The fintech fund manager partners with the University of Nottingham to provide investors with access to a top-10 UK deep tech and life sciences pipeline.
SyndicateRoom has announced today the launch of its first university-partnered Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) fund. Developed in partnership with the University of Nottingham, the new fund marks a major strategic milestone for SyndicateRoom as it deploys its market-leading investment infrastructure to capture value from one of the UK’s most potent research and spin-out ecosystems.
By blending SyndicateRoom’s expertise as a streamlined fund manager with the University of Nottingham’s world-class innovation pipeline, the fund creates a unique, high-growth vehicle for investors. The initiative was officially unveiled at the university’s recent Spin-Out Summer Celebration.
Bringing streamlined investment infrastructure to university spin-outs
As an established force in the UK’s early-stage venture ecosystem SyndicateRoom brings a decade of fund management experience, streamlined processes through its platform and ongoing investor relations through its dashboard and dedicated team.
Having already deployed significant capital across hundreds of high-growth startups, SyndicateRoom will manage the fund to ensure the Nottingham pipeline is backed by scalable, structured, and efficient investment processes.
This new fund allows SyndicateRoom to apply its analytical expertise to a concentrated, elite cluster of research-driven commercial enterprises, and offer its investors the opportunity to add world-class research driven spin-outs with a deep tech and life sciences emphasis, to their startup portfolios.
Tom Britton, Co-founder at SyndicateRoom, commented:
“The University of Nottingham has a phenomenal track record of translating world-class research into commercially viable, high-impact companies. For SyndicateRoom, this partnership represents the natural evolution of our data-driven investment philosophy. This EIS Fund creates a highly curated yet structurally robust route for our investor network to back deep tech, life sciences, and sustainability pioneers at the absolute ground floor, where the potential for macroeconomic impact and investor return is highest.”
A powerful validation of the innovation ecosystem
The University of Nottingham is ranked 7th in the UK for research power and sits comfortably in the top 10 UK universities for life science and deep tech spin-outs. Its commercial arm, Nottingham Technology Ventures (NTV), has spent close to a decade building a portfolio of over 40 active spin-outs.
Professor Jane Norman, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, emphasised the vital role of investment in allowing innovation to scale:
“Without the support, backing and belief of investors, many of these ventures would never have the opportunity to grow and to realise their full potential.”
Glen Crocker, Executive Director at The Pioneer Group, added:
“This new EIS Fund represents a powerful step forward for the University of Nottingham’s innovation ecosystem. It strengthens the bridge between academic excellence and investment and provides a vital mechanism to accelerate the growth of outstanding spin-out companies. Initiatives like this are exactly what is needed to turn world-class research into real-world impact at scale.”
Through this fund, SyndicateRoom investors will gain direct exposure to a diverse array of fast-growing sectors emerging from the university, including clean-tech clusters aligned with net-zero targets, AI-driven animal welfare solutions, advanced engineering, and life-saving healthcare innovations.
University of Nottingham Portfolio Case Studies
You’ll find some examples of the companies in the University of Nottingham’s current portfolio below:
Vet Vision AI
VetTech, Animal Health & Welfare, AI; Multiple on Invested Capital: 11x
Vet Vision AI is a University of Nottingham spin-out on a mission to transform animal welfare through artificial intelligence. Founded in Autumn 2023 by two UoN veterinary surgeons with PhDs in AI, the company has developed a proprietary platform that acts as a continuous AI vet, monitoring animals around the clock and providing the welfare insights that traditional veterinary care cannot deliver. The University of Nottingham invested at formation and has followed on in subsequent rounds to support the growth of the business.
Forge Genetics
Precision genetics; Multiple on Invested Capital: 10x
Forge Genetics is a company at the cutting edge of synthetic biology. Founded in 2023 to commercialise its proprietary gene editing platform – Forge Editing – the company has gained rapid traction with customers and is demonstrating substantial progress as an alternative to the leading Cas9 based systems. The University of Nottingham provided pre-seed funding at formation to help kickstart the company’s growth.
Neurotherapeutics
Healthcare; Multiple on Invested Capital: 5.7x
Neurotherapeutics Ltd (trading as Neupulse) is a University of Nottingham spin-out that was formed in 2021 to commercialise the science developed by the three founders. Neupulse is developing a wrist-worn wearable that uses median nerve stimulation to increase the power of signals in the brain’s sensory motor cortex circuit, reducing the symptoms of brain health conditions like Tourette Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Anxiety and Parkinson’s Disease.
