Cambridge - 9 days ago

Designed to drive UK growth, the Hub will connect entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, and researchers on a 2.7-acre site in Hills Road, in the centre of Cambridge, as the UK’s answer to Boston’s Lab Central and Paris’s Station F. The new facility will support science start ups to grow and compete on the world stage. The announcement was made as the annual Innovate Cambridge Summit brings together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and political leaders this week, and is part of a £500 million growth package for new homes, infrastructure and business space for the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor. It follows a new report that reveals the Cambridge area is now the most investible hub for science, and has had the highest growth of any UK region outside the capital in the last decade. According to the new report from Beauhurst, Cambridge Enterprise, Innovate Cambridge and Cambridge Innovation Capital, Cambridge is a national economic asset where early-stage life sciences and deep tech companies have raised £7.9billion since 2015. International investors are now involved in nearly 40% of all deals, up from just 7% a decade ago.  Cambridge’s innovation ecosystem has grown by almost 80% in the past decade, from 473 active companies in 2015 to 848 in 2025. Its spinout companies, born from University research, are powering this momentum, with spinouts accounting for 27.9% of all equity raised in the region. Total spinout investment has grown from £46 million in 2015 to £879 million in 2024, with life science spinouts raising an average of £8.4 million each in 2024, the highest for any UK city. This growth and success have been embodied by Cambridge-born success stories, including CellCentric, a leading clinical-stage biotech developing novel cancer therap CuspAI, an AI-driven materials discovery c and Featurespace, a world leader in adaptive behavioural analytics for financial crime prevention. Science Minister and Oxford-Cambridge Innovation Champion, Lord Vallance, said: “Cambridge is one of the world s most fertile grounds for innovation to take root, and blossom into opportunities for investment, job creation, and progress in fields ranging from life sciences to deep tech. “As impressive as these figures are, there is still more potential here for us to unleash. This is precisely why we are backing the Cambridge Innovation Hub, as part of our programme of work across Government to boost the entire Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor, and fulfil its promise as an economic engine the whole nation benefits from.” Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, said: “Fast-tracking the Innovation Hub will help drive UK growth. It will connect entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, and our world-class researchers. It will quickly become Europe’s leading destination for early-stage deep tech and life sciences companies, and means Cambridge will continue to be a global leader in research and innovation. The world is coming to Cambridge for science. Government support means that work will now start at pace to make the Innovation Hub a reality. Professor Andy Neely OBE, Chair of Innovate Cambridge, said: “Cambridge’s science and innovation ecosystem is one of the UK’s greatest economic assets. The data shows that the world is increasingly looking to Cambridge to find the breakthrough ideas that can change lives and drive global progress.” Dr Kathryn Chapman, Executive Director, Innovate Cambridge, said: “The Summit is a chance to demonstrate how Cambridge continues to lead on innovation worldwide. Recognition as the fastest-growing UK hub for science investment, combined with cornerstone funding for a new international innovation hub, reflects the success of our unified vision and commitment to building a truly global innovation economy.” This latest report follows Dealroom data published earlier this year which showed Cambridge was #1 in Europe for deep tech VC per capita, and was second globally to only the Bay Area when it came to unicorns per capita.  The Cambridge Innovation Hub has received cornerstone Government funding of at least £15 million to maintain the city’s position as a global leader in innovation. The world is coming to Cambridge for science. Government support means that work will now start at pace to make the Innovation Hub a reality.Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor
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