Pre-seed VC, UK
Entrepreneur First
Venture capital firm · London · Founded August 2011
Quick read
Entrepreneur First (EF) is a pre-seed talent investor founded in 2011 in London, now valued at $1.3bn as a holding company. Unlike traditional accelerators, EF recruits exceptional individuals before they have a co-founder or idea, then funds them to build companies from scratch. Portfolio companies are collectively worth over $16bn, and EF runs cohorts across Europe, Asia, and San Francisco.
Key facts
- Founded
- August 2011
- Founders
- Matt Clifford, Alice Bentinck
- Employees
- 967
- Sectors
- ai, hardware, generalist
- Website
- www.joinef.com
Investment thesis
EF invests in exceptional individuals before they have a co-founder or idea, backing them at the pre-company stage to form teams, develop theses, and build globally important technology companies from scratch — with a particular focus on AI and deep tech.
Recent activity
- Jul 2026investmentJuno Bio, an EF-backed company, opened the first CLIA-certified sequencing lab dedicated entirely to women's health, with EF named among its backers alongside Ada Ventures, Artesian, and Illumina Accelerator. crunchbase.com
- 2025fundraiseEF raised $200m, celebrated with a community event in San Francisco. Co-founder Alice Bentinck confirmed the raise publicly via LinkedIn. linkedin.com
- 2025productEF shifted its center of gravity to San Francisco, opening a Bay Area office. Since the move, valuations for EF companies have doubled and time-to-raise dropped from weeks in Europe to days in San Francisco. linkedin.com
- 2025pressFast Company named Entrepreneurs First on its Most Innovative Companies list, spotlighting The Bridge — EF's San Francisco residency program for founders. linkedin.com
- 2025productEF launched The Bridge, a new San Francisco-based residency product aimed at the world's most ambitious founders, distinct from its existing cohort programs. linkedin.com
- 2024pressMatt Clifford was awarded a CBE for services to AI and named to the Time AI100 list of most influential people in AI. matthewclifford.com
- 2024leadershipMatt Clifford transitioned to non-executive Chair of EF, which is now described as a $1.3bn holding company. He continues as Chair of ARIA, the UK's £1.4bn Advanced Research and Invention Agency. matthewclifford.com
- Jan 2026productEF held its January 2026 Demo Day in San Francisco, opened by a fireside chat with Dwarkesh Patel. The event marked EF's push into the SF startup scene via its new residency programme, The Bridge. joinef.com
- Jan 2026pressAlice Bentinck hosted an EF community event in San Francisco celebrating the firm's $200m fundraise, bringing together founders joining The Bridge residency alongside existing portfolio founders. linkedin.com
- 2025pressFast Company named EF on its Most Innovative Companies list, citing The Bridge — the firm's San Francisco-based residency for ambitious founders — as a standout product. linkedin.com
- Oct 2025productEF's October 2025 Demo Day opened with a fireside chat with Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic. joinef.com
- Apr 2025productEF's April 2025 Demo Day opened with a fireside chat with Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures. joinef.com
Notable investments
- Juno BioNot statedJul 2026crunchbase.com
- KyberNot stated2025linkedin.com
- AgileRLSeedJan 2026tracxn.com
- PleaseFix.aiPre-SeedFeb 2026tracxn.com
- Accurxjoinef.com
- Unitaryjoinef.com
- Magdrivejoinef.com
- VFlowTechjoinef.com
- Spore.Biojoinef.com
- Nivodajoinef.com
- ScopeSeries A ($20M, Index Ventures)uk.linkedin.com
Key people
Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.
- Matt Clifford · Co-founder & Non-Executive Chair
- Alice Bentinck · Co-founder
- Javier Torremocha · CTO
Sources
- Matt Clifford personal site
- Matt Clifford - LinkedIn
- Entrepreneur First - LinkedIn
- Entrepreneur First - Tracxn
- Entrepreneur First website
- Entrepreneurs First - Wikipedia
- Entrepreneur First Raises $158M Series C - Entrepreneur
- https://sifted.eu/tag/entrepreneurs-first
- https://www.joinef.com/insights/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicebentinck
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mattcliffordef_were-excited-to-announce-that-entrepreneurs-activity-7437437314433347585-X7LP
- https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/entrepreneur-first/signals_and_news
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/entrepreneurs-first
Other VCs in United Kingdom
- Balderton Capital · Early-stage VC, London·
- Atomico · Multi-stage VC, London·
- Molten Ventures · Multi-stage VC, London·
- Octopus Ventures · Early-stage VC, London·
- Hoxton Ventures · Seed VC, London·
- Episode 1 Ventures · Seed VC, London
Explore VCs by sector
Globally
Frequently asked
What is Entrepreneur First?+
Entrepreneur First (EF) is a pre-seed talent investor founded in 2011 in London, now valued at $1. 3bn as a holding company.
Where is Entrepreneur First headquartered?+
Entrepreneur First is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
When was Entrepreneur First founded?+
Entrepreneur First was founded in August 2011 by Matt Clifford, Alice Bentinck.
What sectors does Entrepreneur First invest in?+
Entrepreneur First focuses on ai, hardware, generalist. They primarily invest in these sectors.
How do I prepare for a meeting with Entrepreneur First?+
Brief generates a structured pre-meeting briefing on any person at Entrepreneur First — quick read, recent activity, points of view, and conversation openers tailored to what you sell. Sign in to get personalised openers for your product.
Meeting with someone at Entrepreneur First?
Brief generates a structured pre-meeting briefing on any person in seconds.
Try Brief →Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated August 21, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.
Automatically generated by AI from public sources. May be inaccurate or out of date. Remove or correct this profile →