A £300m investment vehicle to help create and grow the West of England’s next generation of innovative science and technology spin-out businesses has been launched with the backing of the University of Bristol.
The fund aims to drive a much-needed step change in the early-stage capital, expertise and support available to university spin-outs and start-ups working in areas of true global impact, such as sustainability, clean energy, and transformative healthcare. 
It is the result of a link-up between the six universities making up the highly successful SETsquared Partnership of world-class incubators and regional investment firm QantX, which backs high impact innovations.
The fund was launched today at the Regional Investment and Health & Life Sciences Summit staged in Bristol and attended by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, science minister Lord Patrick Vallance and QantX chair Sir Richard Olver.
The SETsquared Partnership universities, which also include Bath, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton, and Surrey, has a research portfolio of more than £600m and has produced 230-plus spin-out companies through collaboration across vibrant regional innovation ecosystems. 
Despite this success, the potential impact of research and development to power regional growth and productivity is widely viewed as being held back by significant imbalances in equity funding across the UK.
West of England start-ups raise on average five times less at early stages than in the so-called Golden Triangle of Oxford, Cambridge and London.
The SETsquared Partnership and QantX have looked at successful models elsewhere in the UK and internationally to ensure their new vehicle will open up significant co-investment opportunities, de-risk early-stage deep tech propositions for the venture capital and angel investment community, and increase the overall amount of capital available.
They are now seeking investors to help shape the next steps of the initiative.
Lord Vallance said: “The UK is home to brilliant innovators, and this investment vehicle will help turn great ideas into thriving companies that create high-skilled jobs and exciting new products.
“Partnerships like this, between investors and innovators, are vital if we are to grow the economy, boost opportunities and ultimately improve lives.”
QantX co-founder and CEO Richard Haycock said that while the UK ranked fourth globally in cutting-edge research and innovation, it often struggled to commercialise these breakthroughs.
“Our partnership with the SETsquared Universities aims to change this,” he added. “We’re witnessing a surge in university spin-outs led by brilliant founder entrepreneurs.
“By connecting these visionaries with risk capital and expertise in transformative fields like life sciences, sustainability, and deep tech, we’re cultivating a thriving innovation ecosystem.
“This collaboration will accelerate economic growth, create high-skilled jobs, and deliver returns for our investors.
“We’re not just funding companies, we’re empowering local entrepreneurs to transform our region into a powerhouse of innovation, ensuring the fruits of our world-leading research flourish right here at home.”
SETsquared executive director Marty Reid described the potential scale and quality of science and technology companies emerging from across the SETsquared University clusters as a match for any ecosystem.
“Creating this new investment vehicle could be a vital step forward in addressing funding gaps we see today, and through a deep connection with our support ecosystem, could inspire a new generation of talent who will get technologies out of the lab and shape the industries of tomorrow,” he said.
Bristol-based QantX is on a mission to bring modern economic success to the region by increasing the number of spin-outs, protecting intellectual property and creating long-term impact.
It has a track record of backing the most ambitious science and technology founders – including award-winning teams at Senisca, Ensilitech, iFAST Diagnostics, and Neuronostics – and developing connections across University innovation ecosystems.
SETsquared is widely recognised as one of the UK’s most successful innovation partnerships and was recently ranked by the Financial Times and Sifted as one of the top three start-up hubs in Europe.
The partnership brings the pipeline and track record from working with more than 400 ventures a year in critical technologies such as AI, engineering biology, semiconductors and quantum, with members securing over £5bn in investment and creating more than 15,000 jobs since 2002.
