Cambridge Innovation Capital Launches New £100 Million Opportunity Fund
Cambridge Innovation Capital introduces a £100M fund, focusing on investments in deeptech and life sciences sectors.
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) has announced the launch of a new £100 million Opportunity Fund, specifically designed to invest in deep tech and life sciences spinouts from the University of Cambridge. This funding is part of their new £250 million Fund III, an early-stage venture fund focusing on the Cambridge ecosystem’s deep tech and life sciences companies.
The Opportunity Fund, anchored by major investors like Aviva Investors and the British Business Bank, aims to address the UK's scale-up financing gap and invest in high-potential university spinouts in areas such as cancer therapies, genomic diagnostics, surgical robotics, and AI. The fund's broader focus is on science-driven innovation.
In addition to this capital commitment, CIC has initiated an entrepreneurship-in-residence programme. This programme aims to link academic researchers with business executives to accelerate the translation of research IP into spinout companies that can access funding from inception through proof-of-concept and early-stage growth.
CIC manages over £600 million in assets and has a 12-year track record supporting science and technology ventures strongly embedded in the Cambridge ecosystem. Since its inception in 2013, CIC's portfolio has seen several exits, including the sale of gene therapy company Gyroscope Therapeutics to Novartis for $1.5 billion, the $285 million acquisition of pet treatment developer PetMedix by Zoetis, the sale of liquid biopsy platform Inivata to NeoGenomics for $390 million, and the sale of sound recognition developer Audio Analytic.
The Opportunity Fund has already made two investments: into chip designers and manufacturer Pragmatic Semiconductor and quantum error correction company Riverlane. CIC's portfolio company Bicycle Therapeutics listed on NASDAQ in 2019.
Cambridge, with its reputation as a world-leading technology cluster, has the potential to create growth, success, and impact. In fact, the city was ranked as the world's leading science and technological cluster by intensity by the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024. Many successful science and technology companies in the UK, such as ARM Holdings, Abcam, Darktrace, and Bicycle Therapeutics, were founded by University of Cambridge affiliates.
Andrew Williamson, Managing Partner at CIC, stated that the new fund will support portfolio companies and scaleups from the UK ecosystem as they reach a defining moment in their growth. Ben Luckett, Managing Director, Venture and Strategic Capital, at Aviva Investors, believes CIC's new Fund will enable the support of growth of early-stage companies while aiming to deliver long-term investment outcomes.
Venture capital investment in Cambridge reached almost £1 billion in 2024, reflecting the vibrant and innovative ecosystem in the city. With the launch of the Opportunity Fund, CIC continues to play a significant role in supporting and growing this ecosystem.
The Opportunity Fund, with its focus on science-driven innovation, aims to invest in high-potential university spinouts in areas such as AI and other deep tech sectors. Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), with its emphasis on supporting science and technology ventures, manages over £600 million in assets and has a history of successful investments, including companies in the AI field like Bicycle Therapeutics.
