The University of Cambridge has raised £1 million for its Discovery Fund, which will offer seed finance to high tech spin-outs.

The University of Cambridge has raised £1 million for its Discovery Fund, which will offer seed finance to high tech spin-outs.

The target for the fund, managed by the university’s commercialisation office Cambridge Enterprise, is £5 million. It will provide ‘pathfinder’ funding of up to £10,000 for university members with bright ideas to carry out market assessments and develop a business plan, or proof of concept backing of up to £80,000.

Teri Willey, chief executive of Cambridge Enterprise, says, ‘The University of Cambridge Discovery Fund provides that critical first funding which can be so difficult for a new company to find.’

Cambridge Enterprise claims its seed funds have attracted follow-on funding of £45 for every £1 invested, while its funded companies employ more than 1,700 people.