Science Creates will combine a $20m fund with wet-lab incubation to foster the west of England deep tech ecosystem in partnership with University of Bristol.

University of Bristol is supporting a £15m ($20m) incubator and venture fund launched yesterday and intended to anchor a deep tech epicentre in the west of England.
Science Creates includes the Science Creates Ventures EIS Fund 1 that will focus on Bristol-based pre-seed and seed-stage deep tech startups in areas such as therapeutics, advanced materials, hardware and software.
The incubator is an evolution of the existing University of Bristol-linked science innovation hubs Unit DX and Unit DY. It will connect resident companies to mentoring and strategic partnerships aligned with science and engineering-oriented objectives.
Science Creates’ founding team includes Harry Destecroix, who previously co-founded University of Bristol-founded diabetes treatment developer Ziylo, acquired by pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk in 2018.
Destecroix, who was also instrumental in Unit DX’s inception, has pitched the initiative as the dawn of England’s answer to the US west coast, leveraging cheaper rent than in the southeast and London together with talent and University of Bristol’s role as cornerstone university.
Destecroix said: “While founding my own startup, Ziylo, I became aware of just how many discoveries failed to emerge from the lab in Bristol alone.
“No matter the quality of the research and discovery, the right ecosystem is fundamental if we are going to challenge the global 90% failure rate of science startups, and create many more successful ventures.”