This week in the Friday Five, we’ve got the biggest ever round for a Cardiff University spinout, technology to prevent fraudsters stealing money through scam phone calls, molecular diagnostics that don’t require a lab, AI-aided industrial manufacturing, and a way to use iron powder to generate clean energy.
Do you have a spinout you’d like to be considered for the Friday Five? Email us!
DigitalCNC brings AI to advanced manufacturing
The University of Sheffield has spun out DigitalCNC, tapping into the region’s industrial heritage by creating a company that combines AI with precision manufacturing software to simulate real machine behaviour.
CNC machining is the automated control of machine tools by a computer, a technology that has been around for decades. DigitalCNC says its approach will enable a dramatic improvement in quality, efficiency, and productivity.
The spinout emerges from several years of research within the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Sheffield.
It was co-founded by venture capital firm Yorkshire AI Labs and has already garnered attention from Rolls-Royce and Boeing.
Draig Therapeutics targets neuropsychiatric disorders
Spun out from Cardiff University’s Medicines Discovery Institute this week, Draig Therapeutics made a huge splash with a £107 million 1 investment round from Access Biotechnology, SV Health Investors, ICG, Canaan Partners, and Schroders Capital. SR One and Sanofi Ventures, the corporate venture capital arms of pharma companies GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi, also took part.
It’s the largest investment ever made in a Cardiff University spinout. Draig is targeting the Glutamate and GABA pathways in the brain to develop treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders.
The money will enable Draig to move its lead candidate for major depressive disorder, DT-101, into phase 2 trials this year. Money will also go towards advancing two additional candidates into clinical development in 2026.
The spinout is based on research by Prof John Atack and Prof Simon Ward.
Draig, by the way, is Welsh for dragon, the country’s heraldic symbol.
LastingAsset puts a stop to scam calls
Scotland’s Edinburgh Napier University has spun out LastingAsset to commercialise technology that will prevent fraudsters from stealing money from unsuspecting users over the phone.
Criminals increasingly make use of AI to dupe victims into thinking they are receiving a call from a genuine organisation, while call centre staff face social engineering attempts that make them think they are talking to a real customer.
LastingAsset uses cryptographic verification to confirm that the caller on either end of the conversation is genuine. The spinout is currently piloting its technology with select clients and earlier this year joined Scottish Enterprise’s MarketBooster programme to explore the US market.
The technology was developed by Zakwan Jaroucheh and Prof Bill Buchanan.
RIFT burns iron to decarbonise industrial heat
RIFT is working on iron fuel technology, which utilises iron in powder form to produce CO₂-free heat for industrial settings. Iron oxide, which remains after combustion, is converted back into fuel using hydrogen to create a sustainable, circular system.
The technology has been developed by a team led by Prof Philip de Goey at the Eindhoven University of Technology (also called TU/e) since 2015.
This week, RIFT signed its first commercial contract with insulation manufacturer Kingspan Unidek, which is targeting carbon-neutral production by 2030.
RIFT raised 11€ million2 in October 2024 from PGGM, Invest-NL, Oost NL, Rubio Impact Ventures, Energietransitiefonds Rotterdam, and the Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij. The spinout had earlier taken part in the Breakthrough Energy Fellows programme, set up by Bill Gates, for two years.
ScopeBio brings molecular diagnostics to the field
Scope Biosciences, a spinout from Wageningen University & Research, is commercialising a CRISPR-based molecular diagnostics platform that’s portable and can be used in the field without the need for proprietary hardware or centralised labs.
The platform, scopeDx, relies on ultra-precise, single-nucleotide detection. It has applications both in healthcare, where it provides access to reliable testing even if no centralised labs are nearby, and in agriculture, where it can be used for early crop disease detection.
ScopeBio has raised 6€ million3 to date, including a recent boost from SHIFT Invest and Oost NL, and 2.5€ million in the form of an EIC Transition Grant.
The spinout is headquartered on Wageningen’s campus.
If you have a spinout or startup with a university link that you’d like considered for the Friday Five, don’t forget to email us!
This list is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice.
