Investor Profile: Cambridge Innovation Capital — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

For founders building world-class science in Cambridge, Cambridge Innovation Capital funding is the patient capital designed to close the city's scale-up gap. Known as CIC, the firm is the preferred investor for the University of Cambridge, and it invests only in companies with a direct link to the Cambridge ecosystem. If you are weighing how to get funding from Cambridge Innovation Capital, proximity and intellectual property matter as much as traction.

Investment thesis

Cambridge Innovation Capital backs intellectual property-rich technology and life science businesses, and it was set up to solve a specific problem: Cambridge spinouts could raise seed funding, but at 18 to 24 months old, with a first product and customers, they found almost no institutional investor willing to lead their growth round. CIC was created to be that preferred Series A investor, with the science and engineering expertise to diligence platforms properly and the patience to support companies through to maturity.

Sectors and stages

The firm invests from seed to growth across life sciences, deep tech, quantum, artificial intelligence and semiconductors. Its common thread is fundamental science or engineering innovation backed by intellectual property; it does not invest in businesses differentiated only by business model or brand.

Fund size and cheque size

Cambridge Innovation Capital manages in excess of £500 million. Its second fund, Fund II, raised £225 million in an oversubscribed close from around 50 institutional and strategic investors. The firm does not publish a standard cheque size on its public site, so its cheque size is not publicly disclosed, but its model is to invest at Series A and keep supporting companies through later rounds.

Notable portfolio

• Riverlane — quantum computing software, including the DeltaFlow operating system for quantum computers, founded by Cambridge academic Steve Brierley.
• Bicycle Therapeutics — a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded by Nobel laureate Sir Greg Winter, which CIC supported from pre-clinical stages through a Nasdaq listing.
• Pretzel Therapeutics — a developer of mitochondrial therapeutics backed through Fund II.
• Salience Labs — a photonic computing company backed through Fund II.
• Epitopea — a cancer immunotherapeutics company backed through Fund II.
• Congenica — genomic analysis software for clinical diagnosis.

Partners and team

Victor Christou is chief executive of CIC, and Andrew Williamson is managing partner, a Cambridge physics graduate who spent a decade investing in the United States before returning to Cambridge. Partners Michael Anstey and Robert Tansley bring life science and deep tech expertise.

Programs run, credits and perks

Cambridge Innovation Capital co-founded two Cambridge accelerators to bridge the gap between research and a Series A-ready business: Start Codon for life sciences, based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and DeepTech Labs for technology. Each provides seed capital, dedicated expertise and mentorship, and a physical home with desk and lab space. No standard cloud credits package is published.

How to apply for funding

There is no open public application form on cic.vc for any founder to pitch through. The route runs through the Cambridge ecosystem: university spinouts come via Cambridge Enterprise, the university's commercialisation arm, with which CIC meets weekly on deal flow, while other Cambridge-cluster companies reach the team through the ecosystem network or the Start Codon and DeepTech Labs accelerators.