better Society Capital Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation The Health Foundation WRAP Esmée Fairbairn Foundation John Ellerman Foundation Vivensa Foundation, and more.
Eka asserts that its debut fund's performance supports this thesis. While DPI (distributions to paid-in capital) and TVPI (total value to paid-in capital) figures for 2021 have not been independently verified, the portfolio boasts notable successes like Runna , the running training app acquired by Strava in April 2025, alongside Urban Jungle , Axle , Hived , Foresight Data Machines , Jude , and Flok Health . Several portfolio companies have since raised from prominent VCs like Index Ventures, Accel, and Balderton.
The market Eka targets is vast, often overlooked in traditional VC terms. The UK spent 10.9% of its GDP on health in 2023, according to the King's Fund, with total healthcare expenditure reaching roughly £317 billion in 2024. Yet preventive care accounted for only 5.2% of government healthcare spending, per ONS data.
Eka identifies a significant opportunity: addressing structural inefficiencies that cost the NHS billions annually through early detection, behavior change, and digitally delivered care. Similarly, on the sustainability front, ONS data shows consumer expenditure now contributes 26% to the UK's 2024 total greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing even transport at 16.1%. Eka suggests that decarbonization increasingly hinges on helping consumers reduce their carbon footprint through sustainable practices and technologies.