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September 2024
Case study: Arm
Founded in Cambridge in 1990 as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple and VLSI Technologies, Arm has become one of the UK’s most prominent tech companies.
The group designs and licenses semiconductors used in devices such as smartphones and tablets. Today, its chip architecture powers almost every smartphone and is a dominant player in the market.
Arm’s technology is the top choice for companies like Apple and Nvidia and is increasingly being used in the AI sector. In 1998 Arm went public on both the London Stock Exchange and New York’s Nasdaq exchange in a dual listing.
In 2016, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank acquired Arm, taking it private in a deal valuing the company at £24.3bn. Several years later, Arm went through a period of uncertainty. In 2020 SoftBank announced its intention to sell Arm to chip giant Nvidia. The deal was blocked by regulators over competition concerns, forcing SoftBank to consider other exit options, ultimately deciding upon a second public launch.
The British government was keen to bring the company back to the London markets, with three separate Conservative prime ministers attempting to court SoftBank. Their intense lobbying was to no avail. In 2023, Arm listed on the Nasdaq in the year’s biggest IPO.
Arm raised billions from its New York listing, which happened to coincide with a massive surge in demand for semiconductors capable of powering advanced AI technology. Though Arm has become a globally significant company, with over 7,000 staff worldwide, its leadership has been clear in its dedication to its Cambridge HQ.
We continue to be headquartered in Cambridge and there are no plans to change that. We continue to generate IP out of the UK and there are no plans to change that either.
Kirsty Gill, Chief People Officer, Arm
Kirsty Gill, Chief people officer, Arm
Case study: Oxford Nanopore
Founded in 2005 by Professor Hagan Bayley, Gordon Sanghera and Spike Willcocks, Oxford Nanopore Technologies has become a globally recognised DNA sequencing technology company. The London-listed biotech, headquartered in Oxford Science Park, research, develops manufactures, and sells handheld devices used to perform DNA sequencing in non-lab settings.
Its technology, which enables real-time scalable analysis of DNA and RNA, has been used to sequence Covid-19 and to diagnose viruses affecting African crops. It can also be found in labs across 120 countries to study the biology of humans, plants, animals, and bacteria, as well as understand diseases such as cancer.
It has reached many other milestones since its inception almost 20 years ago, including the launch of the MinION, the world’s first portable DNA/RNA sequencer. It has grown to employ more than 1,000 people around the world and has contributed to the economic and technological growth in Oxford, further cementing the region’s reputation as a leading biotech hub.
The University of Oxford spinout went public in 2021 with a valuation of £4.8bn at an opening price of £4.25 per share – a price that soared to a peak of £7.16 three months after the listing. While its share price has not risen to these heights since then, Oxford Nanopore’s investors, including prominent firms like Temasek and Amgen, have expressed confidence in the company's direction.
“Oxford Nanopore has made impressive ongoing progress to advance its technology platform and gain commercial traction,” said Daniel Mahony at Novo Growth Investments. “This investment underscores our belief in Oxford Nanopore’s platform and its expanding opportunity in biopharmaceuticals, where rapid sequencing, richer data and a streamlined platform can support discovery and delivery of new drug therapies.
We are confident in Oxford Nanopore’s long-term value proposition after extensive due diligence within the biopharma community and analysis of their robust and extensive IP portfolio.
Daniel Mahony, Novo Growth Investments
Daniel Mahony, Novo Growth Investments
Startups & scaleups to watch
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Riverlane’s mission is to create practical quantum applications and accelerate the advancement of quantum hardware and algorithms for industry use.
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Nyobolt specialises in next-generation battery technologies to improve battery performance, safety, and sustainability.
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Cambridge GaN Devices is a fabless semiconductor company that develops a range of energy-efficient GaN-based power devices to make greener electronics possible.
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Mimicrete develops eco-friendly, high-performance concrete products designed to reduce environmental impact and improve durability.
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Nu Quantum is building a networking unit that interlocks smaller quantum computers into a larger network to scale up quantum computers.
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Bios Health uses AI insights from the nervous system to develop neural therapies.
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Lumai is developing optical neural networks capable of energy-efficient and ultra-fast parallel processing that don’t rely on transistor-based digital electronics.
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AI-powered location platform Navenio is used to locate people in hospitals or other large buildings where GPS signal is not practical.
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Oxford Cancer Analytics Ltd (OXcan) supports curative cancer treatments through early detection with machine learning-powered screenings.
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MeVitae provides a DE&I ecosystem of AI-powered HR tools designed to detect and mitigate cognitive and algorithmic bias, offering data-driven solutions that identify success rate imbalances and recommend interventions.
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The University of Oxford spinout is developing small molecule therapeutics for rare diseases and immunological conditions.
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Mind Foundry develops advanced AI technology supporting numerous industries including defence, infrastructure and insurance.
