SetSquared affiliates together raised 34% more than the equivalent generated in 2017 in what was hailed as a stellar year for the program.
Member companies of the multi-university-backed SetSquared enterprise scheme together amassed £292m ($377m) of equity and grant funding during 2018, a 34% increase on the same metric for 2017.
The result continues a five-year streak of cumulative funding increases for SetSquared affiliates, and capped off a 2018 in which SetSquared topped global incubator rankings published by benchmarking firm UBI Global for a second time.
SetSquared is a partnership between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey.
The scheme welcomed 946 entrepreneurs, researchers and students through its doors in 2018, with 378 of those signing up for its flagship Business Acceleration initiative for high-growth ventures, which provides mentoring, office space and investor introductions.
SetSquared offers a scheme modelled on similar lines for businesses looking to scale up, through which 50 innovators were able to access academic expertise and help preparing grant applications, as well as both mentoring and connections to investors.
The incubator accepted a further 302 participants for its Entrepreneur’s Program, sponsored by the EU-owned European Regional Development Fund. It said 58 and 29 innovators had taken part in SetSquared health and space-orientated schemes respectively.
Another 50 participated in the student enterprise program, while 79 teams were accepted onto Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research, a UK government-sponsored tech transfer funding scheme operated alongside University of Warwick, Queen’s University Belfast and the regional tech transfer alliances Midlands Innovation and Midlands Enterprise Universities.
Simon Bond, innovation director of SetSquared, said: “2018 was a stellar year for SetSquared member companies.
“Behind their financial success is an important story of ongoing investment in UK innovation and the creation of business solutions that will help solve major global challenges such as energy consumption, the food crisis and chronic health conditions.”
