Companies involved in Bristol tech incubator SETsquared raised nearly £100m of investment in 2021.
Based at the city’s Engine Shed innovation hub, the University of Bristol incubator supports the growth of technology start-ups, helping them move from initial ideas into commercial viability.
Businesses within the incubator attracted record investment of £98.8m last year - equivalent to 15% of the total £636m raised by firms in the city over the period.
READ MORE: {}
More than half of SETsquared's 80 companies raised investment, it said, including former member Ultraleap, which raised £60m to further commercialise its hand-tracking and mid-air haptics tech.
Other high-level raises included breast cancer detection system Micrima; software company Zeetta Networks; and giving platform Neighbourly.
The incubator also saw strong results in healthtech, with companies in this sector raising £11m in 2021, and also fintech, which will see a further boost this year with the launch of a fintech accelerator.
Companies within the incubator also created 250 jobs last year, generated £29m in revenues and achieved record numbers for leadership diversity, SETsquared said.
SETsquared Bristol runs specific programmes, initiatives and events to encourage under-represented and minority groups into tech entrepreneurship.
Most Read
A total of 45% of the incubator’s 80 companies are now being led by a female founder or executive level member. Also, 70% of the highest investment raises in 2021 came from its women-led companies, one of which was University of Bristol spin-out, KETS Quantum Security.
The company raised £3.1m in pre-series funding last year as well as securing an £11.6m grant to develop quantum-safe communications for the Modern Data Centre.
Caroline Clark, chief operating officer at KETS, 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."
SETsquared Bristol also runs initiatives to encourage under-represented ethnic groups to access business support, including its Breakthrough Bursary, which is now in its third year.
Black, Asian and minority ethnic-led companies at the incubator increased to 24% in 2021. University of Bristol healthtech spin-out FluoretiQ, which was awarded a Breakthrough Bursary, has raised over £2m to date.
Neciah Dorh, co-founder and chief executive at FluoretiQ, 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.”
Sign up to our #IAMBOB newsletter
We're celebrating the success of the 海角视频's black-owned businesses - and we want to tell you all about them in our #IAMBOB newsletter!
Once a month, we share news, features and comment from companies led by black business leaders - from start-ups and SMEs to blue-chip corporations and household names.
You can sign up here
Don’t miss
Marty Reid, director at SETsquared Bristol, added: “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.”
Going forward, SETsquared Bristol said it would continue its diversity commitments with a focus on access to funding and investment.
SETsquared has incubated over 300 companies to date, with over £626m raised.
Like this story? Why not sign up to get the latest South West business news straight to your inbox.