Our Funds: University Discovery Fund
Philanthropic support is vital for the very early high risk stages of new company formation.
The University Discovery Fund was created in 2008 by the University as a donated fund, celebrating their 800 year anniversary, to invest in science with clear commercial potential. The original raise was £1.8 million which has since returned £8.6 million (£6.3 million of profit) to invest in the next generation of innovation.
Mostly recently it has supported our Social Ventures programme, and the START programme for Founders at the University of Cambridge where the fund invested £20,000 into each of the cohort companies. This fund holds investments in more than 30 companies including Cambridge GAN Devices, Colorifix and Echion.
To learn more about the success of the University Discovery Fund, check out the 2010-2025 report.
Aetosense
AetoSense develops advanced air quality monitoring systems that enhance indoor air quality and optimise energy consumption by detecting ultrafine particles.
Point of Contact: Christine Martin Academic founder: Molly Haugen
Aqdot
Aqdot is a supramolecular chemistry company with a focus and expertise in developing, licensing and selling novel proprietary products.
Point of Contact: Christine Martin Academic founders: Oren Scherman, Chris Abell, Roger Coulston, Jing Zhang
Aspuna Group
Aspuna Group is a social impact commodities asset management business with a proven model for making trading fair.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Maria-Yassin Yah, Luis Prazeres
BioTryp Therapeutics
BioTryp Therapeutics is developing biofilm inhibitors to prevent infections and promote health and wellbeing.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Ashraf Zarkan, Jehangir Cama, David Summers
Bit Bio
Bit Bio is a synthetic biology company providing human cells for research, drug discovery and cell therapy.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Mark Kotter, Benhard Klemen
BravelyCultured
BravelyCultured is developing sustainable, skin-friendly biodegradable chemicals, with an initial focus on biosurfactants for personal and home care products.
Point of Contact: Chris Gibbs Academic founders: Natalija Stepurko, James Dunce
Cambridge GaN Devices
Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD) is a fabless semiconductor company that develops a range of energy-efficient GaN-based power devices to make greener electronics possible.
Point of Contact: Chris Gibbs Academic founders: Giorgia Longobardi, Florin Udrea
Cambridge Vision Technology
Cambridge Vision Technology (CVT) is a medical device company specialising in diagnostic tests for early detection of eye and neurodegenerative diseases.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Andrew Kadis, James Wood
CellCentric
CellCentric is a clinical stage biotech company; developing a novel anti-cancer drug, currently in clinical trials for prostate and haematological cancers.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Will West, Azim Surani, Jessica Salter
Colorifix
Colorifix is developing a revolutionary dyeing process to help the textile industry dramatically reduce its environmental impact.
Point of Contact: Chris Gibbs Academic founders: James Ajioka, David Nugent, Orr Yarkoni
Cosysense
Cosysense enhances energy efficiency in commercial buildings using advanced sensors and AI to optimise HVAC systems. Their solution reduces energy consumption and costs, with clients paying only a fraction of the savings achieved.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Matias Acosta, Sebastian Horstmann
DefiniGEN
DefiniGEN is a company that provides optimised human cell products for scientific research, specialising in creating predictive cell-based models of liver disease to accelerate drug development.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Roger Pedersen, Ludovic Vallier
Echion Technologies
Echion Technologies is developing a portfolio of advanced battery active anode materials for Li-ion batteries.
Point of Contact: Chris Gibbs Academic founders: Jean de la Verpilliere, Michael De Volder, Adam Boies, Alexander Groombridge
Healthera
Healthera is a health tech company providing a platform for ordering NHS prescriptions and accessing pharmacy services. They partner with over 1,600 pharmacies to offer medication management, delivery, and health services through their app.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Tiannan Hao, Jin Dai, Victor Wong, Sichen Liu
Immaterial
Immaterial Ltd have the in-depth expertise and know-how to design a system solution with optimised monolithic metal-organic framework materials around a process tailored to your operating conditions.
Point of Contact: Christine Martin Academic founders: Andrew Marsden, Mohammed Khan
Kalamna Global
Kalamna Global is an award-winning social enterprise that empowers families to connect with and celebrate their culture and heritage through the Arabic language.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Yosra Koura, Saussan Khalil
Majico
Majico designs and develops innovative water kiosk solutions, combining human-centered design, novel purification technologies, and automated water management to address drinking water issues in East Africa.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Michael Coto, Peter Knight
Molyon
Molyon develops high-energy density lithium-sulfur batteries for weight-critical applications, offering twice the energy density of current lithium-ion batteries.
Point of Contact: Chris Gibbs Academic founders: Ismail Sami, Manish Chhowalla
Nanomation
Nanomation is a semiconductor software company that enables the industry to unlock the transformative power of nanomaterials.
Point of Contact: Christine Martin Academic founders: Charlotte Esler, Jack Alexander-Webber, Teja Potočnik
Obliquity Group
Obliquity Group have developed breakthrough employee-focused data analytics that enables more inclusive, quantified and embedded sustainability strategies.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: John Isherwood, Simon Kelly
Orbit
Orbit uses non-invasive neurotech to make mental health as transparent and actionable as physical health.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founder: Akshat Sharma
PneumaCare
PneumaCare Ltd is a Cambridge based company, developing the non-contact, non-invasive technology – Structured Light Plethysmography (SLP) which helps to assess lung function.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Gareth Roberts, Richard Iles, Joan Lasenby
Polypharmakos
Polypharmakos is a joint venture between the University of Cambridge and the Royal Botanic Gardens, leveraging AI and deep ethnobotanical knowledge to discover and develop novel anti-inflammaging nutraceuticals and drugs from natural extracts.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Clare Bryant, Duncan Maskell, Mark Holmes
Protonera
Protonera specialises in converting waste plastics into hydrogen, providing sustainable waste management solutions to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Point of Contact: Chris Gibbs Academic founders: Chengzhi Guo, Subhajit Bhattacharjee, Erwin Reisner
PsyOmics
Psyomics is a company that enhances mental health care with digital solutions. Their main product, Censeo, helps clinicians by collecting detailed patient-reported mental health information, streamlining assessments, and improving patient experiences.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Sabine Bahn, Kevin McDonnell, Melinda Rees
Sphere Bio
Sphere Bio is a life sciences company specialising in single cell analysis and isolation. They use picodroplet microfluidic technology to provide high-throughput platforms and consumables for biopharmaceutical discovery, cell therapy engineering, and synthetic biology.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Chris Abell, Wilhelm Huck
Vector Bioscience
Vector Bioscience Cambridge specialises in nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems for cancer treatment. Their technology uses machine learning to enhance precision and minimise side effects.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: David Fairen-Jimenez, Jogchum Brinksma
Voltquant
Voltquant provides advanced AI and GIS software solutions to optimise infrastructure deployment and enhance efficiency in the energy sector.
Point of Contact: Chris Gibbs Academic founders: Nikita Dabizha, George Kolokotronis, Gareth Dauley
WaterScope
WaterScope's mission is to enable inclusive access to smart, easy-to-use, and reliable testing for bacterial presence in drinking water.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founder: Richard Bowman
Where You At
WYA (Where You At) uses Bluetooth technology to help users locate friends in crowded venues by providing precise positioning and real-time updates, even without a phone signal.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founder: Tamzin Lent
William Oak Diagnostics
William Oak Diagnostics' vision is to eliminate micronutrient deficiencies. Their innovative point-of-care test with integrated blood-collection simplifies the identification of numerous micronutrient deficiencies.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Alexander Patto, Tim Dwyer
Xterna
Xterna offers novel solutions for cell-type specific drug delivery, leveraging advanced biotechnology to improve therapeutic outcomes.
Point of Contact: Amanda Wooding Academic founders: Chris Wan, Jessica Corry