A £37.5m money pot for tech entrepreneurs in the UK has launched.
The Episode 1 Fund will invest between £250,000 and £2m into 20 to 30 early stage companies which demonstrate their potential to be disruptive in the internet and mobile world.
The fund combines public and private money from the government as well as Zoopla founder and CEO Alex Chesterman and Shutl founder Tom Allason.
The three partners behind Episode 1, Simon Murdoch, Damien Lane and Adrian Lloyd, are entrepreneurs who have helped tech firms like Betfair, Love Film and Shazam succeed.
The trio will work with the firms they invest in to try and help them grow into successes.
Murdoch said: "I know from personal experience how hard it is to start and grow a business, even without the added difficulties of the current economic climate. Raising venture funding is even harder. Our aim is to establish Episode 1 as the best place to come for early stage technology entrepreneurs looking for up to £2m of funding."
UK business secretary Vince Cable added: "We are determined to give entrepreneurs the financial support they need to grow. This new £37.5m enterprise capital fund will target a serious gap in the equity market for high growth small firms."
