FTSE 250 firm IP Group has led an oversubscribed £4m pre-Series A funding round for Matter Machine, an artificial intelligence-driven materials discovery company spun out of the University of Liverpool

The funding round, the largest investment secured by a newly formed spin-out from the institution, was backed by Northern Gritstone, the University of Liverpool Enterprise Fund, Norrsken Evolve, LYVA Labs and the Northern Universities Venture Fund, managed by Parkwalk, IP Group’s EIS fund management arm.

The proceeds will support the expansion of Matter Machine’s technical and commercial teams, further development of its AI-powered discovery platform and engagement with commercial partners, said IP Group, a London-based venture capital and intellectual property investor that backs early-stage science and technology companies.

Based at the university’s Materials Innovation Factory, Matter Machine combines materials chemistry, automated experimentation and machine learning to accelerate the identification and optimisation of new inorganic crystalline materials. Its technology aims to reduce the time and cost of materials innovation across industries including energy, batteries, catalysis, electronics and advanced manufacturing.

As part of its commercialisation strategy, Matter Machine has appointed Gordon Sanghera, co-founder and former CEO of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, to lead its commercial development. Sanghera helped build Oxford Nanopore from its inception to its £3.4bn London Stock Exchange (LSE) listing.

IP Group CEO Greg Smith said: "Matter Machine brings together two exceptional forces in British innovation. The University of Liverpool’s inorganic materials group’s AI-powered discovery work could dramatically shorten the time required to develop new materials, accelerating innovation across batteries, catalysts and advanced manufacturing.

Gordon Sanghera has already demonstrated his ability to build a globally significant deeptech company with Oxford Nanopore, a journey that IP Group was proud to support. Matter Machine exemplifies the kind of ambitious science-led company that IP Group was established to support, and we are delighted to lead this round."

IP Group shares were up 2.11% at 72.50p on Monday morning.

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