8GT launches £110m Sino-British venture fund

The government-formed fund announced its collaboration with Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (JITRI) to invest in the growth of UK technology companies with investors in the Jiangsu region in China.

Labelling itself a specialist technology venture capital fund, 8GT was established to focus on eight technologies identified by the UK government for support and development. The eight technologies are IT and digital; robotics and autonomous systems; satellites and space technologies; regenerative medicine and medical technology; synthetic biology; agricultural technology; advanced materials; and energy storage and efficiency.

Founded in 2017 by former conservative member of parliament Lord Willetts, the fund hired a team of 10 scientists to advise on startup investments.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by Lord Willetts, chairman of 8GT, and Liu Qing, president of JITRI, in Beijing on 2 February 2018. 

A day earlier, senior members of the 8GT management team had signed an additional MOU with Chinese investors to launch its Eight Great Technologies Sino UK Investment Fund, partnering with Tsinghua University's venture capital research institute to create the £560m fund.

It consists of two sub funds, one of which will invest in British technology funds that have a product or application relevant for Chinese investors, and a second China-based sub fund investing in technology joint ventures and partnerships between the UK and China. 

In a similar announcement, technology- and life-sciences-focused venture capital firm Future Planet Capital launched a fund targeting university spin-outs in the UK and China.

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