Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) has published its Oxford Science Enterprises Annual Report 2025, marking a defining year in the organisation’s decade-long mission to find, fund, and build world-changing companies from Oxford’s world-class science.
The report sets out a year of significant progress: two major portfolio exits, an accelerating pace of new company formation, and continued momentum across OSE’s Deep Tech, HealthTech, and Life Sciences portfolios.
Two Major Exits Drive Record Returns
The headline achievement of 2025 was the $1.075bn acquisition of Oxford Ionics by IonQ, OSE’s first unicorn exit, which delivered £263m in proceeds and a 30x return on invested capital. Before the year closed, OSE also completed the sale of Dark Blue Therapeutics to Amgen in a transaction valued at up to $840m, with total potential cash realisations for OSE of up to £218m.
Together, the two exits delivered a net realised gain of £266m, driving a 17% increase in net asset value to £1.26bn.
Building the Next Generation
Alongside its exit momentum, OSE invested in 12 new companies during the year, double the number added in 2024, spanning areas including robotics, genetic medicines, and AI-powered healthcare. Portfolio companies collectively raised over £400m during the year, with significant rounds including Beacon Therapeutics’ $75m Series C led by Goldman Sachs, Wild Biosciences’ $60m Series A led by the Ellison Institute of Technology, and Ultromics’ $55m Series C led by Lightrock.
OSE enters 2026 with £483m in cash and deposits on its balance sheet and a clear pipeline of companies moving towards exit readiness.
Why This Matters for Oxfordshire
OSE’s results are a powerful reflection of the strength and maturity of Oxfordshire’s science and technology ecosystem. Through its unique partnership with the University of Oxford, ranked the world’s number one university for ten consecutive years in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, OSE has been instrumental in accelerating the commercialisation of breakthrough research and building companies of global significance.
As CEO Ed Bussey notes in the report, OSE’s focus is not only on delivering returns for shareholders, but on demonstrating that its venture-building model can be repeated and scaled. The organisation is also deepening its engagement with government, industry, and regional partners, including taking board positions at Equinox, Oxford’s new regional innovation partnership, and the government-backed OxCam Supercluster.
Read the Full Report
The Oxford Science Enterprises Annual Report 2025 is available to read in full here.
