Inaugural Founders at the University of Cambridge start-ups offer ‘audacious’ new solutions
Founders at the University of Cambridge, the flagship initiative supporting and accelerating university founders to make an ever greater impact, has unveiled the first 11 venture science start-ups taking part in its inaugural Start Accelerator programme.
Founders was launched on an unsuspecting public last November. The initiative was set up to accelerate university entrepreneurship with delivery by Cambridge Enterprise. Founders is fronted by Gerard Grech, former CEO of Tech Nation.
The Start Accelerator 1.0 is for early-stage deep tech companies, with a connection to Cambridge, either as a recent graduate, researcher or academic. The programme is designed to accelerate and smooth the path to success, allowing Cambridge start-ups to compete with emerging companies from the likes of MIT and Stanford in the US and ETH Zurich in Europe.
The inaugural start-ups range from cover topics including computer vision software for the semiconductor industry to fixing the UK electricity grid to power our Net Zero future: the first 11 are:
- AetoSense – seeking precision in air quality monitoring
- BioTryp Therapeutics – alternative to traditional antibiotics
- BravelyCultured – replacing animal and petroleum-based products
- Cambridge Vision Tech – early detection of Alzheimer’s
- Molyon – next generation high-energy density batteries
- Nanomation – computer vision software for semiconductor industry
- Orbit – smart fitness device makes mental health data actionable
- Protonera – turning waste plastics into valuable commodities
- VOLTQUANT – grid and land data in single unified platform
- William Oak point-of-care test for micronutrient deficiencies
- Xterna – cell-targeting platform delivers therapeutic cargo
Of the 30 founding team members taking part in the first-ever cohort, 76 per cent have a PhD, whilst 10 different nationalities are represented between them including British, American, Dutch, Indian and Lithuanian. The average age is 34 and the average CEO age is 29. Around a fifth of the founding teams and 36 per cent of the CEOs are women.
During the 12-week programme, the teams will receive non-dilutive seed funding from a pool of up to £2m, which includes funding from the University of Cambridge and investor partner Parkwalk Advisors.
In addition to this, each team will receive 50 hours of intensive mentorship from their own entrepreneur in residence – one of the Founders’ network of over 100 experts, specialists and connections. Supporting partners involved in the programme include sponsors KPMG, AstraZeneca and Hitachi, as well as the Babraham Research Campus and the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. Teams also benefit from free hosting by ideaSpace West and priority access to lab space.
Gerard Grech, managing director at Founders at the University of Cambridge, praised “a new generation of venture scientists who are fully focused on solving the world’s biggest problems, with audacious world-leading innovation and research”.
He added: “Selecting the first teams to join the inaugural Start Accelerator programme was a difficult task, but we are committed to supporting these teams to turn their science and research into practical reality. Venture scientists like these hold the key to building a stronger, more sustainable economy and with the right support the potential is huge.”
