England’s Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), a venture capital firm within the Cambridge ecosystem, has launched a £100M (approximately €120.64M) Opportunity Fund.
Supported by Aviva Investors and British Patient Capital, the fund aims to invest in advanced deep tech and life sciences companies at the growth stage.
Andrew Williamson, Managing Partner at CIC, says, “CIC has traditionally invested in early-stage opportunities around Cambridge and has seen many of these companies mature into highly commercial businesses developing proven technologies.”
“With this new fund we will support our portfolio companies, and scale-ups from the UK ecosystem, as they reach a defining moment in their growth – and at exactly the point where the UK often loses its most exciting businesses.”
“We want to be a part of that change, and we’re delighted to be working with Aviva Investors and British Patient Capital to achieve this ambition.”
What to expect from the new fund?
The Opportunity Fund will invest up to £20M per company in later-stage deep tech and life sciences rounds, helping to bridge the UK’s scale-up funding gap. This gap often pushes top UK companies to seek foreign investment.
Supporting homegrown tech businesses aligns with the government’s vision of making Cambridge a key hub in Europe’s Silicon Valley transformation.
The fund has already invested in Pragmatic Semiconductor, a major UK chip designer and manufacturer, and Riverlane, a leader in quantum error correction.
Pragmatic develops semiconductor technology that enables integrated circuits to be embedded in various applications. CIC has invested in Pragmatic since its Series A funding round and participated in the company’s £182M Series D funding round in 2023.
Riverlane develops technology for error correction and quantum algorithm development, enabling quantum computers to solve problems beyond classical computing. CIC has invested in Riverlane since its Series A round and participated in the $75M Series C round in 2024.
Since its launch in 2013, CIC has seen several successful exits, including Gyroscope Therapeutics’ $1.5B sale to Novartis, PetMedix’s $285M acquisition by Zoetis, Inivata’s $390M sale to NeoGenomics, and the sale of Audio Analytic. Additionally, its portfolio company Bicycle Therapeutics went public on NASDAQ in 2019.
Brief about Cambridge Innovation Capital
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) is a venture investor focused on deep tech and life sciences companies. It manages over £600M and has invested in more than 40 businesses. CIC has a partnership with the University of Cambridge, a key source of founders for venture-backed startups.
Cambridge was ranked as the world’s top science and technology cluster by intensity in the Global Innovation Index 2024. The city has produced 125 Nobel Prize winners and is home to companies such as ARM Holdings, Abcam, Darktrace, and Bicycle Therapeutics. Venture capital investment in Cambridge reached nearly £1B in 2024.
CIC operates under Cambridge Innovation Capital Manager Limited, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
What do the investors have to say?
Ben Luckett, Managing Director, Venture and Strategic Capital, at Aviva Investors, says, “We are very pleased to complete our latest investment in the Cambridge innovation cluster. CIC has a wealth of expertise in life sciences and deep tech, discovering and supporting pioneering companies like Pragmatic and Riverlane which are putting the UK at the forefront of global innovation.”
“As an investor with a long-standing presence in Cambridge, we understand its reputation as a world-leading technology cluster, the huge value of the unique ideas being created here, and their potential to create growth, success and impact.”
“We believe CIC’s new Fund and its unrivalled access to these early-stage companies, will enable us to support their growth whilst aiming to deliver long-term investment outcomes.”
Aviva Investors, the asset management arm of Aviva plc, provides investment solutions and services globally. Operating across Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and the UK, it manages £234B in assets as of June, 2024.
Christine Hockley, MD, Funds, British Patient Capital, mentions, “We’re pleased to be expanding our relationship with CIC. Cambridge has long been a global research centre, but it is now a growing hub for breakthrough technology as its spin-out ecosystem matures.”
“CIC has unparalleled access to the opportunities emerging from that ecosystem and is providing critical growth funding that can help these businesses to reach their commercial potential, ultimately allowing British entrepreneurs to build successful, globally competitive companies.”
British Patient Capital, a subsidiary of the UK government’s British Business Bank, supports long-term investment in high-growth UK businesses. Launched in 2018, it has £2.5B to invest over 10 years in venture and growth capital. While it operates commercially, it is not a banking institution and is not regulated by the PRA or FCA. It invests both independently and on behalf of third-party investors but does not provide endorsements or warranties.
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