Oxford University’s tech transfer unit Isis Innovation has been named as a consultant in a new £50m ($76.7m) UK-China tech transfer fund launched as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to the UK.
The fund will be working with UK businesses, including university spinouts, which are suitable for international expansion into China. It will be investing over a wide range of sectors, with its primary focus being bringing technologies which can help the development of the Chinese economy, the creation of new markets, and improve quality of life in the People’s Republic.
The fund will now move to raise cash for the fund, with the Shaghai Free Trade Zone acting as a cornerstone investor in the fund. Other potential investors are yet to be revealed.
Tom Hockaday, CEO of Isis, said: “The Fund will provide an important new source of finance for UK technology businesses, enabling existing businesses to grow through access to the funding and the Chinese market, and also enabling those businesses to invest their resources into research and development in the UK. World-class research as the basis for new products and services in world-scale markets will provide opportunities for the next generation of UK businesses, working collaboratively and competitively in China.”
