For any early-stage life science or pharmaceutical company selecting the right property in an optimal location that secures access to a skilled workforce with the appropriate scientific facilities is essential. However, given that hypothetical concept to full-scale commercialisation in life sciences typically takes 5 -10 years, access to venture capital funding is the critical requirement. A geographic location that can deliver a gateway to one of the most concentrated biotech investment ecosystems in Europe must therefore be a key strategic consideration for any management team.
Between November 2023 and October 2024, life science companies based in Cambridge collectively raised approximately $1.3 billion. This impressive figure includes major funding rounds such as Bicycle Therapeutics' $555 million Post-IPO Equity (PIPE) financing, as well as significant investments in companies like Constructive Bio, Quotient Therapeutics, and T-Therapeutics, each securing over $50 million.
Cambridge’s southern biotech cluster not only provides access to scientific excellence, and a skilled workforce but crucially it offers an advantageous position from which to secure venture capital funding.
Active sources of VC funding in the local Cambridge market are:
Top-tier UK venture capital firms like Cambridge Innovation Capital
A dense network of international early- and mid- stage venture funds specializing in biotech and medtech
A small group of venture capital funds associated with Tier 1 national and international pharmaceutical and medical device conglomerates
UK Venture Capital Firms
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) is a venture capital firm deeply embedded in the Cambridge, UK ecosystem. The firm focuses on deep tech and life sciences sectors. As of April 2025, CIC manages over £600 million across multiple funds, supporting companies from early-stage development to growth scaling.
Fund Overview
Fund II (£225 million)
Launched: April 2022
Focus: Early-stage investments in deep tech and life sciences companies connected to the Cambridge ecosystem.
Investments: Includes companies like Riverlane (quantum computing), Pretzel Therapeutics (mitochondrial therapeutics), Epitopea (cancer immunotherapeutics), Microbiotica (microbiome-based therapeutics), Seldon (machine learning deployment), and Salience Labs (photonic computing).
Opportunity Fund (£100 million)
Launched: February 2025
Focus: Later-stage investments, addressing the UK's scale-up funding gap for deep tech and life sciences companies.
Investments: Initial investments include Pragmatic Semiconductor (flexible integrated circuits) and Riverlane.
LifeArc Ventures is a UK medical research charity funder. LifeArc led the $16 million Series A for Cambridge-based Maxion Therapeutics (F2023) to develop KnotBody biologics. Co-investors included Monograph Capital and BGF. (lifearc.org)
British Patient Capital (BPC) is a UK government-backed investment fund and is wholly owned by the British Business Bank. BPC has invested in three notable Cambridge-based high growth companies. BPC invested about £5 million in Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD), (2025) about £8m in Nuclera (2024) and some £20 million in Cambridge Innovation Capital (2025) (britishpatientcapital.co.uk)
Business Growth Fund (BGF) is a UK growth investor fund. BGF was an equal participant in Cambridge-based Maxion Therapeutics’ $16M round (bgf.co.uk)
Parkwalk Advisors is a leading UK university spinout investor. Parkwalk joined a £10M Series A for Cambridge-based Enhanc3D Genomics (Q4 2022). It continues to back UK biotech spinouts e.g. cash injections into genomics and cleantech biology startups. (parkwalkadvisors.com)
Cambridge Enterprise is the University of Cambridge’s VC fund. The University invested a further £30 million into the University Venture Fund in 2020, with £10 million committed to sustainability investments. The fund’s current key investments include Riverlane, Nu Quantum, and T- Therapeutics. Investments in their sustainability portfolio include Cambridge Electric Cement, Carbon Re, Nyobolt and SeprifyIt. https://www.enterprise.cam.ac.uk/
CRT Pioneer Fund (UK/EU) is Cancer Research UK’s early fund managed by Sixth Element. It invested in Cambridge-based NeoPhore’s £6M Series B extension (Jan 2023) alongside Claris Ventures, 2Invest, 3B Future Health and Astellas Ventures (sixthelementcapital.com)
Pembroke VCT & Downing Ventures are UK VC organisations. They led and joined, respectively, a $11.5M Series A for Cambridge-based Cydar Medical (AI-surgery imaging) in Feb 2023. (pembrokevct.com, downingventures.com)
Syncona (LSE: SYNC) is a British closed-ended investment trust dedicated to life science investment. The firm co-led the £22.5 million investment in Cambridge-based Mosaic Therapeutics in 2023.
International Life Science Funds
Sofinnova Partners (France/EU) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical venture capital firm. Sofinnova led T-Therapeutics’ Cambridge Series A (Nov 2023), bringing €50M+ to develop TCR-based cancer therapies. (sofinnovapartners.com)
F-Prime Capital (US/UK) is the venture capital arm of Fidelity. The fund has been active in UK biotech, joining a syndicate with Digitalis Ventures and Sanofi Ventures. Co-led T-Therapeutics’ round alongside Sofinnova. (fprimecapital.com)
Digitalis Ventures (US) is a US VC that has invested in several Cambridge-based life science companies. The fund participated in the £48 million Series A funding for T-Therapeutics in 2023. The round included contributions from Sofinnova Partners, F-Prime Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Sanofi Ventures, and the University of Cambridge Venture Fund.
Digitalis Ventures is an investor in PetMedix, another Cambridge-based company specializing in fully species-specific antibody therapeutics for companion animals. PetMedix was acquired by Zoetis in September 2023, highlighting the successful trajectory of Cambridge's biotech ventures and the strategic investments by firms like Digitalis Ventures.
Morningside (HK) Co-led a $24M extension of Evonetix’ Series B (Cambridge synthetic DNA company) in Jan 2023. Also joined a $51M add-on for Cambridge-based Cerevance (neurotherapeutics) in 2023. (morningside.com)
Foresite Capital (US) is venture capital fund that co-led a $24M extension of Cambridge-based Evonetix’ Series B (synthetic DNA company) in Jan 2023. Also joined a $51M add-on for Cambridge-based Cerevance (neurotherapeutics) in 2023. (foresitecapital.com)
Civilization Ventures (US)is a California-based venture capital firm that focuses on early-stage investments in life sciences and digital healthcare. The firm has about $100 million under management. CV is an investor in Evonetix, a synthetic biology company headquartered in Cambridge, UK. Evonetix is developing a desktop platform for scalable, high-fidelity, and rapid gene synthesis, aiming to revolutionize the accessibility of gene synthesis for researchers. (civilizationventures.com)
BlueYard Capital (Germany) is a European deep-tech venture capital fund. BlueYard invested in Creasallis, a Cambridge-based antibody platform, (Jan 2023). They also led a £0.2m pre-seed for Pastoral (agri-biotech) in April 2023. (blueyard.com)
Claris Ventures (Italy), 2Invest (Germany), 3B Future Health (Luxembourg) are European venture capital funds that joined the NeoPhore extension round, demonstrating international investor interest in UK cancer biotech NeoPhore.
Venture Capitalworks, BiG Ventures, and Critical Ventures led a growth-capital round for Cambridge-based Kirontech (health-insurance analytics) in mid-2023.
Industrial Venture Capital Funds
Sanofi Ventures (Corporate, FR/US) is the venture capital arm of Sanofi. Participated in T-Therapeutics’ Series A reflecting international pharma interest in UK startups. (venture.sanofi)
Pfizer Ventures (US Corporate) is the venture capital arm of pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer. Pfizer's venture capital arm has invested in Cambridge-based Mission Therapeutics. (pfizerventures.com)
Astellas Venture Management (Japan) is the corporate VC arm of Astellas Pharma. The venture fund formed part of the NeoPhore funding syndicate targeting cancer neoantigen therapies. (astellas.com/en/innovation/venture-management)
Roche Venture Fund. Roche's corporate venture fund co-led a financing round for Mission Therapeutics, demonstrating its active investment role in the Cambridge biotech ecosystem
SR One. Originally GlaxoSmithKline's venture capital arm and now an independent firm, SR One participated in funding Mission Therapeutics, highlighting its continued engagement with Cambridge-based companies.
Astex Pharmaceuticals. Based in Cambridge, Astex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. While not a venture fund, its presence signifies Otsuka's direct investment and operational interest in the Cambridge biotech sector
Notable Recent Venture Capital Funding in Cambridge
Mosaic Therapeutics
Date: April 2023
Amount: £22.5 million Series A round
Investors: Co-led by Cambridge Innovation Capital and Syncona Investment Management. The investment syndicate included Roche Venture Fund and SR One.
Focus: Enhancing mitophagy for cell and organ health
TRIMTECH Therapeutics
Date: March 2025
Amount: $31 million Series A round
Investors: Cambridge Innovation Capital, SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund, M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, Eli Lilly and Company, MP Healthcare Venture Management, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, and Start Codon.
Focus: Developing targeted protein degradation therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
Riverlane
Date: 2024
Amount: $75 million Series C round
Investors: Cambridge Innovation Capital, Planet First Partners and others.
Focus: Quantum error correction technology.
Pragmatic Semiconductor
Date: 2023
Amount: £182 million Series D round
Focus: Flexible integrated circuits for various applications.
Ignota Labs
Date: 2025
Amount: £5.5 million seed funding round
Focus: rescuing struggling drugs by using AI, cheminformatics, and bioinformatics to identify and resolve the root causes of drug toxicity
Investors: Co-led by Montage Ventures and AIX Ventures with participation from Modi Ventures, Blue Wire Capital, and Gaingels.
The South Cambridge Science Centre
The most cost-effective way for any life science company to join the south Cambridge biomedical ecosystem and secure access to the powerful local funding network is by establishing a base at the South Cambridge Science Centre. The brand new 138,484 sq ft development comprising state of the art laboratories is just ten minutes’ drive from the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The development completes in Q2 2025 and offers floor plans from as small as 5,000 sq ft at a cost some 35% lower than equivalent in Cambridge.
Summary
Cambridge-based early and mid-stage life science companies with strong growth potential continue to attract a strong and varied array of venture capital funds. The funding encompasses the £600 million Cambridge Innovation Fund, Cambridge university-linked investors, the UK government via the British Patient Fund and U.S., European, and Asian VCs. Key UK funds like CIC, LifeArc, and BGF led or joined seed to Series C rounds, while international VCs including Sofinnova, Pfizer Ventures, and Earlybird have co-led significant financings.
The investments in Cambridge-based companies span biotech therapeutics, medtech devices, health-tech platforms, and synthetic biology, underlining robust investor confidence in UK innovationto deliver high growth outcomes. Each VC fund listed above has contributed to at least one Cambridge-based funding round in life sciences/biotech/medtech since the start of 2023, illustrating a vibrant, globally supported early-stage ecosystem.
