An investment fund founded by four of the North East’s universities has invested £500,000 in local firms since its launch.
Northern Accelerator is a partnership between Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Durham University, and the University of Sunderland and has been designed to develop businesses with a high growth potential that have spun out of the universities.
The fund is managed by Northstar Ventures and has a total of £1.7m in its Seed Investment Fund to invest. It has already invested £500,000 into two local businesses.
The first business to receive investment was AMLo Bioscience, a Newcastle University spin-out that has developed an early stage test that can diagnose skin cancer.
AMLo raised a total of £1.5m in investment, with £400,000 coming from the Seed Investment Fund. The company plans to use the cash to launch their test in the UK as well as expand into the US and Australia.
The second firm to receive funding was gliff.ai, an artificial intelligence businesses that analyses imaging technology for X-rays, CT and MRI scans. The business is a spin-out from Durham University.
Gliff.ai raised £350,000 in funding, with £175,000 coming from the Seed Investment Fund. The money has allowed the company to grow its headcount to 10. It will also sell their AI productivity tools to the public next year.
Source: North East university spin-out fund invests £500,000 in local businesses – Business Live
