The SETsquared Partnership universities and leading regional investment firm QantX have announced plans for a new £300m spin-out focused investment vehicle to drive the creation and growth of science and technology companies addressing global challenges.
Representatives from QantX and SETsquared, including Diana Galpin, Director Enterprise & Knowledge Exchange at University of Southampton (second from right), mark the announcement.
Sir Richard Olver, Chair of QantX, announced the initiative at the Regional Investment and Health & Life Sciences Summit in Bristol (11 October), attended by Science Minister Lord Patrick Vallance.
Combined, SETsquared Partnership universities – Southampton, Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter and Surrey – has a research portfolio of more than £600m and has produced over 230 spin-out companies.
Despite this success, the potential impact of Research & Development to power regional growth and productivity is being held back by 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 (between Cambridge, London, and Oxford).
Science Minister, Lord Patrick Vallance said:
“The UK is home to brilliant innovators, and this investment vehicle will help turn great ideas into thriving companies that create high-skilled jobs and exciting new products.”
Professor Mark Spearing, Southampton’s Vice-President (Research and Enterprise), said: “I am excited by the potential for the new investment vehicle to accelerate the progress of science and technology start-up companies across the SETsquared region, and particularly those originating from the entrepreneurial ecosystem associated with the University of Southampton.”
This is one of a series of steps Southampton is taking to support commercialisation and spinout creation.
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