Explore the founders and companies supported through Founders at the University of Cambridge. Rooted in University research, teams are powering growth through science, building ventures with real‑world applications that address global challenges – from climate change and mental health to disease treatment and food security. These companies span early‑stage ideas through to growing ventures across deep tech, life sciences, physical sciences and more.
The Investor Day Lookbooks provide a closer view of companies supported through START, our flagship pre-seed accelerator programme, as teams reach key milestones toward commercialisation.
external capital leveraged on University of Cambridge investments
All Ventures
Neela Biotech
Neela Biotech produces carbon‑negative aviation fuel by combining synthetic biology, AI and existing biogas infrastructure at competitive cost.
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Neela Biotech produces carbon‑negative aviation fuel by combining synthetic biology, AI and existing biogas infrastructure at competitive cost.
Neela Biotech is building a scalable pathway to carbon‑negative fuels using controlled microbial upcycling. By leveraging existing biogas infrastructure, its proprietary Controlled Microbial Upcycling (CMU) platform converts waste streams into renewable platform chemicals that can be used as drop‑in feedstocks for aviation fuel and other industries.
Advances in AI-driven synthetic biology are used to optimise bioprocess performance and scale. Neela’s approach avoids competition with food, land or water resources and is designed for rapid deployment, offering a practical route to decarbonising aviation while working within established industrial systems.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Borderline is creating the data backbone for emerging market investment opportunities – converting fragmented project pipelines into structured, diligence-ready opportunities for capital allocators.
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Borderline is creating the data backbone for emerging market investment opportunities – converting fragmented project pipelines into structured, diligence-ready opportunities for capital allocators.
Our Founders
Petra Scalamandré
Co-founder
Marco Scalamandré
Co-founder
Cambridge Mobilytics
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
Our Founders
Tara Murphy
Co-founder
Dylan Cuskelly
Co-founder
Heartly
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Our Founders
Lukas Pin
Co-founder
Christopher Reiners
Co-founder
Med Arcade
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
PsyPress (formerly Dulce Cerebrum) is pioneering glycosylation analysis – cracking the “sugar code” – to detect early psychosis through powerful AI models and everyday speech for personalised mental health diagnostics.
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PsyPress (formerly Dulce Cerebrum) is pioneering glycosylation analysis – cracking the “sugar code” – to detect early psychosis through powerful AI models and everyday speech for personalised mental health diagnostics.
Our Founders
Ines Horvat-Meih
Co-founder
Taryn Adams
Co-founder
Chaitanya Dingare
Co-founder
RetroAnalytica
RetroAnalytica uses AI and climate modelling to predict heat loss, assess retrofit potential and optimise energy efficiency across buildings and property portfolios for decarbonisation.
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RetroAnalytica uses AI and climate modelling to predict heat loss, assess retrofit potential and optimise energy efficiency across buildings and property portfolios for decarbonisation.
Our Founders
Maoran Sun
Co-founder
Professor Ronita Bardhan
Co-founder
Grace Colverd
Co-founder
SafeTide
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.
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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.
Our Founders
Xiaoyi Chen
Co-founder
The Surpluss
The Surpluss is a B Corp climate tech platform helping businesses trade excess resources, reducing waste and unlocking circular value across global supply chains.
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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 QuantumBio 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.
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Yacson QuantumBio 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.
Our Founders
Seokjun Lee
Co-founder
Jaesub Park
Co-founder
Hyun Lee
Co-founder
Zenithon AI
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.
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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.