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Picture credits: Cambridge Innovation Capital

Cambridge Innovation Capital, a VC that backs life sciences and technology companies connected with the Cambridge ecosystem, announced on Monday that it has raised £225M (approximately €267M) for its oversubscribed Fund II. Half of the capital raised in Fund II has come from UK-based investors, with the remaining half from a geographically diverse group of 50 institutional and strategic investors. 

Post fundraising, CIC now manages around £500M (approximately €592M) to support its portfolio companies throughout their lifecycle. CIC will not only provide investment capital but strategic and operational support as well.

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Andrew Williamson, Managing Partner of CIC says, “Cambridge, UK is one of the fastest-growing science and technology innovation ecosystems in the world. Since our inception, CIC and our co-investors have invested more than £2B (approximately €2.3B) in sectors as diverse as robotics, semiconductors, genomics, gene therapy, therapeutics, liquid biopsy, artificial intelligence, and edge computing. We are delighted to launch our new fund and to work with a dynamic group of entrepreneurs and investors to capture the full potential within the thriving Cambridge ecosystem.”

Cambridge Innovation Capital

Cambridge Innovation Capital was founded to improve the success rate of businesses originating from the University of Cambridge and the broader Cambridge ecosystem. 

Cambridge Innovation Capital’s first fund invested in more than 40 deeptech and life sciences companies, and Fund II has already made six investments – Riverlane (quantum computing software provider), Pretzel Therapeutics (developer of mitochondrial therapeutics), Salience Labs (photonic compute firm), Epitopea (cancer immunotherapeutics company), Microbiotica (microbiome-based therapeutics and biomarkers), and Seldon (machine learning deployment startup). 

Last year, CMR Surgical, CIC’s first fund portfolio company, closed the world’s largest medtech private financing round of £425M (approximately €504M) at a valuation of more than £2B. CMR’s Versius robotic system aims to bring the benefits of keyhole surgery to patients around the world.  

Pragmatic Semiconductor is another company from CIC’s portfolio that recently raised $80M (approximately €74M) to build its second manufacturing facility in the north of England. The company has launched a low-cost flexible electronics manufacturing process that disrupts the existing silicon chip manufacturing market and enables a whole new class of innovative electronics.

Cambridge Innovation Capital has also co-founded two Cambridge-based business accelerators – DeepTech Labs and Start Codon. The goal is to support deeptech and life science entrepreneurs develop their commercialisation and technology strategy, bridging the gap between translational research and Series A-ready businesses.

Williamson adds, “With Fund II, we are eager to continue our mission of building substantial businesses that bring benefit to Cambridge, the UK, and the world.”