Tramlines Ventures has completed a £2 million seed round and the first close of a £10 million fund, assembling a senior team that includes Glen Robinson, who resigned this week as Microsoft UK’s National Technology Officer to lead the firm’s AI platform.
The London-based firm describes itself as a venture company that combines early-stage capital, a structured accelerator, and an AI deployment platform into a single system — targeting domain expert founders who want to industrialise specialist knowledge through AI rather than build standalone software products.
The seed round, at a £22.5 million pre-money valuation, is the firm’s second fundraise since launching in April 2025. Its debut £1 million round valued the management company at £8 million. Fund I, which will back 30 pre-seed companies with £250,000 first cheques, has now reached its first close, backed by family offices and exited founders.
Robinson’s appointment as managing director of the AI platform is the most conspicuous hire in a team drawn broadly from banking, Big Four consulting, and venture capital. As National Technology Officer at Microsoft UK, he advised the UK Government on technology strategy and regulation. The firm’s chair, Craig Donaldson, founded Metro Bank in 2010 and took it through a £1.6 billion IPO. Andrew Winters, who leads the accelerator, was a managing partner in Deloitte’s technology advisory practice before serving as COO of NEOM’s technology subsidiary.
The investment thesis is built around a 24-month programme. Each company in the portfolio is expected to move from concept to early commercial operation within that window, powered by the firm’s AI Transformation Platform — described as an orchestration layer that converts industry-specific operational knowledge into agent-based systems. Rather than chasing rapid revenue growth at the outset, Tramlines focuses on capital efficiency and structured pathways to profitability.
Fund I is led by Daniel Lanyon, a founding partner and former editor-in-chief of AltFi. Erica Young, who joins as director of networks, brings experience from Anthemis, Atomico, and the Newton Venture Program. Donaldson, commenting on the approach, described it as “one of the most structured approaches to company building I have seen”, citing governance, operational discipline, and technical capability as the factors that give the model credibility at scale.
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