Oxford and Cambridge universities hold first double-header event to attract investors to spin-out opportunities.
Isis Innovation and Cambridge Enterprise, the respective technology transfer offices (TTOs) of Oxford and Cambridge University, have held their first joint event to attract investors to spin-outs.
Taking place at the London Stock Exchange, the event attracted investors from IP Group, Allied Minds, Parkwalk (which sponsored the event), and a number of other wealthy individuals, angel investors, and venture capitalists.
The companies featured ranged from glaucoma treatments to a company looking to disrupt the music for games and video industry with artificial intelligence, and was headlined by Oxford and Cambridge academic-turned-entrepreneur Carol Robinson, who called for more women reaching the top levels of academic research.
From Oxford, Bodle Technology and Orbit Discovery pitched. Orbit is seeking £1.2m ($1.88m) which the company plans to turn into £30m using its peptide drug discovery platform, while Bodle is looking for £1m to develop its smart windows and solid-state display technologies. Cambridge’s Jukedeck and Quethera joined them on the stage. Jukedeck is developing an online platform which allows games and video developers to utilise an artificial intelligence trained in music theory to generate their own custom tracks, for which it is looking for £1.5m, while Quethera is developing gene therapy treatments for glaucoma, and is searching for £8.5m over three stages to get it to clinical trials.
Mark Pritchard, Executive Chairman at Allied Minds, said: “Despite the friendly rivalry, the inaugural combined Oxford and Cambridge technology showcase was a huge success, allowing early stage investors an insight into the great spin-out opportunities at both universities.”
Collectively, the TTOs have formed at least 240 spin-outs and raised more than £2bn externally since 1975.
