Bristol University and Science Creates announce £8.5m spin-out funding

The University of Bristol, Research England and Science Creates announce £8.5m to build Bristol deep tech incubator

UK university spin-outs have received another boost as Science Creates seals a £8.5 million deal to open its third state-of-the-art deep tech incubator in Bristol. The investment, backed by Research England, part of UKRI, and the University of Bristol, marks a significant stride in fostering innovation and supporting university spin-outs geared towards steering the fourth industrial revolution.

The announcement comes two weeks after the UK government published its review of spin-out companies, which also outlines its plans to create a leading innovation ecosystem it hopes will surpass the model of Silicon Valley.

Bristol’s growing status as a deep tech hub positions the city to rival well-established counterparts like the golden triangle and actively contribute to the government’s ambitious vision of establishing the UK as a science and technology powerhouse.

From next year, the new 30,000 sq ft building will provide capacity to incubate approximately 275 new companies from West of England universities and beyond. Specifically, it will accommodate spin-outs which are making the next groundbreaking discoveries in quantum and engineering biology.

Facilities include ducted fume cupboards, containment level two labs, a new dedicated AI server capability connectivity and high speed internet.

Harry Destecroix, founder of one of the UK’s most successful spin-outs (Ziylo), and founder of the Science Creates ecosystem, said: “We founded Science Creates in 2015, just one year after spinning out Ziylo, because the biggest barrier we faced was access to advanced research facilities.

“We also wanted to find people who understood the unique challenges that deep tech spin-outs face. Being part of only 0.3 per cent of UK companies that are spinouts, we decided to do something about it.”

“UK spin-outs are, and will be, driving the fourth industrial revolution. All we want to do is help world-class engineers and scientists who have discovered important technological breakthroughs, to build impactful deep tech companies. This will improve the health of the human race and the health of our planet. The additional physical infrastructure will allow deep tech companies to scale and emerge.”

John Williams, Venture Partner at SCVC (Science Creates Ventures) and an exited AI founder of the Bristol-Tokyo AI company Kudan, comments: “Science Creates’ deep tech members are rapidly adopting AI across their operations. AI will play a huge role in every aspect of deep tech in the future.

“It’s fantastic to see the diverse set of companies across the Science Creates ecosystem, from life sciences to quantum and semiconductors, beginning to adopt it both in their core technologies and to help scale their businesses”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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