Magdalen College Oxford
Oxford University college that invested directly in OQC's Series C round.
Magdalen College Oxford took a direct stake in Oxford Quantum Circuits' £260m Series C round on 2 June 2026, Europe's largest private quantum funding round, alongside the British Business Bank and Chevron Technology Ventures.
Last refreshed: 31 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Magdalen College Oxford
Joined Moa Technology's Series C syndicate
UK Startups and Innovation: Moa raises £22.2m to outrun resistanceOQC raises £260m in Europe's biggest quantum round
UK Startups and InnovationBackground
Magdalen College is one of the largest and wealthiest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. It maintains a substantial endowment managed by the college's investment committee and deployed across equities, property and, increasingly, direct private-company investments. Oxford colleges have historically acted as patient capital providers with very long time horizons.
The college's approach is part of a broader pattern of Oxford colleges taking direct equity in high-growth spinouts from the university's research base, a model that differs from most European universities, where commercialisation is centralised through a single tech-transfer office. Oxford's collegiate structure instead lets multiple independent pools of college capital back the same spinout alongside institutional and state investors.
Magdalen backed a record quantum round
Magdalen College appeared on the cap table for Oxford Quantum Circuits' £260m ($350m) Series c, closed 2 June 2026 and led by Bullhound Capital, alongside institutional investors including the British Business Bank, COFIDES and Chevron Technology Ventures . OQC is an Oxford University spinout and Europe's leading commercial quantum-computing company.
The college's direct participation, alongside state and institutional capital, shows Magdalen deploying endowment money into a growth-stage technology bet well beyond conventional asset classes, a pattern several wealthier Oxford colleges have adopted for spinouts emerging from the university's own research environment.
