Claire Cramm

Claire Cramm is an Investment Manager at Par Equity, an award-winning Edinburgh-based venture capital firm that backs innovative technology companies with high-growth potential across the North of the UK. She graduated from Northeastern University (Boston) with a B.S. in International Business and joined Par Equity in 2019 as an Investment Analyst, progressing to Investment Manager.

Before venture capital, Claire built a foundation across several commercial disciplines, completing internships in marketing analytics, business development and investor relations at firms in the US and Europe. An internship at a VC-backed startup in Boston is credited with sparking her passion for venture capital, and she now applies that cross-functional background to sourcing, evaluating and supporting both new and existing portfolio companies.

Beyond her day-to-day investing work, Claire has taken on an industry leadership role: she was appointed Chair of the EIS Association's (EISA) Green Shoots Committee, which supports early-career professionals in the EIS and venture capital sector through networking, events and peer-to-peer engagement. In her words, the committee "helps to broaden participation and ensure that the next generation of leaders has a voice within the Association."

Par Equity itself is undergoing a significant transition: in June 2025 the firm announced a merger with Manchester-based Praetura Ventures to create PXN Group, a combined venture capital and investment business with roughly £670m in assets under management focused on "the North." The combined entity operates as PXN Ventures, positioning Claire's work within one of the largest tech-focused investors serving Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

• Invests at the early stage — seed through Series A — in technology companies with high growth potential.
• Prefers B2B business models with strong, defensible intellectual property.
• Core sector themes: healthtech, climate tech and industrial tech, underpinned by deep-tech such as robotics, photonics, advanced materials and artificial intelligence.
• Geography is central to the thesis — Par Equity is explicitly "born in the North, built for the North," backing companies in the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland rather than clustering in London/the South East.
• Par Equity Ventures I is a £100m fund writing £5m–£20m Series A tickets across an expected 12–15 deals, taking either a lead or supporting role; alongside the fund, Par Equity's business-angel network co-invests on the same terms, giving portfolio companies operational support as well as capital.
• As Green Shoots Chair, Claire emphasises broadening participation and developing the next generation of investors — a signal of a relationship-driven, ecosystem-building approach.