Unit DX marks $25.5m in portfolio funding

University of Bristol has marked the second anniversary of its partnership with science incubator Unit DX, with more than £20m ($25.5m) in funding and grant money cumulatively raised by members of the initiative so far.
Unit DX opened its doors in April 2017 as a partnership between local inward investment agency Invest Bristol & Bath and SetSquared, an enterprise partnership that includes the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey.
Companies resident in the 15,000 square foot incubator at present operate in fields such as biosciences, materials science, chemistry and quantum physics.
The incubator contains individual lab benches and private laboratories catered to both startups and industry R&D teams, all housed within a repurposed industrial unit in the centre of Bristol.
Bristol claims Unit DX, which recently achieved full capacity, has been a major driver behind the university spinning out businesses in record numbers over recent years.
Unit DX is estimated to have generated more than 100 jobs in 37 science and engineering companies, many of which are either Bristol spinouts or otherwise connected with the university.
Bristol-founded businesses to have benefited include diabetes insulin treatment developer Ziylo, which was bought by drug firm Novo Nordisk in August 2018 in a deal that could be worth as much as $800m.
Zilyo had struggled to locate appropriate lab space prior to the launch of Unit DX, the university said, and its success is viewed as having enhanced Bristol’s reputation as a hotbed for sciences investment.
Unnamed former investors in Zilyo have gone on to supply seed funding to more than 10 University of Bristol businesses resident at the incubator.
Other key investors in the Unit DX ecosystem include spinout-focused co-investment vehicle University of Bristol Enterprise Fund, managed by Parkwalk Advisors, and syndicate Bristol Private Equity Club.