Back yourself.
We'll back you too.
A YC-style cohort programme for Cambridge founders. Seed funding, weekly mentorship, investor access, and a Demo Day — across every sector.
Eight weeks to go from zero to funded.
Our cohort-based accelerator is built for ambitious Cambridge founders across every sector — technology, life sciences, consumer, fintech, creative, and beyond. No domain bias. Just great founders.
We invest capital, provide intensive mentorship, connect you with our investor network, and host a Demo Day in front of leading VCs and angels. In return, we take a modest equity stake — and stay with you for the long term.
Apply for Cohort 01 →How to apply
Complete our short application form. Tell us about your idea, your team, and why you're building it. We read every application.
Shortlisted applicants are invited for a 30-minute conversation with the Cambridge Startups team. We want to know you, not just your deck.
We make decisions within 2 weeks of your interview. Successful founders receive an offer with equity terms and programme details.
Cohort kicks off with a founders' kick-off day. Weekly sessions, mentorship, and building starts immediately.
Eight weeks in, you pitch to our network of VCs, angels, and corporate partners in front of a live audience.
Not quite ready?
We'll help you get there.
For founders at the very earliest stage — an idea, a spark, a team but no traction yet. Our Pre-Accelerator is a lighter-touch, equity-free programme designed to get you to accelerator-ready.
It includes startup competitions with cash prizes, founder skills workshops, and direct introductions to our network — with a fast-track path to the main accelerator.
Apply to Pre-Accelerator →Common questions
Any current Cambridge student, recent graduate (within 5 years), or Cambridge alumnus. Your co-founder doesn't need to be Cambridge-affiliated.
For the main accelerator, yes — we expect a clear problem, an early hypothesis, and ideally some validation. For the Pre-Accelerator, an idea and a team is enough.
We take a competitive equity stake, disclosed at the offer stage. It's meaningfully below typical accelerator norms and designed to leave founders in control.
Yes. Every cohort company receives seed funding at the start of the programme as part of their acceptance.
Yes, though we encourage applicants to have a co-founder or actively be looking for one through our co-founder matching programme.
None — we are explicitly sector-agnostic. Deep tech, consumer, fintech, healthtech, creative industries, climate — we back great founders regardless of domain.