Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Audiotelligence, a UK-based noise cancellation technology developer with origins in University of Cambridge research, has obtained $8.5m in a series A round featuring Cambridge Enterprise and patient capital fund Cambridge Innovation Capital. Venture capital firm Octopus Ventures led the round with additional participation from Cedar Audio, the University of Cambridge spinout from which Audiotelligence was founded 2017. Audiotelligence’s technology relies on data analytics to remove background noise in audio files, helping humans or machines hear more clearly. Potential applications include voice assistants in smart speakers and hearing augmentation devices. CIC led a $4m round for Audiotelligence in 2018 that featured Cambridge Enterprise alongside two local angel investors.
PolyProx Therapeutics, a UK-based cancer medicine spinout of University of Cambridge, obtained £1m ($1.3m) of seed funding today from life sciences research charity LifeArc’s Seed Fund. The money will go to conducting proof-of-concept work on PolyProx’s two lead candidates, with a view to raising series A funding in 2021. PolyProx’s therapeutic platform, polyproxin, would leverage natural methods of cellular degradation to remove cancer-causing proteins that are otherwise difficult to treat. The spinout was founded in November 2018, raising $4.4m six months later in a seed round co-led by university TTO Cambridge Enterprise and CIC, with participation from RT Capital.
The Biofactory, a UK-based biofuel technology developer affiliated to University of Bath, has received up to £850,000 ($1.1m) from unnamed private investors and the UK government’s Energy Catalyst Fund, though it was unclear whether the latter supplied equity. The funding will support Biofactory as it looks to implement an integrated toilet system that can be powered off-grid and where waste is converted into cooking fuel and soil conditioner. The Biofactory was founded by University of Bath alumnus Eoin Sharkey, a member of university-aligned incubator SetSquared Bath. His concept is expected to improve sanitation and access to fuel in low-income communities.
Purdue Foundry Investment Fund, a spinout-focused investment arm of the university’s Purdue Research Foundation, has committed up to $500,000 across two businesses linked to Purdue research. Oncological and kidney disease diagnostics tool developer Amplified Sciences and neurological tracking software business Brightlamp have each received $250,000 in matching funding, contingent on backing from other unnamed institutional investors and individuals. Amplified Sciences previously received $250,000 from Foundry Investment Fund in 2018. Brightlamp received the same amount from the fund in May 2019, adding to $50,000 of equity funding from Ocean Accelerator the previous year and $20,000 in convertible financing from the Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund in 2016.
Infercabulary, a US-based vocabulary building app developer and resident of Towson University’s incubator, has received a $250,000 joint investment from University of System Maryland’s Momentum Fund. The web-based app relies on images and captions to teach the nuanced context of certain words, aiming to engross the user more than conventional repetition-based learning. Infercabulary will now bolster headcount with a focus on sales, customer success and accounts management.