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James Wise

Partner

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James Wise

Partner

Overview

James joined Balderton in 2013 and became a Partner in 2016. He invests across geographies and stages with a specific focus on AI, energy, productivity and health. He sits as a board member and observer for multiple portfolio companies, including Sophia Genetics (Nasdaq-listed $SOPH), Depop (acquired by Etsy), Tibber and GoCardless, and has been involved in the sale of companies to Amazon, Epic Games and Elastic.

Prior to joining Balderton, James helped launch and run one of the UK’s first social venture funds. He has worked with entrepreneurs and businesses in Europe and Africa, in a fintech startup, and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

James is also a member of the UK Government’s Industrial Development Advisory Board, where he oversees large investments into critical infrastructure like the UK’s space, energy and transport sectors, and is a member of the investment committee for Christ Church, Oxford.

Board positions

Munich, Germany

Avi Medical

Elevating the patient experience by combining technology with a human touch.

  • Series B in 2022
London, UK

Convergence

Personal AI assistants that learn, adapt, and remember, handling tasks so you focus on what matters.

  • Pre-seed in 2024
Berlin, Germany

Deepset

Helping users scale their data more quickly, easily and at scale.

  • Series A 2023
Munich, Germany

Demodesk

Intelligent meeting platform for online sales.

  • Series A in 2020
Copenhagen, Denmark

Forecast

AI-native Project & Resource Management platform

  • Series A in 2021
Munich, Germany

Kaia Health

Clinically validated digital therapeutics

  • Series A in 2018
Berlin, Germany

Levity

The no-code AI automation platform for freight email operations.

  • Seed in 2022
Freibourg, Germany

Prior Labs

State of the art AI model for tabular data.

  • Pre-seed in 2025
Førde, Norway

Tibber

Using digital technology to make electricity consumption smarter

  • Series B in 2020
Berlin, Germany

trawa

Renewable commercial and industrial energy supplier.

  • Seed in 2024

Related investments

London, UK

Depop

Peer-to-peer social shopping platform and app that allows creative entrepreneurs to build a social shopping network.

  • Seed in 2012
  • Acquired by Etsy in 2021
London, UK

GoCardless

The easiest way for businesses to collect recurring payments.

  • Series B in 2014
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hubs

The world's largest network of 3D manufacturing services.

  • Series A in 2014
  • Acquired by Protolabs in 2021
London, UK

Pusher

Real-time APIs that power communication and collaboration apps all over the world.

  • Series A in 2018
  • Acquired by MessageBird 2020
Paris, France

Sketchfab

Platform to publish, share, and discover 3D content online and in VR.

  • Series A in 2013
  • Acquired by Epic Games in 2021
Lausanne, Switzerland

Sophia Genetics

Democratising data-driven medicine.

  • Series B in 2017
  • IPO on NASDAQ in 2021

Related content

Related videos

What's Next with Balderton: James Wise talks Embodied AI with Wayve's Alex Kendall
In conversation: Matthieu Rouif, CEO of Photoroom and James Wise, Partner at Balderton
Balderton’s James Wise on AI, Entrepreneurship and the ‘Start-up Century’
VC Boss Explains The Rise of Entrepreneurs