SETsquared (https://www.setsquared.co.uk/) has achieved something few have: it’s built an ecosystem that spans six institutions across England and Wales and a programme that provides end-to-end support to founders both within and without the universities.

Banding together means the six universities don’t just rival their peers in London, Oxford or Cambridge (portfolio companies have raised some £4bn to date), but in some areas are setting the pace: Bristol, for example, is responsible for a third of all quantum computing companies in the UK.

Marty Reid, interim executive director of SETsquared, sees potential in sectors that may be less obvious too, such as creative industries. Indeed, he argues, technologies like immersive gaming could have far-reaching applications — even in sectors like healthcare.

But SETsquared doesn’t just want to be for founders: it recently won a £1.5m award from Research England to transform and enable tech transfer at its member institutions, helping them to engage investors earlier and forge more fruitful relationships.

And those investors can know that they’ll get an incredibly diverse offering: some of SETsquared’s members have already reached near-parity of funding going into women-founded startups and the rest is catching up fast. Reid has immediate, tangible advice for any tech transfer office looking to do the same.

SETsquared’s conference, Investment Futures 24, is happening on November 28 in Shoreditch, London. You can register here (https://www.setsquared.co.uk/programme/investment-futures-24-delegate/).

Beyond the Breakthrough

Marty Reid: How SETsquared supports founders from idea to exit

Beyond the Breakthrough is a weekly interview show with the brightest minds in university innovation tackling the question: how does research get from a lab into the marketplace?

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