Science Creates secures £8.5M in funding to support UK spin-outs and drive the fourth industrial revolution

University spin-out Science Creates has received new funding boost to ignite deep tech innovation and pave the way for the UK’s leading role in the fourth industrial revolution. Science Creates announced on Wednesday it has secured £8.5 million in funding to open its third state-of-the-art deep tech incubator in Bristol.

Backed by investments from Research England, a part of UKRI, and the University of Bristol, the deal signifies a significant step forward in promoting innovation and assisting university spin-outs focused on driving the fourth industrial revolution.

This development comes on the heels of the UK government’s recent review of spin-out companies, outlining plans to create a leading innovation ecosystem to surpass Silicon Valley’s model. Bristol’s emergence as a deep tech hub positions it as a formidable competitor to established counterparts like the Golden Triangle, actively contributing to the government’s vision of establishing the UK as a science and technology powerhouse.

Starting next year, Science Creates said that the new 30,000 sq ft facility will have the capacity to incubate around 275 new companies from universities in the West of England and beyond. It will specifically support spin-outs making groundbreaking discoveries in quantum and engineering biology. The facility includes state-of-the-art features such as ducted fume cupboards, containment level two labs, a dedicated AI server, and high-speed internet connectivity.

This third incubator will expand its facilities by over 65%, reaching 75,000 sq ft. Science Creates previously opened its Bristol Old Market deep tech incubator two years ago, with support from UKRI and the University of Bristol. Within a year, it reached full occupancy. To date, Science Creates has backed over 100 deep tech startups and spin-outs, providing crucial R&D space and support to some of the UK’s most promising quantum and biotech companies, including delta g, QLM, Scarlet Therapeutics, and Imophoron.

In a statement, Harry Destecroix, founder of the successful spin-out Ziylo and the Science Creates ecosystem, emphasized the initiative’s founding goal in 2015. Facing barriers in accessing advanced research facilities after spinning out Ziylo in 2014, they aimed to support deep tech spin-outs, which make up only 0.3% of UK companies.

Destecroix stated, “UK spin-outs are, and will be, driving the fourth industrial revolution. All we want to do is help world-class engineers and scientists who have discovered important technological breakthroughs to build impactful deep tech companies. This will improve the health of the human race and the health of our planet. The additional physical infrastructure will allow deep tech companies to scale and emerge.”

Alongside the new incubator, Science Creates is announcing a significant upgrade to its IT network infrastructure across all its sites, allowing companies access to up to 10GB of internet bandwidth. This enhancement ensures that they can continue to leverage supercomputing and AI technologies.

Dr Jon Hunt, the University of Bristol’s Executive Director for Research, Enterprise & Innovation, said: “The University of Bristol is a great powerhouse for spin-outs. This success is attributable to excellent research by world class academics combined with a high-quality research commercialisation team and a vibrant, entrepreneurial ecosystem. The new incubator, located in the heart of our new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, will help create the next generation of deep tech spin-outs, in quantum, cyber, engineering biology and much more. I hope and expect many of these companies will thrive and grow to help us deliver on our mission to make a positive impact locally, nationally, and globally by addressing society’s greatest challenges.”