James Wise
About James Wise
James Wise is based in London and is a Partner at Balderton Capital, where he is listed as a General Partner on some recent announcements. He studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford. He joined Balderton in 2013 and became a Partner in 2016.
Before Balderton he helped launch and run one of the UK's first social venture funds. He has also worked with businesses in Europe and Africa and was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. In 2011 he was a Specialist Adviser to Parliament.
Outside Balderton, he chairs the UK Government's Sovereign AI fund, according to Balderton and his X bio. He is the author of Start-Up Century. He was a trustee of the think tank Demos from 2019 to 2023 and sits on the investment group at Christ Church, Oxford. He has not founded a company, according to Crunchbase.
His angel record is small and mostly dated. PitchBook lists three personal investments and names CharlieHR and Vivino. It dates the CharlieHR investment to March 2016. Crunchbase also records a personal seed investment in Charlie. Crunchbase shows 2 investments, 0 lead investments and 0 exits for him as an individual. Most of his public investing activity is through Balderton rather than his own money.
In May 2026 Balderton led a $30M Series A in Geordie AI, which builds a security and governance platform for AI agents. Wise joined the Geordie board as part of that round.
Balderton's profile of him names Convergence, Writer and Quantum Systems among the companies he works with. Convergence was acquired by Salesforce. Third-party data from NFX Signal lists Convergence Labs (pre-seed, September 2024) and Prior Labs (pre-seed, February 2025) among his recorded investments. Balderton also lists Conveo, an AI-powered qualitative research platform, as a related Series A investment in 2026.
Balderton describes him as investing across geographies and stages, with a focus on applications and models in AI, energy and health. His X bio says the same. Earlier Balderton profiles also name security, enterprise software and healthtech. He has been described as backing developer tools.
Balderton is a multistage firm that backs companies from seed to IPO, and it raised $1.3B in new venture and growth funds in 2024. Wise has not published a personal check size. The 2016 interview on EU-Startups has him saying that, beyond an exceptional entrepreneur, he wants a team solving a very large problem.
- Geordie AI: security and governance platform for AI agents. Balderton led its Series A in May 2026 and Wise joined the board.
- Kaia Health: digital therapeutics for back pain and COPD. Balderton led the Series A announced in January 2019, and Wise was a board member.
- Convergence: AI company that Balderton backed at pre-seed. It was later acquired by Salesforce.
- Writer: enterprise AI company that Balderton lists among his portfolio.
- Sava: Balderton fund investment with a seed round in June 2024 and a Series A in July 2025 (NFX Signal).
- Depop: marketplace acquired by Etsy, listed on his Balderton profile.
- GoCardless: payments company acquired by Mollie, listed on his Balderton profile.
- Tibber and Quantum Systems: companies named on his Balderton profile.
- crunchbase.com/person/james-wise
- balderton.com/team/james-wise
- x.com/jameswise
- linkedin.com/in/jamespaulwise
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/120907-72
- signal.nfx.com/investors/james-wise
- geordie.ai/resources/geordie-raises-30m-to-help-enterprises-securely-a
- fintech.global/2026/05/29/balderton-leads-30m-round-in-ai-agent-securi
Investing activity
James Wise has made 2 investments according to Crunchbase across 2 portfolio companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about James Wise
Is James Wise an angel investor?
He is mainly a venture partner at Balderton Capital. PitchBook and Crunchbase also record a few personal investments, including CharlieHR in 2016.
What does James Wise invest in?
Balderton says he focuses on applications and models in AI, energy and health, across geographies and stages. His earlier work also covered security, enterprise software and healthtech.
What check size does James Wise write?
He has not published a personal check size, so none is listed here. Balderton invests from seed to growth.
Did James Wise invest in Geordie AI?
Balderton led Geordie AI's $30M Series A in May 2026, and Wise joined the board. This was a Balderton investment, not a personal angel check.
How can founders contact James Wise?
He is on LinkedIn and X (@Jameswise), and Balderton lists his contact details on its team page. A warm introduction through a Balderton portfolio founder is another route.
Where is James Wise based?
James Wise is based in London, England, United Kingdom.
How can founders reach James Wise?
Founders on Lounge can see James Wise's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add James Wise to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.