Cardiff University supports SETsquared Awards
Cardiff University helped SETsquared celebrate its 20th anniversary in style with a bumper edition of its annual investment showcase and an awards celebration, which recognised member companies with significant social, environmental, or economic impact.
Over 200 investors and funders came together at Church House, Westminster, to see the latest crop of SETsquared-backed start-ups, spinouts and scale-ups pitch for investment, including SETsquared Cardiff-supported company MeOmics Precision Medicine.
The showcase was bigger and better than ever, with double the number of companies pitching and a lunchtime panel discussion which looked at the landscape for innovation and investment over the next 20 years.
Alasdair Pettigrew, CEO, Meomics, said: “Today has been absolutely fantastic. I’ve already spoken with four investors, and another one is coming to meet with me later. The purpose of today is simply to get propositions in front of investors, and you can feel the energy and enthusiasm with all of the companies here today. I hope that rubs off on the investors because it’s all about securing the capital that we need to bring these great innovations to market.”
“For MeOmics, we will continue to gather our data and build our assets with the £3 million we’re asking for and will also continue to perfect our product market fit. We expect to secure our first revenue in the coming months”
Rhys Pearce-Palmer, Innovation Operations Manager at Cardiff University said: “The investment showcase is an opportunity to highlight businesses that have grown from regional strengths, into the far wider business investment community. Cardiff University is just one year into its involvement with SETsquared and connecting our start-up and spin-out companies with the valuable audience here today opens up exciting prospects for the future.”
Six businesses which are currently supported or have been supported by SETsquared received Impact Awards in recognition of their positive effect on the environment, economy, and society. Cardiff’s winner was MOLE.
MOLE is helping to drive an all-electric future by developing a fully autonomous, robotic vehicle charging device which will enable electric vehicles to charge without cumbersome wiring. Users simply park over the “MOLE” to connect autonomously to the charger.
The company is working with top-tier commercial fleet operators to accelerate their transition to electric mobility – not only will this have a significant positive impact on air quality – but it will also help the UK achieve its net zero ambitions. The Showcase and Awards coincided with the launch of Warwick Economic and Development’s independent Impact Report, which estimates that between 2002 – 2022, the total GVA contribution of businesses supported by SETsquared is £15.7bn and created 15,600 jobs.