Northern Gritstone, the UK-based investor backing deep-tech spinouts from Universities of Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, and Liverpool, announced Friday it is opening a San Francisco office. The move targets U.S. capital deployment and business development for its portfolio companies. Gritstone, founded in 2021, has raised £382 million and plans to invest ~$1 million in the new office and hire a venture partner to connect portfolio companies with U.S. networks, capital, and procurement opportunities.
CEO Duncan Johnson stated the goal is "getting more U.S. capital" because the U.S. market offers higher procurement maturity and risk appetite for technology investment. Johnson noted that UK-backed companies "trade at a discount in the US" and that direct presence makes it easier for U.S. capital to conduct due diligence. The investor does not plan to conduct U.S.-based investments directly but will focus on enabling exits and growth for UK spinouts into American markets.
Gritstone's portfolio spans enzyme engineering (Imperagen), photonics chips (Optalysys), and semiconductor design (Pragmatic Semiconductor). The San Francisco office hire targets operational support for scaling portfolio companies post-Series A, reducing friction in capital access and talent recruitment.
For practitioners tracking deep-tech and spinout funding, this signals the maturation of UK university IP commercialization and a shift toward transatlantic capital flows. Watch for increased U.S. institutional LP interest in European deep-tech spinouts, and track whether other European spinout funds follow similar geographic expansions.