Cambridge, UK has unveiled a plan to supercharge the impact of the Greater Cambridge area by doubling the rate at which it builds unicorns, doubling the venture capital investment the city’s startups receive, and creating twice as many science and innovation companies - all within a 10-year timetable.
The transformative plan is designed to cement Cambridge as a national asset, capable of accelerating the growth of the entire UK economy and is led by Innovate Cambridge, the body overseeing the UK city’s innovation impact.
Cambridge’s 10-year vision is designed to accelerate the region’s world-class science and innovation while maximising social returns.
Cambridge boasts over 5,000 innovation-driven companies, 36 research parks, five hospital trusts, two universities, and a thriving startup and investor community.
The city's tech and life sciences companies have raised over $892 million in venture capital funding this year alone, up 38% 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.
Leading companies to be founded in Cambridge in the last 25 years include Arm Holdings, Bicycle Therapeutics, CMR Surgical, Darktrace, Healx and Raspberry Pi, delivering the same amount of economic growth in the next 10 years as achieved in the last 25.
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, ahead of ETH Zurich and the University of Oxford.
This week’s Innovate Cambridge Summit also announced the Cambridge Pledge which encourages 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:
“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.
Today’s summit is the next stage in realising this mission and I’m looking forward to the discussions and conversations we will share.”
Diarmuid O’Brien, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Cambridge and Chief Executive of Cambridge Enterprise said:
“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.
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.”
Michael Anstey, Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital, said:
“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.”
Lead image: Markus Leo.
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