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The role of the University as an investor in tech innovation – Cambridge Enterprise
Cambridge Tech Week pre-event blog by Dr Christine Martin, Head of Ventures at Cambridge Enterprise.
The second annual Cambridge Tech Week, running from 9-13 September 2024, will bring together world-leading experts, innovators, and investors to fuel growth across the tech ecosystem. Cambridge has always been a tech and science powerhouse where breakthrough technologies are pioneered. The increasing development of events such as this are an indicator of how the support for innovation continues to increase.
The expansion of the Cambridge ecosystem is driven by an increase in funding and investment, and the development of new and established industries from technological advances such as AI and quantum computing.
Cambridge tech ecosystem soars to $191 billion in value
In May this year, Dealroom produced a new report that underscored the innovation taking place in Cambridge, cementing its reputation as a world leader for science-led tech. The new analysis showed that the Cambridge tech ecosystem now has a combined value of $191 billion, representing 18% of the entire UK’s tech ecosystem.
Dividing the total Enterprise Value of companies founded in Cambridge by VC dollars invested reveals that the city has outpaced both the rest of the UK and London, in delivering value from capital invested. Cambridge has produced 16.9x in value for every dollar of VC investment, significantly ahead of the UK (5.4x) and London (4.8x).
Cambridge investing in Cambridge
The University of Cambridge lies at the centre of the eco-system which is the number one science hub in Europe, and is the top institution on the continent for producing valuable spinouts. In 2020, the University committed to invest an additional £30 million into the University of Cambridge Venture Fund to enable an increased level of support for Cambridge spinout and startup companies. Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, the investment arm of the University, invests from this Venture Fund which is held on the balance sheet of the University; this is Cambridge supporting Cambridge entrepreneurs and Cambridge companies.
In the last five full financial years Cambridge Enterprise Ventures has invested £22 million into 85 companies across 150 transactions with co-investment and follow-on investment totalling £1.9 Billion. Investment is accompanied by multiple levels of added value support, provided by an experienced investor team with a network of advisors and mentors and importantly, the University becomes a shareholder in those businesses.
Never alone on the innovation journey
One of the biggest challenges for spinouts and startups is securing the first investments into a company. Pre-seed and seed funding are critical stages for entrepreneurs to validate their ideas, de-risk their technologies and to develop their commercial plan so that they can attract the investment they will need to continue to scale. Cambridge Enterprise Ventures aims to provide key investment in early-stage journeys – and beyond.
The University of Cambridge and Cambridge Enterprise play a vital role in fostering and supporting this dynamic ecosystem, by providing the resources, expertise and networks that our innovators need to turn their ideas into impact. The variety of initiatives available range widely; from entrepreneurial training and signposting to acceleration through idea incubators and growth programmes such as Founders at the University of Cambridge.
No matter the point an innovator is at in their journey, they are not alone in taking the next step. Even as established fund manager, we’re not alone in the investments we make. For every £1 invested by Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, we leverage £70 of co-investment, thus supporting entrepreneurs by building syndicates that will add value to take them all the way.
Christine will be speaking at the “From pre-seed to series funding – a deep dive” panel at the Innovation Landscape. Other speakers from Cambridge Enterprise include Marina Gonzalo speaking on Commercialising University of Cambridge Innovation at Welcome to Cambridge, and Gerard Grech CBE on the Scaling in the UK Fireside Chat at the Scale-Up Day.
You can also find the wider team at Cambridge Tech Week with our stands at Innovation Landscape at Guildhall and Innovation Alley at Corn Exchange on the Tuesday, and at the Scale-Up Day at Cambridge Union on the Thursday. We look forward to seeing you there!
