Founders at the University of Cambridge

Here at Cambridge we are backing our own companies. Cambridge Enterprise supports entrepreneurship activities to enable and accelerate the transformation of research into impact at every stage, from idea to translation to investment and beyond to a positive impact on society.

Cambridge Enterprise Ventures is the direct investment arm of the University of Cambridge, backing startups and spinouts with strong founder ties or breakthrough technologies connected to the University.

Since 1995, Cambridge Enterprise has helped launch more than 210 companies. The evergreen fund recycles returns back into the ecosystem, ensuring that today’s successes fuel the category-defining companies of tomorrow. As of July 2025, it has invested £55m across high-growth sub-sector, with £50m realised from 66 exits, £3.5bn catalysed in follow-on capital for its portfolio and a 3.03x realised multiple on investments.

Founders at the University of Cambridge runs a growing portfolio of venture creation and venture building programmes designed to form and accelerate exceptional founders and their companies. Among them is START, whose alumni include four of the companies pitching at the Columbia showcase. Of the 19 startups that have completed the START programme to date, 12 have collectively secured over £14 million in further funding. Meanwhile, the most recent SYNC co-founder matching accelerator programme cohort saw four new companies incorporated, three of which have already secured funding.

We are not just building companies. In Cambridge we are building the next generation of global innovation leaders to solve challenges the world is facing.

We don’t do it alone. In addition to the vast expertise and experience of our teams, we work with a network of experts, mentors, co-investors, professionals and advisors. Founders at the University of Cambridge has its own dedicated supporting community of over 300 members from 16 countries.

We work in partnership with others across Cambridge, the UK and beyond to support and accelerate university innovation. We help companies emerging from Cambridge research to build and grow and we are not just building companies, we are building the next generation of global innovation leaders.

We are bringing global investors into Cambridge and the UK.

Thank you to Columbia Technology Ventures, our generous hosts Goodwin Proctor, Oxford University Innovation and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures’ participating portfolio companies:

• AetoSense develops advanced air quality monitoring systems that enhance indoor air quality and optimise energy consumption by detecting ultrafine particles.
• Cambridge Photon Technology (CPT) is developing next-generation advanced materials designed to increase the performance of existing silicon solar panels by as much as 15%
• Accelerated Materials revolutionises nanomaterial discovery and manufacturing using advanced microreactors, machine learning and automation to create sustainable, next-generation products.
• Reclinker (previously Cambridge Electric Cement) has developed a low-carbon, recycled cement using electric arc furnaces. This innovative process reduces emissions by co-recycling steel and cement, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional cement production.
• Trismik has developed an adversarial testing platform for LLMs that improves accuracy, safety and alignment. It helps AI teams build trustworthy applications, reduce risk and deploy faster, without compromising on performance or values.
• Xterna offers novel solutions for cell-type specific drug delivery, leveraging advanced biotechnology to improve therapeutic outcomes.
• Upfront Diagnostics develops rapid blood tests for stroke diagnosis, focusing on identifying large vessel occlusion (LVO) strokes to improve treatment and patient outcomes.
• William Oak Diagnostics’ vision is to eliminate micronutrient deficiencies. Their innovative point-of-care test with integrated blood-collection simplifies the identification of numerous micronutrient deficiencies.