Companies in University of Bristol’s branch of the enterprise partnership have raised a record $133m in 2021, including $105m of that secured by spinouts.
The portfolio of SETsquared Bristol, the University of Bristol incubator of enterprise partnership SETsquared, has revealed record investment raised in 2021 totalling £98.8m ($133m at current exchange rates).
Out of that total, £77.9m ($105m at current rates) went to spinouts from the university. The majority of this was secured by Ultraleap, the mid-air haptics technology developer that pocketed $81m in series D financing in November 2021.
Aside from attracting capital, the 80-strong portfolio also led to the creation of 250 jobs and generated £29m in revenues.
Overall, the money raised was equivalent to 15% of the total £636m secured by businesses in the city last year.
SETsquared Bristol, based at university-owned innovation hub Engine Shed, is one of six members of SETsquared, the others being Bath, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey.
Marty Reid, who became director of SETsquared Bristol last month, said: “It is amazing to see our companies’ hard work celebrated in these record-breaking stats.
“At SETsquared we have an important role in bringing investment into the region and it is vital that diverse business leaders get a proportionate share of the equity.
“We are thrilled to see such a breadth of diverse founders finding success in our programmes, though we recognise that there is much more to do.”
– Image courtesy of Engine Shed
