SPARK is the newest pathway for University of Cambridge students, researchers and recent alumni to materialise their ideas into action. Created in partnership with King’s E-Lab, our four-week residential incubator is designed to validate bold ideas, early-stage products and social ventures.
Bringing together participants from 17 departments – including Biotechnology, Materials Science, Engineering, Psychology and the Judge Business School – SPARK 1.0 showcases the creativity and ambition of Cambridge innovators building 24 ventures with purpose and potential. Explore the teams moving at pace and developing solutions for a more sustainable, inclusive future.
Aizen
Aizen is a credit data startup driving financial inclusion with AI-powered financial passports that enable fairer credit decisions using real-time income, rent and spending data.
AshGold Africa reduces education inequality by expanding energy access. In Kenya, it deploys solar projects and digital tools to schools, creating green jobs and climate-resilient learning environments.
Atera Analytics integrates AI, energy and network planning to optimise EV energy infrastructure and logistics for smarter, scalable deployment across the UK, Europe and USA.
Cambridge Mobilytics turns EV charging data into actionable intelligence, building predictive AI models and real-time analytics to support smarter decisions across the e-mobility sector.
Dielectrix develops advanced materials for next-gen semiconductors, enabling energy-efficient, scalable devices and supporting architectures like CFET to meet growing demand for AI and deep learning.
Co-founders: Dr Maheera Gupta, Dr Yan Wang, Prof. Manish Chhowalla and Dr Han Yan
Dulce Cerebrum is pioneering glycosylation analysis – cracking the “sugar code” – to detect early psychosis through powerful AI models and simple blood tests for personalised mental health diagnostics.
Egg Advisor is a digital platform guiding women through the egg freezing journey with evidence-based insights, personalised tools and one-to-one support for informed fertility choices.
Greenharvest is tackling the food sustainability crisis by using climate modelling, soil analysis and satellite data to predict crop potential and guide resilient agricultural planning.
Heartly helps individuals prevent cardiovascular disease through personalised education, data-driven insights and coaching – bridging the gap between public resources and private care with accessible, expert-led support.
HED is redefining how patient experience is measured in personalised health tech. Temporal Experience Tracing™ captures real-time changes in how patients feel, offering insights into treatment impact and enabling responsive, human-centred care.
iFlame accelerates product innovation with a multi-agent AI system that combines automated collaboration and human input to deliver data-driven, scalable and creative product strategies.
Healthtech startup IntolerSense uses AI-enhanced food logging and symptom tracking to uncover hidden intolerances, giving users and clinicians faster, more accurate insights into dietary triggers.
Med Arcade simplifies clinical data with a user-first agentic AI platform that streamlines patient records, reduces cognitive load and frees up time for better care.
MENRVA is an AI SaaS platform streamlining art discovery for businesses, matching them with the exact artists and artworks through personalised recommendations and direct connection tools.
Myta Bio creates biomimetic industrial chemicals from natural ingredients, starting with Myty™ – a mussel-inspired adhesive offering a safer, sustainable alternative to petrochemical-based glues.
Neela Biotech produces carbon-negative jet fuel using microbial upcycling and biogas infrastructure, offering a scalable, low-cost path to decarbonise aviation through sustainable fuel innovation.
Polytecks is developing a novel method for measuring body surface potentials using wearable e-textiles to improve heart disease detection – starting with early screening for valvular disease in dogs.
RetroAnalytica uses AI and climate modelling to predict heat loss, assess retrofit potential and optimise energy efficiency across buildings and property portfolios for decarbonisation.
SafeTide is developing low-cost stabilisation technology that keeps delicate medicines like insulin stable at room temperature, reducing waste and improving access to life-saving treatments.
The Surpluss is a B Corp climate tech platform helping businesses trade excess resources, reducing waste and unlocking circular value across global supply chains.
Yacson Therapeutics analyses plant-based therapeutics to personalise IBD care, using organoid models and epigenetic biomarkers to guide treatment selection and reduce reliance on animal testing in drug discovery.
Zenithon AI accelerates fusion research with machine learning tools that reduce plasma simulation times from months to seconds – enabling faster, smarter design across energy and engineering sectors.
Two SPARK 1.0 ventures are currently operating in stealth mode, exploring new approaches to financing climate innovation as well as endomitriosis diagnostics.
