Alex van Someren is a British computing entrepreneur and venture capitalist working in senior advisory roles at the intersection of innovation, investment, and technology. He most recently served as the UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security, a role he held for almost four years until March 2025, providing independent scientific advice to the UK government on national security matters.
Prior to his time in public service, Mr. van Someren was a serial technology entrepreneur. He began his career in the 1980s at Acorn Computer, where he participated in the development of the BBC Microcomputer and Acorn Electron. He subsequently co‑founded and led several technology companies, including ANT Software plc and nCipher plc, the hardware encryption company for which he is best known. ANT Software and nCipher achieved listings on AIM and the London Stock Exchange, respectively.
Mr. van Someren later became a venture capital investor, including serving at Amadeus Capital Partners, where he led the firm’s initial investment in Photonic and served briefly on the Photonic Board in 2021. In addition to his commercial and public‑sector roles, he is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, an Honorary Professor of Computer Science at the University of Manchester, and a member of the Royal Society’s Science, Industry and Translation Committee. In 2019, he was the Visiting Clore Innovation Professor at the Royal College of Art.
He now returns to Photonic as an independent director and serves as Executive Chair.