The University of Cambridge is launching its second enterprise fund for the 2013-14 tax year to support the University’s commercialisation efforts with the target of raising £1.5m ($2.2m).
The first fund made three investments (Cambridge CMOS Sensors, DefiniGEN, and Inotec AMD) during November last year. Then last month, it took part in a $2.5m series A for Sphere Fluidics, a Cambridge life sciences spin-out, led by private equity firm 24Haymarket with participation from the Royal Society and a number of others. Cambridge expects the first fund to be fully invested within the coming months.
The University has produced 12 companies valued at over $1bn, two of which, microprocessor manufacturer ARM and HP-owned software firm Autonomy, are valued in excess of $10bn. Most of the companies are either founded through tech transfer activity, or by Cambridge graduates.
“The response from University alumni and friends to last year’s Enterprise Fund was outstanding,” said Dr Anne Dobrée, Head of Seed Funds at the University’s commercialisation unit Cambridge Enterprise. “Early-stage funding is incredibly limited, and programmes such as the Enterprise Fund enable young companies to grow and contribute to the continued success of the Cambridge cluster.”
Combined from the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), the fund is open to investment from alumni and “friends of the University” looking to invest in Cambridge spin-outs.
