Scottish Widows pension fund backs UK quantum and deeptech

The first four companies

The initial portfolio includes Oxford Quantum Circuits, which is building commercially available quantum computing systems, and Quantum Motion, which is developing scalable silicon-based quantum computers designed for mass adoption.

The other two are Nyobolt, whose ultra-fast-charging battery technology targets high-performance energy storage, and Genomics Limited, which applies AI, machine learning and large-scale genetic datasets to preventative healthcare and drug discovery.

How the structure works

Aberdeen Investments manages the growth sub-fund for Scottish Widows and has appointed IP Group to run a UK venture growth portfolio inside it. The arrangement brings private-markets exposure to workplace pension savers, and the partners say the model can be expanded over time as part of the fund's wider global private markets remit.

The mandate targets a specific bottleneck in the UK innovation economy: the availability of meaningful follow-on funding for companies ready to commercialise and expand.

Peter Fitzgerald, Chief Investment Officer at Scottish Widows, said pension savers should be able to benefit from growth and innovation across the UK, with access to opportunities that have mainly been open to institutional investors. Nalaka De Silva, Head of Private Markets Solutions at Aberdeen Investments, said the UK has no shortage of scientific excellence, entrepreneurship or talent, but its competitive companies have lacked sufficient pools of patient domestic capital. "This partnership turns intent into investment," he said.

For founders, the deal signals a potential new source of growth-stage capital at home. For pension members, it offers exposure to private companies that were previously hard to reach, with the stated aim of supporting stronger retirement outcomes.