The SETsquared Partnership universities and leading regional investment firm QantX have announced plans for a new £300m spin-out focused investment vehicle to catalyse the creation and growth of science and technology companies addressing global challenges.
The initiative was announced by Sir Richard Olver, Chair of QantX, at Bristol City Hall on 11 October at the Regional Investment and Health & Life Sciences Summit, which Science Minister Lord Patrick Vallance and MP Darren Jones also attended.
This new investment vehicle will drive a much needed step change in early-stage patient capital, expertise, and support available to University spin-outs and start-up companies in the region that are working in areas of true global impact – such as sustainability, clean energy, and transformative healthcare.
Combined, the SETsquared Partnership of six universities – Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton, and Surrey – has a research portfolio of over £600m and has produced over 230 spin-out companies through collaboration across vibrant regional innovation ecosystems.
Despite this success, the potential impact of R&D to power regional growth and productivity is being held back due to significant imbalances in equity funding across the UK. Startups in the region raise, on average, five times less at early stages than in the Golden Triangle.
As demonstrated by successful models elsewhere in the UK and internationally, this new vehicle will open up significant co-investment opportunities, de-risk early-stage deep tech propositions for the VC and Angel investment community, and increase the overall amount of capital available.
QantX is on a mission to bring modern economic success to the region by increasing the number of spin-outs, protecting intellectual property, and creating long-term impact. They have a track record of backing the most ambitious science and technology founders – including award-winning teams at Senisca, Ensilitech, iFAST Diagnostics, and Neuronostics – and developing connections across university innovation ecosystems.
SETsquared is widely recognised as one of the UK’s most successful innovation partnerships and was recently ranked by the Financial Times and Sifted as one of the top three start-up hubs in Europe. The partnership brings the pipeline and track record from working with over 400 ventures per year in critical technologies such as AI, engineering, biology, semiconductors and quantum, with members securing over £5bn in investment and creating over 15,000 jobs since 2002.
SETsquared Bristol is part of the University of Bristol, which has a rich history of research commercialisation, spinning out companies since the 1990s, with a steadily increasing output. Typically, between four and six new spin-out companies are created each year.
The University of Bristol already has a strong portfolio of spin-out companies thriving in fields such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, clean energy and health technology, and the new investment vehicle will help cement Bristol’s reputation as a thriving hub for world-leading tech companies.
The University’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, due to open in 2026, sits at the heart of an emerging innovation district and will catalyse opportunities for knowledge exchange: advancing research across digital, business and social innovation.