Show Notes 229: Postdoc Venture Creation Challenge Seven Founders to Watch

The Cambridge Tech Podcast goes inside the Postdoc Venture Creation Challenge, or PVCC, to meet seven University of Cambridge teams turning rigorous research into investable ventures.

Hosted by Faye Holland and James Parton, this episode is a sharp snapshot of where the next wave of Cambridge innovation is forming: construction intelligence, regenerative medicine, industrial biotech, robotics, grid analytics, battery circularity and climate resilience.

For founders and investors, the recurring lesson is clear. Great science is only the starting point. The teams making progress are validating urgent customer problems, narrowing their first market and using mentors to turn technical capability into a compelling commercial story.

What you will hear

• Camentis, led by Dr Ashan Senel Asmone, is piloting a construction data platform that gives site leaders earlier visibility of productivity risks, helping prevent delays and cost overruns.

• A therapeutics company, led by Dr Jin Seok Lee, is developing a temporary mRNA signal designed to help heart muscle cells regenerate. The team is progressing from encouraging animal data towards further preclinical studies.

• DroplexBio, led by Brian Ng, uses RNA nanotechnology to create compartments inside bacteria, aiming to make commercially valuable proteins that are difficult to manufacture today.

• Haptos Technology is building electronic skin for robots. Its sensors capture pressure, temperature, texture and slip, with industrial robotics as the first market before wider applications in care, agriculture and surgery.

• Loom Light, co founded by Dipanshu and Leonie Muck, provides grid risk intelligence for renewable projects, lenders, insurers and infrastructure investors.

• MetCycle, founded by Esther Gray, is developing a room temperature process to recover critical metals from used batteries, with potential to fit into existing recycling operations.

• PeatWaterWise, co founded by Dr Neha Joshi and Dr Hamid Rahimi, combines satellite data and hydrological modelling to help farmers and land managers understand water tables without manual dip well measurements.

Key takeaways for founders and investors

• Focus creates momentum. Several teams began with broad potential applications, then selected a clear beachhead market.

• Customer discovery is a core technical discipline. The strongest propositions connect scientific novelty to a measurable operational or financial pain point.

• Cambridge programmes work best as a connected pathway, combining mentoring, customer insight, pitch practice and access to the wider ecosystem.

• PVCC is designed as a launch pad for researchers making the transition from lab to venture.

Why listen now

With the PVCC Grand Finale approaching, this is an early look at founders building technologies with the potential to reshape major industries. Listen for practical insight on commercialising research, then subscribe to the Cambridge Tech Podcast to follow the next generation of deep tech companies as they move from breakthrough to business.

Subscribe on all major podcast platforms or visit cambridgetechpodcast.com. 🎧

Episode Transcript

Welcome to the Cambridge Tech Podcast. Talking all things technology from the heart of the UK's tech capital. Here are your hosts, Faye Holland and James Parton.

I'm Faye. And I'm James. Do you know that it was episode nine, James, that we first covered what was then the Chris Abel Prize, which is now the Postdoc Venture Creation Challenge? That was like four years ago. Four years ago. It's just flown by, hasn't it?

It has. And in that first year, Benjamin from Sparkcell was at that point where we already knew from the Braffle Prize and 21 to Watch, he was going to go on to great things. We consistently hear him in the news. So that's a great story and a great win for the programme. And actually, just before we started recording, I went down to meet the people that are the finalists for this year. And some of the alumni were there too. So Cal and Pete, who you will obviously know from the Bradfield Centre Prize.

Yeah, they were our winners last year, Green Mixes. And Ossie Ogbedi from Obersens was there as well. He was a 21 to Watch winner from this year. It's really nice because you start to see some of these alumni percolating back through the system as well.

Yeah, and I think as we've covered before, a lot of these competitions and programs within the university ecosystem are complementary. So you can apply for multiple things and you see teams progressing through different programs as their idea or their technology matures.

Indeed. So today we're going to hear from the seven. I'm sure it used to be six finalists, but it's seven finalists this year. So we're going to hear from them all individually.

Welcome to our first guest, Ashann. Why don't you introduce yourself?

- Thanks, Faye. I'm Asha Nazmon. I am a research associate with the Civil Engineering Division of the University of Cambridge. I've been working for the past three and a half years on improving construction productivity in the UK construction sector. We all know we need a bit of improved productivity in that particular sector. And how we go about it is using the data that's available on construction sites to give you better visibility, predictability, and project outcomes for the project teams. Amazing. And what kind of stage are you at? Is this still developing research into an idea into the potential for a company? Have you formed a company at this stage?

We haven't formed a company as such, but we do have a prototype product out there currently being piloted in a couple of sites. And we are getting very close industry feedback to get that prototype improved and updated. So we hope to go to market next year.

So just tell us a little bit about what is it that the prototype's doing? What problem is it solving?

So we call our product as Camentis. So that's to do with the Cambridge University and providing this intelligence to construction site with our research. And how it's been implemented on site is in construction sites, it is a form of a data dashboard for project managers and project leaders to look at how Their on-site performance is being carried out on a day-to-day basis. So they can identify problems that may be popping up before it actually becomes a problem and becomes a huge delay and cost overruns for them.

And how has going through the process of applying to the PVCC helped you as develop that idea and solidify the kind of challenges of being an entrepreneur?

PVCC came in a very interesting time for us because we were trying to productize this, our research ideas into a commercial proposition. And PVCC really helped us identify who the target audience or the target customers would be. So that came at exactly the time we really wanted to hone in on where the market or the end customer is. That really helped us identify, okay, if these project managers are the customers that we want to have, reach out to, how would the product should be and that really solidified our approach.

And you also, Asham, before we started talking, you mentioned that you were part of Impulse as well. What's been the difference between the two programs? Is it just giving you that extra bit that you needed at this particular time?

I would say, Sophie, an Impulse program, I think it covers a wider range of skills required for entrepreneurs coming from the academic background. PVCC, I would say, is more applied. So I could iterate more on my value proposition. My storytelling and even my pitch deck. So that iterative approach that I could get with the program and my mentor, Alex Meads, during this time at PVCC really helped us get that extra yard.

Well, we look forward to hearing your pitch in a couple of weeks. Thank you. And next up, we've got Jin with us.

So Jin, why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?

Hi, everyone. My name is Jin. I'm a postdoctoral fellow at Gurdon Institute at Wilson Group. Perfect. Well, tell us about the idea, the technology. We're developing our first curative mRNA therapy for heart failure.

Okay. And what gap did you spot? What's novel about the breakthrough?

Adults' heart cells don't divide and that's the ultimate problem with heart failure. The heart can't regenerate itself. So the current treatment options are not really treating the underlying cause, but only symptomatic. So we deliver this signal which can help the heart muscles to divide again and regenerate so that the heart actually heals from within.

And is this completely new? Has anyone done anything like this before?

It is very novel. There are other competitors out there that are utilising a similar idea, but we have a very temporary signal that doesn't have a long-lasting effect, which is safer.

And what kind of stage are you at in terms of, you know, proving out the theoretical side to being actually applicable?

So we have tested this in an animal model with a genetic model and we observed a very good effect that is clinically relevant. We have gone back to further optimize to enhance the effect even further. And we have our lead product and we're going back to the animal model to showcase that we have made an improvement before we go into the human studies.

So Jin, the competition, what has it done for you? What benefit have you had? Is it the people that you've met or different things that you've learned?

So the competition actually provided a wealth of network and mentors that helped us to sharpen our kind of commercial plan. And PVCC sharpened our customer scope and transforming our research from kind of just in the lab to a focused kind of commercial strategy.

And what does the next six months look like for you? What are the key milestones?

So as I said, we're going back to the animal study to show enhanced efficacy. And then we hope to do a large animal study in pigs that is similar size heart to humans and further reaching out to building our commercial kind of team.

Well, fantastic. Thanks for taking the time and good luck in the final.

Thank you very much. Brian, it's great to have you with us today. Why don't you introduce yourself?

Yeah, I'm Brian. I'm a postdoc in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. I'm working together with my co-founders to use RNA nanotechnology to build compartments within bacteria.

So tell us a little bit more about the science, the technology behind the idea.

Yes, so bacteria is important for making proteins and a lot of biological products, but currently half of the products fail because many of those proteins are just not compatible with the bacteria. And so we make specialized compartments inside the bacteria to help making those proteins that are difficult to express.

Okay. And you've been working on this for a while because listeners might remember because you guys were in the Trinity Braffo Prize last year. So how have things developed? What's the progress been since we saw you 12 months ago?

Yeah, we have been working on this for... Three years now, and since we last met, now we have two prototype products. We got four letters of interest. We are engaging more with the industry and we are starting three projects with industrial collaborators. Hopefully there's more to report to you soon.

So Brian, I've got two questions for you. My first is more of a marketing question, actually, because as James said, he knows you from the Trinity Bradfield Prize when you were Cambridge Droplet Microfactors. And now you've changed the name to Droplex Bio. Why was that?

Oh, that just sounds much better, isn't it? We like Cambridge Droplet Microfactories because it really tells what we're doing, but also the name felt a bit like from the 1980s, so we updated the name, and I hope that's the name that you like more as well.

Yeah, no, I think we do. We think it's a great name. But it's interesting that you have these really early stage companies who start with one name and then morph it to another. Or actually, Jin, who we just spoke to before you, doesn't even have a company name yet. So it's kind of an interesting part of the journey, isn't it?

Yes. And I think a company name is the first thing that your clients or potential customers will come across. So it's important to find one that represents what you do well and also a name that leaves an impression.

Absolutely. I love that. And my second question was then going to be about you've done the Trinity Bradfield Prize and the program that's around that. Now you've done postdoc. How do you fit in doing the different programs with actually trying to start a business as well?

Oh, I feel like those programs, they really fit in with each other really well because, well, each program has a different focus. So you're introduced to different mentors, you meet different people, well, both in industry or within the Cambridge ecosystem, and you learn about a lot from them. Many people also have their own industry experience.

Contacts and some of those contacts that we have really shaped how we develop our technology.

Brilliant answer, Brian. Thank you. It sounds like your advice would be to any student entrepreneurs listening to the episode is get out there, get engaged with all of the different programs that the university has to offer.

Yeah, absolutely. Because ultimately, it will be your clients who decide whether the value of your company. So it's good to find them early and have the conversation, know what they want.

Well, fantastic. Good luck in the final. And thanks for spending some time with us today. My pleasure. So our next guest is Xiao.

Xiao, why don't you introduce yourself?

Okay. Nice to be here. My name is Zhao. I'm now a postdoc at the engineering department. I did my PhD in chemistry as well. So my whole research focus has always been making robots as human-like as possible. I've worked on different kinds of sensing which can make that happen. For example, I work on electronic skins, electronic noses, and electronic eyes. So tell us a little bit more about the technology that you've entered the competition with, and maybe as a follow-up question, when did you feel the technology was ready to develop into a company?

So I probably gonna start saying that we're living in a really aging world and we're always short of labor for elderly care, skilled workers, for example, in the factories. So that's why you can see this booming of robotics from humanoids to robotic hands, robotic arms. But if you really look into those robotic Existing robotic technologies, most of them rely on vision. They can only see things. But if you think about human beings, probably about 40 to 50% of information are perceived by touching. The robots right now, they cannot feel the touch. And that is a problem we're trying to solve. So we're making a sensor, we call it electronic skins, which can be put on the robotics so they can feel just like human beings. They can feel all the different textures of the materials, softness. Friction, temperature, just like human beings. And we believe this will make them interact with the world better and also interact with the human beings in a safer way. Interesting. So at what point in that kind of process are you at where, as I say, you decided, we feel like this is a commercial opportunity and we should form a company?

We started working on this project quite long ago. Initially, we just want to make a better pressure sensor, a better force sensor. And then we figured out that force is so important because it encrypt all this touch information. For example, the force magnitude can tell how large the pressure is, but more importantly, the direction of the force will tell the friction, the roughness, the toughness. And from that moment, once we are able to measure three-dimensional force our sensor, we really start to think about can we actually commercialize it? Because it's so important in human touch, three-dimensional force sensing, which is not possible before because previous sensors can only sense 2D force. Now with 3D force, we're really in a good position to replicate the touch in a robotic system. And that is when we actually think about, okay, let's try to see if we can commercialize it. And when you're thinking about commercializing, are you focusing on certain sectors or is it more general applicability?

Initially, we started to be broad and ambitious. We said we're going to be working on manufacturing, agriculture and surgical robots. And we did do market research in all different sectors and we got very favorable feedbacks. However, right now we're trying to focus on industrial robots application because first of all, it's easier to enter. Second of all, it is much more mature market than agricultural robots and the surgical robots. So that makes sure that our sensor can be easily retrofitted into the existing robotic arms. So that's a very large market we can explore right now. But in terms of disruptiveness, definitely in the long run, we're going to go into elderly care robots, surgical robots and agriculture robots. But again, I would say we will focus on manufacturing robots, but we do have a big ambition to go to different sectors. There's nothing wrong with having a big audacious goal, that's for sure. But focus at the start is probably a good thing.

And just on that, within the program, have you met different mentors and advisors that have been helpful to you?

We're very lucky to have Martin as our advisor. And very interestingly, we submitted a Royce market research funding previously, and Martin was one of the examiner. So he is already very familiar with our technology even before he became our mentor. And during our one-to-one mentoring session, he did show a lot of support for us. Actually, the reason I decided to focus on one sector is also coming from his suggestion, because previously we were just so broad and without any specific figures or evidence. And then he basically came in and said, Even though you want to go ambitious, you've got to focus right now, be specific and backed by evidence. That's the most important thing you need to do right now. And that interaction is probably the most valuable experience I've got from this program, which is one-to-one mentoring session with Martin. And I guess you're some path down, you're some way down that path because you've formed the company now.

What would your advice be to a student listening to the episode that's thinking about commercialising their technology? How have you developed those business skills alongside your research and academic and technical skills?

So we're very lucky. We are, before we formed the company, we're funded by ARIA, which is government funding agency. They emphasize on translation rather than only research and development. So we are involved in a lot of interactions with other robotic creators, users, customers. So that really broadened our horizon and helped us to pinpoint the beachhead market. And also I've also enrolled in other entrepreneurship programs in Cambridge. So that really helped us to sharpen our business skills as researchers. I guess with all those entrepreneur training and also all those outreaching events given by our funding agency, and of course the one-to-one mentoring session in this program, I think we're really ready, not only from a technology point of view, but also from a business point of view to take on this journey and form a company.

Excellent. Well, thank you very much for sharing those updates and all the best in the final in a couple of weeks' time. Thank you so much.

Dipanshu, welcome to Cambridge Tech Podcast. Why don't you introduce yourself?

Yeah, thank you for having me. So I'm Dipanshu. I'm a postdoc in the computer science department and recently I co-founded a company called Loomlight. With my co-founder Leonie Muck. Lumelight, it provides grid risk numbers to inform energy finance decisions. So if you're a solar or wind or battery that wants to get connected to the power grid and you want to figure out how much risk you face to do that, or if you're a large load, such as a data center, then what are the different risks related to the grid? So we provide a statistical understanding of that and we work with financial entities such as insurers, lenders, etc. So it sounds like the kind of thing in the way you're taking multiple data sources, crunching that down, looking for patterns.

Is it an AI-based business? Tell us about the technology and the uniqueness of the idea.

I wouldn't call it an AI-based solution. The most important part is to make sure that the data that goes into the modeling, the numbers there are clean. So meaning the grid models that the network operators publish, they're often wrong and it's quite messy, the kind of data that they publish. So the first step that we do is Yeah, we use obviously physics simulations along with statistical inference to get a cleaner understanding of what the data is saying and then where the uncertainty lies on the different attributes of the grid. So whether it's the circuits, the thermal ratings, is it something else? And use that to then inform financial decisions.

So on the podcast over, I'd say maybe the last two years, we've heard from both founders and investors that clean tech fundraising has been quite challenging. Do you see yourselves as a clean tech business or are you kind of abstracted a layer above that?

Yeah, great question. I think we position ourselves as the strategic intelligence layer that takes you from the physics of the grid related risks all the way up to financial decision making. And I think because the output or the reason why we are doing this grid risk analytics, because it's geared towards financial incentives at the end of the day. I think these investor conversations have been quite favorable for us because our clients are insurers or lenders or big infrastructure funds.

So Dipanshu, you mentioned Leone when you were doing your introduction and some of the listeners will know Leone from her previous role at Riverlane. It's quite interesting that you have a co-founder, now CEO, in the company that has that commercial background because quite often a lot of very early stages they might just still only be academic. So how did that come about and how are things going?

Yeah, that's a great story, actually. And it's great marketing for the Cambridge ecosystem as a whole as well. So Leonie and I, we met at this co-founder matching accelerator program called Think that's run by Cambridge Enterprise. So it started all the way back in January. And yeah, in the initial weeks, we talked quite a bit and we realized we had a great interpersonal connection. So that came first. And then through the course of the program, we then figured out what is it that we're really interested in. And the conversation was really about shared values and what kind of change do we want to see in the world? And when we were thinking about these questions, it eventually dawned on us that we both cared a lot about the wellbeing of systems that we just rely on in society, like justice, legal, and of course the energy system. It was the amazing sort of outreach work that Leonie is incredibly good at that led us to these initial conversations with renewable developers and people in that area. Then once we started talking to say dozens and dozens of people, We figured out what the most important problems are in the industry. And then that slowly led us to what we're doing right now. It's very organic.

Yeah, that's really interesting. The relationship began before the idea, it sounds.

Absolutely. Yeah, that's a really interesting way of doing it. Good luck for the final. It sounds like you're in with a great chance. And thanks for spending the time with us today. Thank you very much.

Hi, Esther. Thank you for joining us. Would you please introduce yourself?

Hi, yes, I'm Esther. I'm the co-founder of Metcycle. I am a recent PhD graduate from the University of Cambridge, and I'm trying to currently spin out a company in recycling batteries. I mean, this is obviously an area that's had a lot of publicity, especially with the advent of EVs and stuff like that. So I'm sure you're getting a lot of interest in the research that you're doing. What's kind of novel about your approach or your technology that sets you apart from other solutions in the marketplace?

Yeah, that's a really good question. So what really sets us apart is that we can do it at room temperature really quickly. So that saves a lot of energy. It ends up being very sustainable as well. And we also have a proof of concept to be able to recycle the way we actually extract these critical materials that we are recycling. So the way that you usually do it is with hydro-metallurgy technology. So that's using really horrible acidic acid to be able to extract critical materials. Whereas we have used a unique solution to be able to extract it in 30 minutes at room temperature with a proof of concept to be recycling the solution in itself. And the best bit about it is that it can end up potentially integrating into existing processes. So then we're hoping to revolutionize the battery recycling world to be able to get our own resources and a circular economy within the UK.

Okay, that sounds like a really important point then. So am I right in understanding then you can kind of retrofit this into existing recycling infrastructures? They don't need to have huge amounts of capital expenditure to adopt your technology?

Currently, yes. So the proof of concept and also the solution, the way we actually try and extract our materials, it is in that sort of sense, 100%. And it also is even more simplistic to the normal way you commercialize and be able to extract critical materials. So it's a massive promising thing. And that's one of the reasons why I absolutely am looking forward to spinning this out and becoming branching out into this because it can hopefully solve the recycling issues and the resources that we need to be able to have batteries.

So it's always really interesting to work out which angle did you come from? Did you come at it from the scientific angle or the solving a problem angle? What was first? What was the chicken and egg?

Yeah, of course. So actually, it's kind of like a unique story of mine, to be honest. So I didn't start on the technology. I was actually a PhD student in my professor's group. And he had this patent before I was even considered onto the project. So I was in, as a PhD student, I was trying to make future materials for future batteries. And then it turned out within my PhD, I realized there is some caveat of like, what is the chicken and egg in the experience of battery materials? You want to make a sustainable future, but sometimes the resources aren't sustainable themselves. So my professor then said, well, you've got some time to be able to venture in and see if you can fit around this technology I've currently got. And I jumped onto that and I actually saw the massive potential of being able to spin this out with the technology and how it can evolutionize it. So it's kind of a bit of a both chicken and egg situation where I came afterwards, but the technology was there as a solution in the first place.

Well, fantastic. It sounds really exciting in terms of its potential and good luck with the final.

Yes, thank you very much. It's very exciting. So yeah.

Neha, hi, why don't you introduce yourself?

Hi, I'm Dr. Neha Joshi. I'm co-founder of a company called Pete Waterwise with my co-founder, Dr. Hamid Rahimi. We're from the Department of Plant Science at Cambridge University. Fantastic. Well, tell us more about the technology and what makes it novel.

Well, Peer Waterwise helps farmers and managers understand where water is beneath the ground, so how it is changing and what action is needed. So as climate change increases, drought increases the risk and pressure on water resources. And what we're doing is we are creating a web interface that helps farmers automatically look at their water table without having to go into the field and digging a hole in the ground and measuring with a tape measure. So it's automated.

Is that through sensors or absolutely no intervention at all?

So this is through remote sensing, so satellite data. And we combine this with hydrological models. So instead of using AI, we use pure mathematics. And with the pure maths and understanding of the hydrology beneath the ground, we've come up with a model along with the satellite data to literally, farmers can select a polygon and that will give them their water table, would it?

Okay. Automatically. Interesting. So, I mean, this is obviously a huge problem globally.

What type of other solutions exist and why is yours different?

Well, currently, the state of the art that farmers are using are dip wells, which is basically just a hole in the ground. It can range from one metre below or up to 10 metres. It's a very deep dip. Dip well, basically. And then what farmers do is they use a tape measure to then measure their water table manually. So obviously this is very labour intensive. And also you're sending someone out there, so that's costs to taking that person away from the actual farm. So yeah, that's the state of the art practice. I mean, the agricultural sector kind of gets some bad press at times that they're not, I mean, there are some farmers that are incredibly forward thinking and using technology very well.

How do you feel about the ones that probably like the fact that they go and do the laborious testing? How are you going to engage them to actually start to use technology to their advantage?

Well, currently we're working with a group of farmers. So we're working with a pilot of 10 to 14 farmers at the moment. And currently they're very encouraged by the app. They're saying this is revolutionary in a way that they can just sit inside in the nice warm indoors and just track their water table without having to actually go into the ground and having a look. So they're very for it. And so when we think about what's on offer at the university, you guys are already some way along the journey in terms of company formation. So you're progressing at pace.

So how was the offers from the university programs like the PVCC helped you in terms of developing the commercial and business side of the idea?

Oh no, it's definitely very helpful. So I think before I started the PVCC, it was all about the science and technology. And one of the workshops was about customer segments. So it was about not just who are your customers, so that's our farmers, but it's also what are their pains and then what can they gain from it? And it's kind of understanding and explaining the story in your head, going, okay, this is what farmers are actually struggling with. And this is what we can do to help them overcome their challenges. So definitely the PVCC has definitely helped with structuring the story behind it and actually getting us to think about understanding what actually do the farmers need and do they actually need the technology. Yeah, I mean, that's got to be one of the most important things, understanding your customer and how they're going to buy from you. So that's good feedback from the program itself.

Thank you so much, Naira. It's been great to talk to you and good luck in the final. Thank you.

So, Helen, we've just introduced all this year's finalists. But before we talk through the program, why don't you introduce yourself? Thank you. Yes. So I am the director of IE Cambridge, which stands for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cambridge. And it's really the university's central hub of support for entrepreneurship. So we signpost people to all the right programs and we run a couple of programs ourselves and PVCC is one of them. And we're actually going to talk to you in a future episode in a little bit more detail of what you do at IE Cambridge. So let's hold the rest of that for another episode. Why don't you just tell us a little bit about how the program's gone, how PVCC's gone this year?

It has been a really good programme actually. It's the second time I've been running it. But I guess what I've really noticed this year is just that there has been this amazing breadth and variety of ideas and technologies coming through. So last year was quite AI focused, as you would expect. This year, we've really got everything. I mean, they're tackling heart disease. They're tackling climate resilience, robotics. They're helping farmers with looking at water retention. There really is like a huge variety of ideas. And I think that's made it really exciting.

Yeah, we certainly had some really good conversations with the finalists. But can you pull back the curtain a little bit on the actual structure of the programme?

So it runs over multiple months.

What do participants gain from the programme?

It's very much designed for the busy postdoc. And we know that they're some of the busiest people in the university. So it's not supposed to be an intense accelerator in the same way as like a founder's start program or some of the other programs that are around. So it's quite light touch, but there are milestones over the six months. And it is a competition. And I think that does add a dynamic to it that means that they are all quite incentivized because there's investment money at the end, there's three prizes. But the idea is that it's much more than just a competition. So we run a four-day accelerator over the summer. And we have people coming in to talk to them. So it's very much like looking at who their customer is and really doing a deep dive into that. We spend another day where we just talk about communication and pitching. But the idea is, well, all these things are quite useful for them. Whatever happens with their venture, that actually these are hugely useful skills to take back into their labs and have to talk about their ideas as well. I mean, it must be great fun watching the companies then develop over the years. So in our intro, we talked about SparkCell, a company that we both know. Also, you've then got Green Mixes, Obersens, Kodiak, Mollion, the list goes on. All of those are kind of the last few years. Can we look back to a company that you think is a little bit more of a showcase for the long-term benefit of being part of the programme?

I think the one that probably springs to mind is New Quantum. And they are talked about a lot, but that is because they are so great. So they kind of really started off doing the PVCC. They also did, I think, the Impulse program as well. And I think they're a really good example of an academic that has made that transition. So Carmen making that transition from academia into entrepreneurship. And kind of, she never thought that was going to be her trajectory, but discovering that actually it really suited her and that she's brilliant at it. And they've gone on to raise Series A. I think they raised 60 million plus, oversubscribed, really exciting sector. And she is, she's leading the way in terms of kind of government bodies talking on quantum. She's really seen as someone who's an expert in the field. So I think they're a brilliant example. Of a company that's come through. And I think that's the good thing about the PVCC is that it's this really very early stage launch pad for these companies and just gives them that good starting point to go on and do other programs and go on and raise Series A funding. Excellent. So the grand final is coming up on the 12th of November. Are there still tickets? How can people get involved if they listen to this and have their appetites whetted?

They can. They can go. We've actually on the IU Cambridge website, there's a link to the sign up for that. So there are a few places left, not that many, going to be held at Jesus College. They can only come along if they promise to be raucous and clap a lot. I don't want any kind of Cambridge, you know, nicey kind of thing. We want whooping, cheering. High energy because I think the difference between this and maybe some of the other accelerators as well is that actually they've been through this long program of training on their pitch and it's very polished whereas I think for some of these people this is literally the first time they've done this they would have practiced maybe once before in front of the judges this is the first time they've stood in stage talked about their idea in terms of adventure and they're in front of this whole audience of people so I really want them to have a warm reception because I think it's incredibly brave of them all So my last question is there's huge support for PVCC from the ecosystem, but you also have Mentos. So can you just tell us a little bit about that?

Yeah, the mentors are a huge part of the programme. We've got 30 as part of the community and we match them according to life sciences or AI. And the feedback that we get from the cohort are always like, it's so helpful to talk to someone who's been through the journey and maybe exited and can sort of tell them what the pitfalls are and just guide them a bit. And we also have massive support from the wider ecosystem. We've got sponsors, so PEM, HSBC Innovation Capital, Mishkond of Rare, and Cambridge Innovation Capital as well. And they've all come for the office hours so that the cohort can ask them questions if they've got something about VC or about founders agreements or incorporating a company or taxes, all of that sort of thing. They've been available and it's been a really useful resource. So very grateful to all of them. Thanks so much for the invitation to come down today and meet the companies. It's always great to speak to them before the actual final itself. You get that sense of anticipation, don't you? So hopefully people have enjoyed listening to today's episode and we can't wait to find out who wins. Me too. Can't wait to see you there. Thank you. Today's show was produced by Joe Donaghy of Cambridge TV and supported by our media partner, Business Weekly. The Cambridge Tech Podcast is available on all major podcast platforms and on cambridgetechpodcast.com. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please give it a five-star review. It'll really help others discover the show. Technology moves fast, and now so can you. Discover Polestar, the all-electric performance brand vehicles redefining how we drive. Precision engineering, minimalist design, and software that evolves with you. Experience it at Holden Group in Norwich and Bury St Edmunds. Or let us bring the test drive to your door.

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