Investing in Deeptech
EBAN 25th November 2019
© Peter Cowley November 2019
7 (soon 8) positive exits, 13 failures, 51 living25 DEEPTECH 2
What is deeptech?
Based on substantial scientific advances and high-tech engineering innovation Requires lengthy R&D and may take a long time to reach commercial applicationOften requires large investments to achieve commercial successUnderlying intellectual property (IP) usually well-protected and hard to reproduce – hence strong competitive advantage or barrier to entryPatents and/or knowhowNascent or non-existent marketTechnology Readiness Level 3 (or 4) Proof of Concept (or validated in Lab)
© Peter Cowley November 2019 3
The Cambridge model
Recruit the best academics in the world
Give them the freedom to do what they choose
IP belongs to the University unless requested by the academics
2018:
482 new patent filings
315 company ideas reviewed
33 companies funded
Cambridge startups (2002-2011)
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Sourcing opportunitiesReactive
Proactive
Academic founders: can they and/or do they want to build a business?
Sourcing CEOs
Exiting:
Licensing
IP/acquihire
EBITDA multiple
Failure – why?
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Deeptech examples from my portfolio
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Deeptech failures
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