Cambridge Innovation Capital
About Cambridge Innovation Capital
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) is a venture capital firm located in Cambridge, United Kingdom, founded in 2013 by the University of Cambridge. The firm focuses on supporting deep tech and life sciences companies, aiming to enhance the successful commercialization of innovations in these fields. CIC has a strong connection to the Cambridge ecosystem, providing it with unique access to investment opportunities.
CIC manages between £500 million and £600 million and has invested in over 30 companies, raising more than £2.4 billion in co-investment capital. The firm typically invests between £
CIC was established in 2013 by Cambridge Enterprise, the University of Cambridge's commercialisation arm, with university support. It launched with £50 million. Lead investors were Invesco Perpetual and Lansdowne Partners, with the University of Cambridge Endowment Fund, ARM Holdings and IP Group also contributing. A £150 million round in 2019 took total capital raised to £275 million. Fund II has a total size of £225 million after the British Business Bank committed £20 million in April 2022. Crunchbase lists a further vehicle, Fund III, but this research found no public size for it. Andrew Williamson is Managing Partner. Michael Anstey and Anne Horgan are Partners, and Horgan leads early-stage life sciences investing. Partner Ian Lane focuses on technology investments.
CIC does not run a separate AI fund. AI sits inside its deep tech work, and the public examples are hardware and infrastructure-side companies as well as AI software. Ian Lane manages CIC's investments in Salience Labs, Secondmind, Seldon, Trent AI and Unlikely AI, along with Cambridge GaN Devices. CIC co-led Salience Labs' $11.5 million seed round in 2022 alongside Oxford Science Enterprises. Salience builds photonic chips for AI. It later raised a $125 million round in October 2026, in which CIC took part as an existing investor. In April 2026 CIC co-led Trent AI's $13 million seed round with LocalGlobe. Trent AI is a London agentic security company. Lane said the agentic era needs a new layer of infrastructure to govern and observe agent behaviour.
CIC's Fund II predominantly invests at Series A, according to the British Business Bank. Third-party databases describe a seed to Series A focus, and CIC also joins later rounds of existing portfolio companies. Its AI deals include a co-led seed round (Trent AI) and a follow-on in a later round (Salience Labs). CIC does not publish a standard check size, so this page gives none. Its portfolio is tied to the Cambridge ecosystem and University spinouts, though Salience Labs came out of Oxford and Münster and Trent AI is based in London.
- Salience Labs: photonic chips for AI data centres. CIC co-led its $11.5M seed in 2022 and joined the $125M round in 2026.
- Trent AI: agentic security. CIC co-led the $13M seed round in April 2026 with LocalGlobe.
- Secondmind: named by CIC as an Ian Lane investment. Round details are not public in the sources found.
- Seldon: named by CIC as an Ian Lane investment. Round details are not public in the sources found.
- Unlikely AI: named by CIC as an Ian Lane investment. Round details are not public in the sources found.
- cic.vc/team/ian-lane
- cic.vc/cic-co-leads-salience-labs-11-5-million-seed-funding-round
- tech.eu/2026/10/14/salience-labs-secures-125m-to-scale-photonic-chips-
- finsmes.com/2026/04/trent-ai-raises-13m-in-seed-funding.html
- businesswire.com/news/home/20260407796810/en/Trent-AI-Raises-$13M-to-S
- british-business-bank.co.uk/case-studies/cambridge-innovation-capital
- enterprise.cam.ac.uk/news/sister-organisation-cambridge-innovation-cap
- cam.ac.uk/news/ps50-million-of-new-funding-to-support-cambridge-compan
Investing activity
Cambridge Innovation Capital appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $138M, and led 1 of them. The rounds are mostly Series B and Seed, with a median round size of $125M. The most recent are Salience Labs (Series B, $125M, Oct 2026) and Trent AI (Seed, $13M, Apr 2026).
Cambridge Innovation Capital most often invests alongside Bullhound Capital, SBI Group, Intel Capital and British Business Bank, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI infrastructure / photonic networking chips and AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Cambridge Innovation Capital
Does Cambridge Innovation Capital invest in AI startups?
Yes. CIC backs AI companies within its deep tech focus, including Salience Labs (photonic AI chips), Trent AI (agentic security), Secondmind, Seldon and Unlikely AI.
Who at Cambridge Innovation Capital leads AI investments?
Partner Ian Lane, who focuses on technology, manages the AI and semiconductor holdings. He is the partner quoted on the Salience Labs and Trent AI deals.
What stage does Cambridge Innovation Capital invest at?
Fund II predominantly invests at Series A, and databases describe a seed to Series A focus. CIC co-led Trent AI's seed round in 2026.
How large is Cambridge Innovation Capital's fund?
Fund II totals £225 million, and the existing profile gives £500 million to £600 million under management. No size for Fund III was found.
Does Cambridge Innovation Capital only back Cambridge companies?
Its remit is tied to the Cambridge ecosystem and University spinouts. It has also co-led rounds for companies from elsewhere, such as London-based Trent AI and Oxford spinout Salience Labs.
What AI companies has Cambridge Innovation Capital invested in?
Cambridge Innovation Capital's AI investments include Salience Labs and Trent AI. The 2 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Cambridge Innovation Capital based?
Cambridge Innovation Capital is based in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom.
Who does Cambridge Innovation Capital co-invest with?
Cambridge Innovation Capital's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Bullhound Capital (1 deal), SBI Group (1 deal), Intel Capital (1 deal), British Business Bank (1 deal) and Silicon Catalyst Ventures (1 deal).
How can founders reach Cambridge Innovation Capital?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Cambridge Innovation Capital's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Cambridge Innovation Capital to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.