Larry Ellison is investing up to $165 million to turn University of Oxford science research into products

Larry Ellison, the cofounder of Oracle.

Larry Ellison is betting big on research and development in the UK by investing at least $127 million through his technology institute to help turn scientific discoveries at the University of Oxford into products.

The Ellison Institute of Technology, set up by the Oracle cofounder in 2015, plans to invest £130 million ($165 million) overall to fund joint research projects at the university in areas ranging from health to clean energy.

Ellison said in a press release that the joint venture’s mission is to “have a global impact by fundamentally reimagining the way science and technology translate into end-to-end solutions for humanity’s most challenging problems.”

“This long-term, strategic partnership with the University of Oxford is at the heart of delivering on that goal,” he added. “By collaborating on transformational, world-class research programs harnessing new technology and compute capability we will together deliver positive impact on society at scale.”

The Oracle cofounder, now the world’s fourth richest person, founded The Ellison Institute of Technology as a research and development center for healthcare.

The center announced plans to build a campus in Oxford in 2023, which is set to open in 2027. The $1.27 billion development will include labs, supercomputing facilities, and cancer research clinics.

The EIT will inject millions into joint research projects with the University of Oxford to dedicate to what Professor Irene Tracey, the university’s vice-chancellor, described in a press release as “humanity’s most pressing challenges.”

The joint center’s research will focus on EIT’s four “Humane Endeavours”: health and medical science, sustainable agriculture, clean energy, and government innovation in the age of AI.

Professor Sir John Bell, the president of EIT Oxford, said in a statement that the alliance “comes at an exciting time in the technological revolution.”

“By combining world-class research with long-term capital investment and state-of-the-art facilities, we will tackle some of society’s biggest challenges,” he said. “Whether it’s advancing new approaches for healthcare or solving the issues of food security, we will make progress using the brightest and most creative human minds available.”

Bell told the FT the investment would also help secure the intellectual property rights of innovations that come out of the center and its researchers — something the science minister, Lord Patrick Vallance, told the outlet the UK had been falling behind on.

The deal also includes £30 million ($38 million) to provide scholarships to more than 100 undergraduate and postgraduate students, with the first intake starting in October 2025.

Ellison owns 40% of the business software company Oracle, and his net worth has more than doubled over the past two years to $181 billion.

He is in the process of purchasing Paramount for his son, David.