‘Double vision’ as Cambridge unveils blueprint to fast-track innovation

The blueprint is being unveiled today by Innovate Cambridge, the body overseeing the UK city’s innovation impact. The objectives are to:-

• Double the rate at which the Cluster builds unicorns
• Double the venture capital investment the city’s startups receive
• Create twice as many science and innovation companies in a dizzy decade

There is also the broader aim of making Cambridge the engine of economic growth and wealth creation for the whole of the UK on a world stage. Innovate Cambridge seeks to ensure that as it drives acceleration of the region’s world-class science and innovation it also maximises social returns. The plans are being introduced today at the third annual Innovate Summit.

Leading companies founded in Cambridge in the last 25 years include Arm, Bicycle Therapeutics, CMR Surgical, Darktrace, Healx and Raspberry Pi. The Cluster is established as a global honeypot for scientific and technological research – boasting over 5,000 innovation-driven companies, 36 research parks, five hospital trusts, two universities and a thriving startup and investor community.

It was recently named the world’s most intensive science and technological cluster by Global Innovation Index for the third year running. The city's tech and life sciences companies have raised over $892 million in venture capital funding this year alone, up 38 per cent compared to 2023, according to Dealroom.

Quantum company Riverlane’s $75 million round in August significantly contributed to this growth. This means Cambridge could be on track for its best year for VC since 2021, overtaking 2023’s $1.1 billion.

Innovate Cambridge says there have been 62 venture capital rounds in 2024 so far and nearly half (29) of all rounds were raised by founders who studied at the University of Cambridge.

This shows that talent and ambition are staying in the city and shoring up the university’s status as the number one in Europe for producing spinouts, ahead of ETH Zurich and the University of Oxford.

To share the benefits of innovation more widely, a new charity, The Cambridge Pledge is being formed. Inspired by organisations such as The Founders Pledge and Life Science Cares, The Cambridge Pledge will encourage founders to pledge a meaningful percentage of future wealth, and companies and anchor institutions to make charitable donations to tackle inequality in the region.

Kathryn Chapman, Executive Director at Innovate Cambridge, said: “The third Innovate Cambridge Summit is timely – particularly when Cambridge has recently been recognised once more for its contributions to global scientific and technology research.

“Innovate Cambridge was founded to empower the city’s companies, institutions and organisations that make it such a hub of innovation, whilst at the same time ensuring this growth and success is for the benefit of the wider community and the UK.”

Diarmuid O’Brien, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Cambridge and Chief Executive of Cambridge Enterprise said: “World-leading research and innovation is taking place every day across Cambridge in areas such as AI, quantum computing and life sciences.

“Researchers are developing the technologies and IP that will solve some of the world’s biggest challenges from healthcare to climate change. If we are to create the same level of innovation output that we’ve produced over the last 25 years in the next 10, we have to shift our innovation into a different gear.

“Never has Cambridge been more ready for business and to take on this challenge. We are joined up and pooling all our resources across business, academia and local government to realise a shared vision of growth for the city and the region to continue to deliver innovation at scale for the benefit of the UK and the globe.”

And Michael Anstey, Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital, added: “Innovation is a fundamental driver of economic growth. Today, the UK is a leader in translating cutting-edge science and technology into transformative businesses, with more than £60 billion in investment across AI, life sciences and infrastructure.

“Within the UK, the Cambridge ecosystem is home to some of the nation’s fastest-growing companies that are tackling global challenges like climate change, food security, and healthcare. By implementing the strategy that Innovate Cambridge has set out, Cambridge has the potential to be a central pillar in the UK’s growth agenda.”