We are delighted to announce the launch of the Postdoc Venture Creation Challenge 2025 (PVCC). The PVCC builds on the success of the Chris Abell Postdoc Business Plan Competition, which Cambridge Enterprise ran successfully for 9 years, and which helped the emergence of game-changing companies who have gone on to successful further investment and market success.
Previous finalists have included Nu Quantum, RoboK, Semarion, 52 North, Xampla, Cambridge GaN Devices, Aetosense, and Versed AI, and cover the full spectrum of deep tech, life sciences, AI, and social innovation. Previous winners have gone on to raise £172M in investment
The PVCC is delivered by IE Cambridge and brings together partners from across the ecosystem to support our incredible postdoc community including Cambridge Enterprise, the Postdoc Academy, Postdocs of Cambridge Society and CIC. Run over a seven-month period from May 2025, the PVCC provides workshop support, a summer bootcamp, pitch training and culminates in a Grand Finale in November. Our intention is to support the greatest number of innovators to develop their ventures.
For 2025, the Venture Challenge will have two tracks, enabling us to recognise the success and impact of more ventures:
- Business Track: Ventures with substantial market value
- Social Innovation Track: Ventures that drive social change using nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid models
Cambridge Enterprise Ventures will make available a £20K investment for the winners of each category as the Chris Abell Prize, and there is a 2nd prize investment of £10K from CIC for the business track. The winners from each track will also be supported with a business support package estimated at around £50K
For more details about the PVCC, to sign up for the online workshops or to submit your application please visit Postdoc Venture Creation Challenge - IE Cambridge