Founders at the University of Cambridge

Gerard Grech CBE, Managing Director at Founders at the University of Cambridge, said: “I’m delighted to see the launch of our START 2.0 cohort and highlight the brilliant University of Cambridge startups building deep technologies that have the potential to change the world. If there is one thing Cambridge isn’t in short supply of, it’s ambitious entrepreneurs, but there hasn’t been a bridge between that ambition and flawless execution. Recognising that entrepreneurial journeys are unique, we’ve now developed and launched 2 other programmes to complement Start, including Sync, a co-founder matching and hatching programme and Spark, an incubator in partnership with Kings College. In the meantime, we’re committed to working alongside these exceptional Start 2.0 founders and their teams to transform their groundbreaking innovations into globally significant companies.”

Smoothing the path to success for deep tech companies

The START Accelerator 2.0 is for early-stage deep tech companies with a connection to The University of Cambridge and is designed to accelerate and smooth the path to success. This strategic initiative is delivered by the University’s innovation arm, Cambridge Enterprise, to connect innovators with a wealth of expertise in venture building, investment and commercialisation. This is complemented by access to a growing global expert community of more than 250 investors, industry executives, entrepreneurs and leaders, many of whom are University alumni.

Last year’s programme saw 11 companies participate including lithium-sodium battery startup Molyon which raised $4.6 million, co-led by IQ Capital and Plural, whilst several companies in the cohort are currently raising millions in funding collectively.

Amongst this year’s chosen cohort, the average age is 40, 81% of participants have a PhD and the collective research years amongst the founders amounts to 69 years. Together, the founders have raised nearly £8 million in non-dilutive capital, such as funding grants, for their companies. These eight chosen companies will now embark on a 14-week programme, where each team will undergo 50 hours of intensive mentorship from their own entrepreneur in residence (EIR) – one of the Founders’ network of over 250 experts, specialists and connections.

In addition, they will also receive non-dilutive seed funding, which includes funding from the University of Cambridge and investor partner Parkwalk Advisors, and benefit from free hosting by ideaSpace West, a co-working space on the West Cambridge site. Supporting partners involved in the program include sponsors KPMG, AstraZeneca, Hitachi, and the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.

Following the commencement of the programme, the teams will participate in the Founders at the University of Cambridge’s annual Investor Day in London, where they will use everything they’ve learned during the 14 weeks to pitch their company to over 200 investors for further investment. This is part of Founders’ mission to ensure Cambridge’s startups can compete with emerging companies from the likes of MIT and Stanford in the US.

Moray Wright, CEO at co-investor Parkwalk, said: “It’s wonderful to see a new cohort of innovative Cambridge entrepreneurs who are building companies at the intersection of AI, deep tech and impact. Cambridge is one of the UK’s top cities for VC investment but founders face myriad challenges taking their tech from the lab into the world, including a lack of funding and support to make this leap. We’re pleased to support the Founders at the University of Cambridge programme and we look forward to seeing how this new cohort progresses and scales during the 14 weeks.”

Martina King, CEO of Featurespace which recently exited for a reported $1bn, said: “Taking a company from the early stages of Cambridge spinout into an impactful business feels like sitting on a rollercoaster of exhilarating breakthroughs and humbling setbacks. Scaling Featurespace has been incredibly rewarding – staying true to a vision with limited resources isn’t easy to achieve. This is why I’m excited to support the Founders at the University of Cambridge programme and this new cohort, with a goal of creating businesses that truly make a difference. As these founders face challenges we are planning a shortcut to success by sharing our own triumphs and defeats.”

Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Innovation, University of Cambridge, said: “The new START 2.0 cohort are a clear example of the need to take the world-changing research taking place every day at Cambridge out into the world. These brilliant founders and teams are creating solutions for everything from LLM energy consumption to improving drug development and efficacy. Founders was created to bridge the gap between the lab and commercial businesses and I’m excited to see what this new cohort achieves.”

Meet the START cohort