They are:
- Saif Ahmad (Department of Oncology) with project NeutroCheck
- Tian Carey (Department of Engineering) with project Textile Two Dimensional
- Paul R Coxon (Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy) with project UroLogic
- Andrew Hodgson (Stem Cell Institute/Department of Physics) with an as-yet unnamed project
- Edmund Kay (Department of Engineering) with project Biophonics
- Diego T D Magalhaes (Department of Politics and International Studies) with project Global Market X
- Carmen Palacious Berraquero (Department of Physics) with project nu communications
- Marc Rodriguez Garcia (Department of Chemistry) with project PlantCaps
- Hannah Stern (Department of Chemistry) with project Hexagon Fab
- Jeroen Verheyen (Department of Physics) with project Semarion Discovery
- Ali Özgür Yöntem (Department of Engineering) with project LightWARP
- Tongtong Zhu (Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy) with project Poro Tech
The postdocs and their projects now advance to the next phase of the competition. The semi-finalists have each been matched with a seasoned mentor from Cambridge Enterprise’s network. Semi-finalists will each have three one-to-one meetings with their mentor to help develop key business skills and hone their business plans.
Up to six finalists will compete at the grand finale and awards ceremony on Thursday 1 November 2018, pitching their business plans to judges who are experts in spin-out investment. Three prizes will be awarded: £20,000, £10,000 and £5,000 in funding. The first and second place prizes are sponsored by Cambridge Enterprise and the third by its sister organisation, Cambridge Innovation Capital.
The first place winner will also have the opportunity to pitch at the next Cambridge Enterprise Venture Partners dinner, an investor forum of venture capitalists and business angels with more than £4 billion of funds under management by members.