Innovative businesses based at SETsquared Bristol, the incubator that supports the growth of tech start-ups, attracted investment of £98.8m last year – a 145% increase on 2020’s total.
Member companies also created 250 jobs, generated £29m in revenues and achieved best-ever numbers for leadership diversity. 
More than half of SETsquared Bristol’s 80 firms received funding in 2021, with one firm – touchless technology pioneer Ultraleap, pictured below – accounting for £60m of the total.
Other businesses to win investment included Micrima, which is developing technology that could revolutionise breast cancer detection, software firm Zeetta Networks and Neighbourly, the award-winning platform helping businesses make a positive impact in their communities by donating volunteer time, money and surplus products.
SETsquared Bristol, which is backed by the University of Bristol and part of the SETsquared incubator network, said investment into its businesses was equivalent to 15% of the £636m total injected into Bristol firms last year – also up on 2020’s 10%. 
Based in the city’s Engine Shed innovation hub, SETsquared Bristol has helped more than 300 member firms move from their initial idea into commercial viability since its launch in 20 years ago, raising a total of £626m.
Investment was particularly strong last year in healthtech, with companies in the sector raising £11m, as well as fintech, which will get a further boost this year with the launch of a dedicated accelerator to encourage collaboration in the high-growth area.
As a dedicated advocate of diversity in tech, with specific programmes, initiatives and events to encourage under-represented groups into tech entrepreneurship, SETsquared Bristol also achieved strong results in diversity and inclusion last year. 
It said its work towards gender parity was paying off, with 45% of the incubator’s 80 companies now being led by a women founder or senior director.
SETsquared Bristol also runs initiatives to encourage under-represented ethnic groups to access business support, including its Breakthrough Bursary, now in its third year.
Black, Asian and minority ethnic-led companies at the incubator increased to 24% last year – a figure representative of Bristol’s diverse population.
SETsquared Bristol director Marty Reid, pictured, said: “It’s amazing to see our companies’ hard work celebrated in these record-breaking stats.
“At SETsquared we have an important role in bringing investment into the region and it is vital that diverse business leaders get a proportionate share of the equity.
“We’re thrilled to see such a breadth of diverse founders finding success in our programmes, though we recognise that there is much more to do.” 
He said SETsquared Bristol would continue its diversity commitments this year with a focus on access to funding and investment.
Some 70% of its biggest investments last year came from its women-led companies – with one of them, University of Bristol spin-out KETS Quantum Security, raising £3.1million in a pre-series A round alongside an £11.6m grant to develop quantum-safe communications for the Modern Data Centre.
KETS COO Caroline Clark, pictured, said: “As always, we can only do this with the support of our Bristol and broader quantum tech ecosystem, of which SETsquared continues to play a hugely significant role.”
Another University of Bristol spin-out and Breakthrough Bursary awardee, healthtech firm FluoretiQ, raised more than £2m.
Co-founder and CEO Neciah Dorh said: “SETsquared’s ‘entrepreneur-in-residence’ sessions have been really beneficial to refine our strategy. The incubator has also widened our network, ensuring our developments can be heard by those who need to hear them.”
The SETsquared partnership, which also includes the universities of Bath, Exeter, Surrey, Southampton and Cardiff, has been named ‘Hottest Accelerator in Europe’ at The Europas Awards and has three times been awarded ‘Global #1 University Business Incubator’.
