SK

Simon King

Partner in Ventures Team at Octopus Ventures

London, England

Invests in

Locations:

  • Min Investment:

    $100,000.00
  • Max Investment:

    $5,000,000.00
  • Target Investment:

    $1,500,000.00

Work Experience

  • Partner in Ventures Team

    2012

    Octopus Ventures helps pioneers change the world. Our investment team is built to specialise in the four areas we believe will change the world for the better: health, money, deep tech and consumer. With £1.3 billion under management and investing over £100m a year, Octopus Ventures is one of the largest and most active venture investors in Europe. Typical investment is from £1 milli on for Seed to £10 million for Series B with the ability to fund the companies backed right through to IPO. Octopus Ventures has invested in the founding teams of over 120 companies including Zoopla Property Group, Secret Escapes, graze.com, Depop and Cazoo. Octopus Ventures is part of Octopus Group, a group of innovative, entrepreneurial businesses investing in the people, ideas and industries that will help to change the world, with more than £9.1bn under management.

2015

  • Non Executive Director

    2015

    TRAFI is the world’s most accurate public transportation app focusing on emerging high-growth markets and was listed in Apple’s highly regarded ‘Best apps of 2014’. Our unique technology and backend algorithms allow us to provide better quality public transportation information than competitors and official local transit authorities. Founded in 2013 in Lithuania by Jurgis Pasukonis, Mantas Vizbaras, Martynas Gudonavicius and Algimantas Krasauskas, TRAFI brings a scientific approach to public transportation with the aim of raising confidence in public transport and its usage. We're hiring in London & Vilnius! Check our open positions here - https://trafi.workable.com/

2014 - 2022

  • Non Executive Director

    2014 - 2022

    SmartKem is a high tech enterprise formed in 2009. Located at the Hexagon Tower technology building in Manchester, SmartKem is developing an exciting new technology platform focusing on high performance organic semiconductor materials that enable next generation flexible electronics for mobile phones, tablets and wearable technology.

2016 - 2021

  • Non Executive Director

    2016 - 2021

    WaveOptics is a global provider of pioneering Augmented Reality wave guides offering exceptional picture quality in flexible form factors. Acquired by Snap in May 2021.

  • Non Executive Director

    2013 - 2017

    Surrey NanoSystems is focussed on the development, growth and commercialisation of strategically important nano materials. SNS has developed a process for producing a very high integrity, highly emissive black body absorber coating. Vantablack™ offers better emissivity than current alternatives and also demonstrates no outgassing, very high vibration and shock resistance, and thermal stability from -196°C to +450°C. This material demonstrates the lowest Total Hemispherical Reflectance (THR) of any current absorber coating, as low as 0.15% in the 4-15 micron wavelength range, and 0.04% in visible wavelength range.

  • Site Manager

    2011 - 2011

    Site manager, leading a team developing new techniques for extending the useful life of bamboo for use in structural design.

  • Post Doctoral Research Associate

    2010 - 2011

    Collaborative research with Universities across the UK into novel nanostructured organic photovoltaics. https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=I3-SDcYAAAAJ&hl=en