Portfolio

Meet the cohorts

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.

Cambridge Enterprise, 2025
i

3x

faster acceleration impact for founders
Cambridge Enterprise, 2025
i

£14m

follow-on funding raise by Founders alum
Cambridge Enterprise, 2025
i

11x

external capital leveraged on University of Cambridge investments

All Ventures

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Alex Higginbottom

Alex Higginbottom

Co-founder

LinkedIn

Yacson QuantumBio

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.

Learn more

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

Seokjun Lee

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Jaesub Park

Jaesub Park

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Hyun Lee

Hyun Lee

Co-founder

LinkedIn

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.

Learn more

The Surpluss is a B Corp climate tech platform helping businesses trade excess resources, reducing waste and unlocking circular value across global supply chains.

Our Founders

Rana Hajirasouli

Rana Hajirasouli

Founder

LinkedIn

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.

Learn more

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

Xiaoyi Chen

Co-founder

LinkedIn

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.

Learn more

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

Maoran Sun

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Professor Ronita Bardhan

Professor Ronita Bardhan

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Grace Colverd

Grace Colverd

Co-founder

LinkedIn

PsyPress

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.

Learn more

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

Ines Horvat-Meih

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Taryn Adams

Taryn Adams

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Chaitanya Dingare

Chaitanya Dingare

Co-founder

LinkedIn

Polytecks

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Ruben Ruiz Serrano

Ruben Ruiz Serrano

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Undine-Sophie Deumer

Undine-Sophie Deumer

Co-founder

LinkedIn

Myta Bio

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Callan MacDonald

Callan MacDonald

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Penny Dray

Penny Dray

Co-founder

LinkedIn

MENRVA

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Natalya Doris

Natalya Doris

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Tanvi Rao

Tanvi Rao

Co-founder

LinkedIn

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Dr Bernard Cho

Dr Bernard Cho

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Raphael Labaca-Castro

Raphael Labaca-Castro

Co-founder

LinkedIn

IntolerSense

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.

Learn more

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

Lukas Pin

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Christopher Reiners

Christopher Reiners

Co-founder

LinkedIn

iFlame

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Boyin Yang

Boyin Yang

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Professor Per Ola Kristensson

Professor Per Ola Kristensson

Co-founder

Professor John Dudley

Professor John Dudley

Co-founder

LinkedIn

Human Experience Dynamics (HED)

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Dr Barbara Jachs

Dr Barbara Jachs

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Professor Tristan Bekinschtein

Professor Tristan Bekinschtein

Co-founder

LinkedIn

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Dr Mayank Dalakoti

Dr Mayank Dalakoti

Founder

LinkedIn

Greenharvest

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.

Learn more

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

Tara Murphy

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Dylan Cuskelly

Dylan Cuskelly

Co-founder

LinkedIn

Egg Advisor

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Alexandra Draycott

Alexandra Draycott

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Dr Valerie Shaikly

Dr Valerie Shaikly

Co-founder

LinkedIn

Dielectrix

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Maheera Abdul Ghani

Maheera Abdul Ghani

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Dr Han Yan

Dr Han Yan

Co-founder

Dr Yan Wang

Dr Yan Wang

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Professor Manish Chhowalla

Professor Manish Chhowalla

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Eliott Fournet

Eliott Fournet

Co-founder

LinkedIn

Borderline

Borderline is creating the data backbone for emerging market investment opportunities – converting fragmented project pipelines into structured, diligence-ready opportunities for capital allocators.

Learn more

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

Petra Scalamandré

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Marco Scalamandré

Marco Scalamandré

Co-founder

LinkedIn

Atera Analytics

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Jose Francisco Zubizarreta

Jose Francisco Zubizarreta

Co-founder

LinkedIn

AshGold Africa

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Sally Musonye

Sally Musonye

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Laura Kasuni

Laura Kasuni

Co-founder

LinkedIn
Jockim Kamalha

Jockim Kamalha

Co-founder

LinkedIn

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.

Learn more

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.

Our Founders

Tiago Ladeia

Tiago Ladeia

Co-founder

LinkedIn

Neela Biotech

Neela Biotech is pioneering carbon‑negative Sustainable Aviation Fuel using Controlled Microbial Upcycling.

Learn more

Neela Biotech is pioneering carbon‑negative Sustainable Aviation Fuel using Controlled Microbial Upcycling.

Building on widely scaled, century‑old biotech processes and upgrading them with modern tools, Neela Biotech converts diverse waste into carbon‑negative jet fuel through microbial upcycling and biogas infrastructure. By leveraging existing systems, the approach enables rapid, cost‑effective scale‑up without competing for food, land or water.

This creates new pathways to decarbonise aviation through synthetic biology, AI and existing anaerobic digestion systems.

Our Founders

Dr Deepanshu Singh

Dr Deepanshu Singh

Co-founder & CEO

LinkedIn
Friederike Nintzel

Friederike Nintzel

Co-founder & CTO

LinkedIn

Investor Day Lookbooks