A tech investor with ties to the University of Cambridge has launched a £100m “opportunity fund” backed by Aviva and British Patient Capital.
The fund from Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), which is targeting deep tech and life science companies, has already made its first two investments, both into established tech firms that spun out of Cambridge.
Pragmatic Semiconductor, one of the largest UK-based chip firms still owned and operated in Britain, and quantum computing specialist Riverlane are the first to receive cash from the new fund.
According to CIC, the fund can offer up to £20m per investment in later-stage rounds, with the aim of addressing the often-bemoaned scaleup funding gap for British tech businesses.
UK deep tech companies are often forced to seek overseas funding to counteract the perceived over-cautiousness of local financiers.
Data from IncludedVC found that foreign capital accounts for 60% of late-stage VC investments in the UK, compared to just 15% in the US.
The British government has declared its aim to firmly establish the UK tech industry as “Europe’s Silicon Valley”, with the Oxford-Cambridge corridor placed at the heart of these plans.
“CIC has traditionally invested in early-stage opportunities around Cambridge and has seen many of these companies mature into highly commercial businesses developing proven technologies,” said Andrew Williamson, managing partner at CIC.
“With this new fund we will support our portfolio companies, and scaleups from the UK ecosystem, as they reach a defining moment in their growth – and at exactly the point where the UK often loses its most exciting businesses.”
The investment group was founded in 2013 and has seen exits from portfolio companies such as Gyroscope Therapeutics (bought by Novartis for $1.5bn) and PetMedix (acquired by Zoetis in a $285m deal).
“CIC has a wealth of expertise in life sciences and deep tech, discovering and supporting pioneering companies like Pragmatic and Riverlane which are putting the UK at the forefront of global innovation,” said Ben Luckett, managing director of venture and strategic capital at Aviva Investors.
“As an investor with a long-standing presence in Cambridge, we understand its reputation as a world-leading technology cluster, the huge value of the unique ideas being created here, and their potential to create growth, success and impact.”
British Patient Capital, a commercial subsidiary of the government-owned British Business Bank, committed £20m to the fund.
“We’re pleased to be expanding our relationship with CIC. Cambridge has long been a global research centre, but it is now a growing hub for breakthrough technology as its spinout ecosystem matures,” said Christine Hockley, managing director of funds at British Patient Capital.
“CIC has unparalleled access to the opportunities emerging from that ecosystem and is providing critical growth funding that can help these businesses to reach their commercial potential, ultimately allowing British entrepreneurs to build successful, globally competitive companies.”
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