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Cambridge University controlled tech startup fund raises £75m

We're not your traditional venture capitalists, says firm

Cambridge Innovation Capital, an investment fund which commercialises science and technology advances made at Cambridge University, has raised £75m in a funding round.

The Financial Times reports that CIC was formed by the university in 2013, with its initial £50m investment coming from processor bods ARM and investment firm Lansdown Partners.

New investors include Winton Ventures, the Oman Investment Fund and Woodford Investment Management.

This latest funding round will give CIC a total of £95m to invest over the next few years, according to the newspaper. Cambridge University will remain the largest shareholder in CIC, owning about a third of the firm.

So far CIC has invested £33m in 13 technology startups in and around the Cambridge area. CIC describes its model as a “long term return strategy”, which it says removes the pressure to “deliver the early exits associated with the traditional venture capital model.”

Victor Christou, CEO of CIC, said in a canned statement: “Since the inception of CIC and its initial fundraising in 2013, the company has made significant progress within the Cambridge Cluster, one of the richest seams of scientific and technological innovation in the world. This additional capital will enable CIC to continue to support exciting IP-rich companies and we look forward to continuing to work very closely with the University of Cambridge and our network within the Cambridge area.” ®

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