Cambridge’s deep tech ecosystem has entered a new phase, and the numbers prove it. In 2024, startups and scale-ups in the city raised $2.3 billion, nearly double the $1.2 billion raised in 2023, making it the second-best year on record, according to new data from Founders at the University of Cambridge. The city now generates $17.7 in startup value for every VC dollar, up from $16.9 in 2023, outpacing the Bay Area and Zurich.
While venture funding declined across major European hubs — Stockholm (-57%), London (-12%), and Berlin (-7%) — Cambridge, Munich (+21% to $2.9B), and Zurich (+5.1% to $990M) defied the downturn. This signals a split in continental tech investment, with Cambridge standing out in absolute growth and efficiency.
This surge builds on broader momentum. Earlier this year, TFN reported that Cambridge was rapidly challenging London’s position as the UK’s premier tech hub, driven by a 38% year-on-year increase in VC funding and value creation of 16.9x per VC dollar, far surpassing the UK average of 5.4x and London’s 4.8x.
Gerard Grech CBE, Managing Director of Founders at the University of Cambridge, said: “While most regions saw venture funding fall, Cambridge doubled its VC investment — a clear sign of its tech and life sciences strength. But we can’t stop here. To get more venture scientists to the breakout stage, we need to back them with the right support, from mentoring and business development to funding. We’re making sure they have what they need to build the deep tech companies that will shape our future.”
Science meets startups: The deep tech flywheel
At the heart of Cambridge’s success lies a rare combination of dense academic talent, entrepreneurial culture, and world-class research infrastructure. The city now hosts nearly 700 deep tech and life science startups, with 78% of deep tech spinouts reaching Series B, far above the European average of 63%.
Cambridge outperforms the Bay Area and London in early-stage momentum: 41% of its startups reach Series A, compared to 40% in Silicon Valley and 33% in London. This success stems from a dense founder-to-researcher ratio (1:12 in Cambridge versus 1:31 in London) and targeted initiatives that boost startup viability. The value of Cambridge’s enterprise tech sector has soared to $222 billion, a 16% increase from the previous year, making it the UK’s second most valuable ecosystem after London.
In a conversation with TFN, Liz Zijing Li, co-founder and COO at MimiCrete, credits this to what locals call the “Cambridge Phenomenon”: “Through the Cambridge network, I met my co-founders, our first partner, early clients, and investors. University-linked VCs helped us gain traction and visibility early — a crucial step to attracting later-stage capital.”
Professor Dame Clare Grey, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Nyobolt and Royal Society Professor of Chemistry at Cambridge University, said: “Cambridge provides unparalleled foundations for deep tech ventures with its unique international networks and expertise. We must focus on our ultimate mission: transforming breakthrough science into scalable solutions that tackle universal challenges, particularly ensuring a more sustainable future for all.”
Nyobolt, a fast-growing battery tech company spun out of the university in 2019, exemplifies this pathway. Grey explained to TFN exclusively how close integration with academic infrastructure and local venture support enabled the company to scale rapidly while managing capital intensity: “Cambridge has been instrumental since the beginning — from the ongoing R&D collaboration between my lab and Nyobolt’s team, to local VC support from Cambridge Enterprise and IQ Capital at Seed, Series A, and B. We were able to use existing lab facilities rather than replicate them in-house, significantly reducing our capital expenditure and resource requirements.”
The city’s infrastructure proved vital: “Many materials-based startups depend on expensive analytical equipment and the expertise to interpret data. Access to this within the university and surrounding ecosystem allowed us to grow faster and leaner.”
She also credited the collaborative culture: I met my co-founder, Dr Sai Shivareddy, when he was a PhD student in electrical engineering. That kind of cross-disciplinary connection is typical here. The ecosystem makes building and scaling complex technologies easier for teams like ours.”
The university’s scientific culture fuels innovation well beyond the lab. Sarah Hirschfield, Founder at CalBot, shared: “Cambridge is a scientific powerhouse. Science is in the air. I don’t think that if I studied at Oxford, I would have started a biotech hedge fund — my background is in finance, not science. But here, even non-scientists get pulled into the orbit of deep tech.”
Diversity: The hidden multiplier in Cambridge’s growth
Alongside its commercial success, Cambridge’s startup ecosystem is becoming more globally diverse, a key factor in its growth. TFN has obtained exclusive data from the Founders at the University of Cambridge Start 2.0 cohort, revealing that among current founders, 67% are non-UK nationals, 33% are UK nationals, 66% are male, 28% are female, and 5% are non-binary. The average age is 40, with 81% holding a PhD.
While Cambridge attracts global talent, female founders face disproportionate barriers, especially in deep tech. Liz Zijing Li said, “Female founders in deep tech face higher proof burdens and limited investor diversity. More peer support and tailored funding are needed to close the early-stage gap.”
Professor Grey reinforced the opportunity and responsibility Cambridge holds in this space: “Opportunities to support women in deep tech must go beyond token roles — we need funding, board seats, and speaking channels to share research and leadership. Cambridge has a real chance to lead by example and inspire change in regions where STEM is still male-dominated.”
Sarah Anto, CEO and founder at FundHER, echoed this from a pan-European perspective: “I’ve worked with dozens of early-stage female founders, including many from Cambridge. They outperform on capital efficiency and product delivery, yet still face barriers — from access to warm intros to subtle doubts about technical competence, even with world-class credentials.”
She also pointed to a visibility gap: “Demo days and pitch events often spotlight repeat founders or well-networked teams. First-time female founders, even high-performing ones, struggle to break through.”
Yet Cambridge does offer structural support, and there are signs of progress. Anne Dobrée, Investment Director at Parkwalk, noted: “We see strong female representation in senior VC roles here, and many successful women founders to look up to. Programmes like FOUNDERS, Accelerate @ Babraham, and the Sanger Startup School offer early support, and around 160 initiatives help new ventures launch. But we still lack enough female chairs and non-exec directors to guide young teams.”
Karolina Zapadka, Investment Director at Parkwalk, added: “The ecosystem’s research depth and founder networks are fantastic. However, scaling is still hard, especially for commercial roles. And there’s limited access to female role models who’ve grown and exited similar ventures. That visibility gap is real.”
Barriers to scale: Housing, growth capital, and regulatory drag
Despite its upward trajectory, Cambridge isn’t immune to European innovation hubs’ structural challenges — housing, growth capital, and regulation. Since 2020, median rents in Cambridge have risen 58%, pushing some founders to cheaper cities. Only 14% of Cambridge startups reach unicorn status, compared to 19% in Zurich. Plus, deep tech companies cite high compliance costs from the EU AI Act and long certification timelines for sectors like battery tech.
Yoram Wijngaarde, founder of Dealroom, said: “Cambridge is a shining example in Europe, producing global tech firms like ARM and Wayve. But to stay competitive, it needs to mature — especially in late-stage capital and scale-readiness.”
What’s next? Engineering an inclusive innovation economy
S-curve modelling suggests Cambridge’s tech ecosystem could reach $500 billion in value by 2030 — if it tackles current bottlenecks. This will require expanding talent infrastructure, including innovation districts and international founder visa programs; reinforcing the capital stack with local growth funds targeting €1 billion for Series C+ rounds; enhancing regulatory competitiveness through sandboxes and mutual recognition agreements; and strengthening network effects via industry-academic rotation programs and shared IP commercialisation platforms.
As Grech puts it: “We must ensure the next generation of venture scientists — women, international founders, interdisciplinary thinkers — have the infrastructure to thrive.”
Cambridge’s $2.3 billion VC surge reflects a structurally unique ecosystem: deeply connected, translational, and globally relevant. But sustaining this lead will depend on how well it builds innovation and inclusion.
