News round up 12 November 2018

Henderson makes his way to Mercia
Mercia Technologies has hired Marcus Henderson to support its continuing expansion of operations in Scotland.
Ayar Labs lights up $24m series A
Ayar Labs has raised $24m to commercialise its technology that enables data transmission using light, based on research at MIT and CU Boulder.
Durham gains incubator
Durham University has joined forces with New College Durham and economic development organisation Business Durham to launch an incubator aimed at local startups.
Waseda University to launch $17.5m fund
The university venture fund, once established, will be the first of its kind for Waseda University and will be raised in partnership with Well Investments and Beyond Next Ventures.
Oxford HighQ resonates with investors
Longwall Ventures has led a $2.8m seed round for University of Oxford’s newest spinout, quantum technologies-based sensor technology developer Oxford HighQ.
Monashees mobilises Minnesota for $150m fund
University of Minnesota is part of a list of limited partners that provided $150m for Brazil-based venture firm Monashees to close its eighth fund.
LPixel captures $27m
Fujifilm, Olympus and TechMatrix were among the participants in a round that boosted medical imaging technology spinout LPixel’s funding to $35m altogether.
Vitamica energises seed round
Bristol spinout Vitamica has closed a seed round with the backing of University of Bristol Enterprise Fund II and Wyvern Seed Fund.
Chicago rebrands innovation fund
UChicago Innovation Fund has been renamed to George Shultz Innovation Fund following a $10m donation in honour of the former Chicago Booth dean and US secretary of state.
Exosect put up for sale
University of Southampton spinout Exosect has been put up for sale by Hilco Streambank in an effort to salvage the pest and disease control technology producer.
Dispelix displays $13.7m series A
VTT Ventures has supported a $13.7m series A round for the institute’s spinout Dispelix, which is working on see-through displays.
OUI concludes strong quarter
Oxford University Innovation has released its quarterly figures that reveal more than 89% of external investments in its spinouts occurred in August.
Omeicos performs series C operation
SMS Group has backed a $19.5m series C for Omeicos Therapeutics to enable the Helmholtz spinout to advance its treatment for atrial fibrillation into a phase 2 trial.
Big deal: Orchard harvests $200m IPO
Orchard Therapeutics has listed in the US following a $200m initial public offering that came just three years after the gene therapy developer was spun out of UCL.