Business Weekly newspaper

Roland Acra, former CTO at Cisco and head of its Data Centre networking and server product division, has joined Cambridge UK quantum computing company Nu Quantum as a board advisor to help steer US expansion. He will advise Nu Quantum on US commercial expansion, scaling product and go-to-market strategy as the company looks to commercial adoption on a larger scale. Roland Acra’s career spans over three decades of technology and innovation leadership, mainly focusing on networking and data centre technological innovation and business growth, including into the era of scale-out distributed computing. Acra also led and exited two companies to Cisco – Arch Rock and Procket Networks – and was Chief Business Officer at PsiQuantum, billed as the largest quantum computing company in the world. Acra said: “I am excited to work with Nu Quantum because it sits in a pivotal position of enabling scale-out quantum computing. Scale-out classical computing has been a huge accelerator of exciting Big Data and AI driven applications. “If we pull it off in quantum, we have the potential to bring in the horizon of useful, fault-tolerant quantum computing by several years. That's a big deal when considering concrete commercial impact.” Dr. Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, Founder and CEO at Nu Quantum, added:   “Having Roland’s experience and insight into the scale-out of classical data centres will prove incredibly valuable for us in the next phase of our growth. He has already provided valuable advice and connections and we’re proud he has decided to join us.” Full article – https://lnkd.in/ezP2j38W

Kao Data, a UK-based developer of data centres engineered for AI, is seeking government involvement in the development of a UK wide data centre plan as part of a national strategy to bring the benefits of AI to the nation, without choking the planet with unsustainable practices. Spencer Lamb, chief commercial officer at Kao Data, says the situation is rapidly approaching crisis point and wants to see some meaningful action. With data centres across the UK, Kao Data is a key player in AI, cloud, and enterprise compute generally. Lamb has called for a UK policy that “envisions data centres alongside renewable energy schemes, to reduce the grid burden and ensure our net zero targets, whilst providing the country with access to the AI compute needed to ensure our position globally as an AI superpower.” He reveals that Kao Data has been working on a strategy to address the challenge that is now very apparent in the UK and globally with respect to increasing compute demand and how this impacts the electricity grid “but also our nation’s sustainability ambitions.” He will be presenting to techUK next month, demonstrating the current and future position. Lamb was a key contributor to a round table at the Cambridge HQ of leading law firm Mills & Reeve last week. Compute trailblazer Arm and genomics thought leaders from the Wellcome Sanger Institute delivered insights to selected academics and industry leaders in Compute: Power with Responsibility, which was supported by quantum computing world leader Quantinuum. Full article – https://lnkd.in/eBS4ZjpQ

A move to buy lab space and industrial units near the rail station in Whittlesford, South Cambridge for £12.8 million could pay handsome dividends for Barwood Capital and Gen Two Real Estate . They have joined forces to buy two income producing laboratories let to Alchemab Therapeutics Ltd and Constructive Bio, as well as two adjoining industrial warehouses totalling 38,500 sq ft, with a view to reconfiguring these units into best-in-class, fitted laboratory space. The site was acquired through Barwood’s Regional Property Growth Fund V. The units adjoin Whittlesford Parkway mainline train station, two stops from the new Cambridge South train station at Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Jonathon Ellerington, Investment Director at Barwood Capital, said: “The acquisition provides an excellent opportunity to reconfigure underutilised properties in a key, strategic location, and in a sector which is underpinned by strong underlying tailwinds. “In addition to the quality of the existing laboratory space, this is an excellent opportunity to reconfigure additional units into sustainable, best in class laboratory space in the leading BioTech and life sciences cluster. Daniel Sterling MRICS, Co-Founder of Gen Two Real Estate, added: “Teaming up with Barwood is a fantastic step forward for our business, allowing us to create a new TechBio hub at Whittlesford Parkway Station. “Providing high quality self-contained units located in the heart of the South Cambridge Science Cluster attracting occupiers from surrounding world leading science parks. Since developing The Recodery back in 2023 for Constructive Bio it has been very satisfying to see the team grow into the space as well as successfully completing a Series A funding of $58m in September 2024.” Full article – https://lnkd.in/e58RN4Fc

The Good Plant Company, based in Cambridge but operating across the region, has won two top design awards at this year’s plants@work ceremony for its work at new HQ buildings in the hi-tech and life science sectors. The company, recently six years old, won a Gold Award for its work at the new Raspberry Pi HQ on Cambridge Science Park and a Silver leaf accolade for its magic at Sphere Fluidics Limited flagship building at Granta Park. The awards were presented at London’s Excel Centre and founder Ruscha Fields paid tribute to her team for their efforts. Raspberry Pi was moving to a new building at Cambridge Science Park and wanted to create an exceptional environment for its team. The Good Plant Company worked in collaboration with a Swedish company to create vertical ‘plant wires’ hanging through the atrium, together with trailing plants hanging from all the balconies. Ben Cook, Property Manager, Raspberry Pi Ltd, said: “We had an ambitious vision to turn our grey and concrete framed office into a luscious green space. I phoned Ruscha who was bursting with ideas and only saw this project as an opportunity rather than allowing the blockers to squeeze out the creativity. Together we pulled off some impressive installations and transformed the new Raspberry Pi Trading Headquarters into the Hanging gardens of Babylon city! The team provided an excellent service from design to maintenance - thank you all!” The project at Sphere Fluidics showcased a variety of planting designs, textures and effects. Rob Treanor, VP Operations at Sphere Fluidics said: “The Good Plant Company got under the hood of our company culture and how we were intending to use our space before presenting a set of recommendations to incorporate biophilic design. “We worked together to shortlist plants, textures and effects which help enhance the employee experience. The result is we have created an aspirational workplace which is brought alive by the exceptional planting. It is an environment our team love working in.” Full article – https://lnkd.in/eKnvBGSv

Cambridge life science and technology companies have been involved in a dizzying series of acquisitions and fundraisings collectively worth more than $22.5 billion in the last 12 months (to October 16, 2024). Companies in the two sectors have been sold for a combined $14.481bn+ with a staggering 87 per cent of the acquisition funding coming from the US. The largest acquisitions of Cambridge companies involved Abcam (by Danaher Corporation), Darktrace (by Thoma Bravo), Jagex (by CVC Capital Partners), Featurespace (by Visa), IQGeo (by KKR) and Endomag (by Hologic, Inc.). Acquisitions by Cambridge companies totalled more than $5.75bn, with the only disclosed values from AstraZeneca. AZ acquired Fusion Pharmaceuticals in Canada for $2.4bn, Gracell Biotechnologies in China for $1.2bn, Icosavax, Inc. in the US for $1.1bn and Amolyt Pharma in France for $1.05bn. Cambridge life science and technology companies raised $2.327bn in the last 12 months with organisations based on Cambridge Science Park ($578.49m) and Babraham Research Campus ($662.65m) accounting for 53 per cent of the income. Of that figure, the lion’ share was raised by local life sciences companies –$1.341bn – with the $988.21m balance hauled in by the Cluster’s technology companies. The largest life science fundraisings were by Bicycle Therapeutics ($555m Post-IPO Equity), 4basebio ($52.2m Equity Issuance and $38.4m Secondary Sale), Nuclera ($75m Series C), T-Therapeutics Ltd ($59m Series A) and Constructive Bio ($58m Series A). The biggest technology fundraisings were by Quantinuum ($300m), Raspberry Pi ($225m via IPO) and Pragmatic Semiconductor ($206m Series D). Funding came from over 170 VC/investors from 24 countries – 71 investors were UK organisations, 58 were US-based, six were from each of Germany and Switzerland, and four apiece from France and Singapore. London had the highest concentration of investors, followed by California, Cambridge, New York and Massachusetts. Brain power played a major part in dealflow: Academic and research bodies in Cambridge continue producing record billions for the UK economy and in the last 12 months, fundraising by Cambridge companies with academic/institutional roots (including the University of Cambridge, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) and the Wellcome Sanger Institute) totalled $1.65bn. That accounts for more than 70 per cent of the $2.327bn total raised by Cambridge life science and technology companies in the period. Full article – https://lnkd.in/erM8m7KA

Kadans Science Partner has broken ground on its new purpose-built laboratory facilities at Merlin Place, Cambridge – formerly home to law firm Taylor Vinters which was bought by Mischcon de Reya. Kadans hosted partners, contractors from SDC Builders Ltd, the Kadans team, and journalists to celebrate the start of construction on site, following ground preparation. The new facilities comprise CL2 wet labs with extensive extract to atmosphere provision, dry labs and office space spread over six storeys and were designed with the wider community in mind. Kadans Science Partner is a leading investor in the development of ecosystems and real estate with a dedicated focus on knowledge-intensive sectors. Merlin Place adds to the Kadans portfolio in Cambridge, extending its reach from the south of the Cluster at Babraham Research Campus and helping to sustain the future of local companies and provide new best-in-class facilities for their expansion. Edward Joslin, Country Lead Development UK & Ireland, Kadans Science Partner, said: “We are proud of the rapid development we have made at Merlin Place, progressing quickly to the build stage. “The new state-of-the-art innovation building aims to address the current lack of available laboratory space in the Cambridge cluster, providing fully fitted lab and office space bespoke to individual company requirements. We would like to thank those joining us at this breaking ground ceremony to celebrate this exciting milestone as we lay the foundation for future success” Full article – https://lnkd.in/eTc5Sjn3

A glittering line-up of key speakers has been assembled for the 2024 annual conference organised by Form the Future CIC at AstraZeneca’s Cambridge UK headquarters on November 26. The overall theme is how high growth areas, like Greater Cambridge, can collaborate to improve outcomes for young people and supply the growing economy with the right talent and skills. The event will explore the critical themes shaping the future – from the transformative potential of AI to the imperative of fostering equity in education and employment, particularly with respect to #STEM. The showcase brings together a diverse audience of educators, employers, policy makers and government officials through an array of talks, panel discussions and debate, seminars and networking, including lunch and refreshment breaks. Arm and Illumina as well as Innovate Cambridge and Cambridge Science Park provide panellists while Oli de Botton, CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company, is delivering a keynote. Speakers confirmed to date include Cllr. Elisa Meschini of Greater Cambridge Partnership, Kathryn Chapman of Innovate Cambridge, Jane Hutchins from Cambridge Science Park, Orianne Wightman from Arm, Hollie Church from Illumina and Lynn Walters from Pure Executive. The panels also feature Professor Ross Renton from ARU Peterborough, Nikos Savvas DL of Eastern Education Group, Ryan Kelsall of Eastern Learning Alliance and Mark Kirby of Olive Academies representing schools and colleges in the region. Matthew Poole, Director of Programmes and Grants at Youth Futures Foundation is also taking part and Shaun Grady – recently appointed UK chair of AstraZeneca – will deliver the welcome. Anne Bailey, Form the Future CEO and co-founder, says: “Whether you're a headteacher or careers leader, a CEO, social value manager or HR director, an economic development professional or skills lead, a current or prospective Form the Future Ambassador, there will be a range of opportunities providing the latest information views and insights into preparing young people for a career in a high-growth community.” Full article – https://lnkd.in/eVP_BgGW

Fractile, a UK startup taking a radically different approach to AI chip design, has received £5 million in funding from the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA). Founded in 2022 by AI PhD, Walter Goodwin, Fractile has already built a world-class team with senior hires from NVIDIA, Arm and Imagination. In July, the company raised $15m led by Kindred Capital VC, NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) and OSE and including ‘angel’ contributions from Cambridge entrepreneurs Stan Boland and Hermann Hauser. Fractile is one of 12 projects to which ARIA is awarding nearly £50m through its Scaling Compute programme, which aims to increase and open up new vectors of progress in the field of computing by reducing the cost of AI hardware. Becoming an ARIA R & D Creator is a significant milestone for the Fractile team, as the UK startup continues its journey to build the chips and systems needed to reach the next frontier of AI performance. ARIA was created by an Act of Parliament and is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology - funding projects across the full spectrum of R & D disciplines, approaches, and institutions looking at how technology can enable a better future and that can prove critical for the UK in the long-term. Full article – https://lnkd.in/eyXnn9Pk

Cambridge Trust has launched ‘King’s Cambridge Commonwealth Scholarships for Small Island Nations’ in partnership with King Charles. It is offering a programme of postgraduate scholarships to celebrate the retention of Patronage of the Trust by the King and in support of the The Association of Commonwealth Universities’ Commonwealth fellowship initiative to support Small Island Developing States of the Commonwealth. Launched to coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2024, the programme will recognise the interconnected nature of challenges facing Small Island Developing States. Commonwealth Small Island Developing States are among the most vulnerable countries in the world, facing numerous economic and environmental shocks, youth out-migration and skills shortages in public services, and experiencing disproportionate and deeply damaging effects of climate change. The aim of the new scholarship programme is to support students who demonstrate outstanding academic ability, by enabling them to benefit from studies at the University of Cambridge in the fields that address these critical issues in their communities. The programme represents an investment by the Trust of around £2 million over six years. This will fully support 10 students at the University of Cambridge with the first recipients taking up their places in the academic year 2025-26. Helen Pennant, Director, Cambridge Trust, says: “The Trust is delighted to be able to continue its work with His Majesty The King by launching this important new programme. I hope these scholarships will make a difference both to the students who receive them and to the countries they come from as they face the many challenges of climate change.” Full article – https://lnkd.in/ewPCwDJk

Transatlantic cancer immunotherapeutics company, Epitopea, has closed a US$31 million pre-Series A financing. New investors Investissement Québec, adMare BioInnovations and Jonathan Milner joined existing investors Advent Life Sciences, CTI Life Sciences Fund, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals , IRICoR and Novateur Ventures Inc. in the round. Epitopea, which has bases in Cambridge, UK and Montreal, Canada is developing accessible off-the-shelf RNA-based immunotherapies for use in hard-to-treat cancers by targeting a new class of untapped tumor-specific antigens, known as Cryptigen™ TSAs, that are broadly shared across multiple patients with the same tumor type. The company has created an extensive library of novel Cryptigen™ TSAs, discovered by its proprietary CryptoMap™ platform that leverages immunopeptidomics, genomics, and a bioinformatics pipeline, allowing the identification of aberrantly-expressed, tumour-specific antigens (aeTSA’s) that are hidden within cancer’s ’junk’ DNA. These hidden Cryptigen™ TSAs were first discovered through research led by Drs. Perreault Claude and Pierre Thibault at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer of the Université de Montréal . Epitopea CEO, Dr Alan Rigby, said: “We believe that more durable cancer therapies are needed to transform the lives of cancer patients diagnosed with hard-to-treat solid tumors where overall survival is still poor for most patients. “We continue to make significant strides toward the clinic, which has strengthened investor enthusiasm, and resulted in an over-subscribed pre-Series A in support of our forward-looking mission and vision. “This additional financing will support strategic pre-clinical discovery in solid tumors of interest while accelerating our near-term clinical development plans for Epitopea’s next generation, tumor selective, off-the-shelf, RNA-based immunotherapies that we believe have the potential to extend the durability of clinical response in patients.” “In this round we would like to warmly welcome new investors Investissement Québec, adMare BioInnovations and Jonathan Milner, whose participation complements the continued passionate support of our existing transatlantic investor syndicate. “This pre-Series A raise provides the necessary finances to accelerate our development campaigns and transition to a clinical-stage company with a focused commitment of delivering our transformational RNA cancer immunotherapy into the clinic in 2026.” Article – https://lnkd.in/eEdsZCST