CE is currently putting together its second enterprise fund, allocating $2.2m for the 2013/14 tax year.

Cambridge Enterprise (CE), the commercialisation unit of UK-based Cambridge University, has hit its £1bn ($1.55bn) external fundraising target, raised over the past 18 years, bringing it into a select group of universities to crack the billion barrier. The follow-on funding announcement came in CE’s annual report, and adds strength to Cambridge’s claim to be the most successful technology cluster in Europe. The university has more than 1,500 technology companies with a combined turnover of £11.8bn in 2011 and employs more than 53,000 people. The cluster has generated 12 companies valued at more than $1bn over the past 15 years, with two, microprocessor manufacturer Arm and Hewlett-Packard-owned Autonomy, valued in excess of $10bn. CE maintains an 80% three-year survival rate for companies receiving investment from the venture unit, a big increase over the UK national average of 58%. Also revealed in CE’s report was Cambridge’s big win on biotech spin-out BlueGnome, which became the university’s most profitable spin-out when it was acquired by life sciences firm Illumina last September in a £60m deal. Once fees were paid, the university walked away with £8.5m, or 92 times its initial investment. Another big deal last year for CE was the acquisition of LED manufacturer CamGen, spun out in 2010, by engineering firm Plessey for £10m – a fast turnaround from start-up to exit. Despite the notable wins, there have also been some blemishes. Autonomy, the largest independent UK software company at the time, was acquired by computer company Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011 for $11.1bn. While not the result of CE’s work with Autonomy, the acquisiton remains mired in controversy after HP took a $8.8bn writedown against the acquisition sum amid allegations – denied by Autonomy’s former managers – that Autonomy was overvalued. HP shareholders have also filed a lawsuit against HP board members, including current and former HP chief executives Meg Whitman and Leo Apotheker. CE is currently putting together its second enterprise fund, allocating $2.2m for the 2013/14 tax year. The first fund made three investments – Cambridge CMOS Sensors, DefiniGEN and Inotec AMD – in November last year, and took part in a $2.5m series A round for life sciences spin-out Sphere Fluidics in February, which also attracted investment from private equity firm 24Haymarket and the Royal Society. Tony Raven, CE’s chief executive, said: “Cambridge spin-outs are developing solutions in cancer treatment, renewable energy and in-vitro fertilisation. “The amount of follow-on funding raised demonstrates the market’s confidence in our portfolio companies,…

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