Key Takeaways
- • ET Capital launches Cambridge Venture Index Fund 2, an index-style diversified investment vehicle designed to democratize access to Cambridge deeptech startups for individual and institutional investors through SEIS/EIS tax relief structures.
- • The fund employs systematic diversification across up to 10 University of Cambridge-linked startups rather than traditional selective venture capital winner-picking, aiming to reduce concentration risk while maintaining exposure to high-growth innovation ecosystems.
- • The first fund closed at £270K with backing from Cambridge Capital Group and other local investors, with the team now reviewing first five potential investments from accelerators including Cambridge Enterprise and Deeptech Labs.
- • Historical validation: ET Capital's analysis of nearly 200 Cambridge companies founded between 1994–2024 demonstrates that diversified index approaches to Cambridge cluster investing have outperformed the FTSE 100 since 1992, with the firm citing six IPOs, 16 profitable exits, and two unicorns from its 30+ year track record.
- • ET Capital's three-director team (Martin Rigby, James Griffiths, David Gill) explicitly rejects predictive "deal selection" in favor of systematic exposure based on clear investment criteria: £100,000 minority stakes in first external rounds and streamlined due diligence processes to accelerate capital access for founders.
Summary
ET Capital, a Cambridge-based venture capital firm established in 1992, has launched the second iteration of its Cambridge Venture Index (CVI) SEIS/EIS Fund, marking a significant strategic shift in early-stage technology investment methodology. The fund is structured to provide diversified exposure to Cambridge cluster startups through a systematic index-investing approach rather than the conventional selective venture capital model. This initiative directly addresses a documented inefficiency in the Cambridge startup ecosystem: founders spend months securing funding from selective VCs focused on backing single winners, while many promising teams lack adequate capital and investors accumulate concentrated, high-risk portfolios.
The first fund closed at £270,000 in capital commitments from Cambridge Capital Group and other established local investors. The fund currently reviews its first five potential investments from established accelerators including Cambridge Enterprise and Deeptech Labs. The investment strategy targets up to 10 ventures per fund, applying uniform criteria such as £100,000 minority stakes in first external funding rounds and minimal administrative due diligence on foundational claims, designed to accelerate capital availability for founders while reducing investor risk through portfolio breadth.
ET Capital's managing director Martin Rigby grounded the fund's philosophy in three decades of investing experience, explicitly rejecting the premise that consistent winner-picking is achievable. According to Rigby's analysis, startup success depends on unpredictable factors—timing, market shifts, regulatory environment, competitive dynamics, and chance—that no analyst can reliably forecast. The firm conducted a two-year retrospective analysis of approximately 200 Cambridge companies established between 1994 and 2024, stress-testing the index methodology across three decades of market cycles. Historical performance data indicates that five of six synthetic index funds tracking this diversified Cambridge cluster approach have outperformed the FTSE 100 since 1992.
The team's track record further validates this philosophy: across their 30+ year investment history, the directors have achieved six liquidity events via initial public offerings, 16 profitable exits, and two unicorn-scale outcomes, including the 2020 NYSE flotation of ADC Therapeutics (valued at $1.3 billion) and the 2023 Occidental Petroleum acquisition of Carbon Engineering ($1.1 billion cash). By positioning systematic diversification as a superior alternative to concentrated selective investment, ET Capital aims to broaden investor participation in the Cambridge innovation ecosystem while delivering comparable or superior risk-adjusted returns to traditional venture capital strategies.
The first fund closed at £270,000 in capital commitments from Cambridge Capital Group and other established local investors. The fund currently reviews its first five potential investments from established accelerators including Cambridge Enterprise and Deeptech Labs. The investment strategy targets up to 10 ventures per fund, applying uniform criteria such as £100,000 minority stakes in first external funding rounds and minimal administrative due diligence on foundational claims, designed to accelerate capital availability for founders while reducing investor risk through portfolio breadth.
ET Capital's managing director Martin Rigby grounded the fund's philosophy in three decades of investing experience, explicitly rejecting the premise that consistent winner-picking is achievable. According to Rigby's analysis, startup success depends on unpredictable factors—timing, market shifts, regulatory environment, competitive dynamics, and chance—that no analyst can reliably forecast. The firm conducted a two-year retrospective analysis of approximately 200 Cambridge companies established between 1994 and 2024, stress-testing the index methodology across three decades of market cycles. Historical performance data indicates that five of six synthetic index funds tracking this diversified Cambridge cluster approach have outperformed the FTSE 100 since 1992.
The team's track record further validates this philosophy: across their 30+ year investment history, the directors have achieved six liquidity events via initial public offerings, 16 profitable exits, and two unicorn-scale outcomes, including the 2020 NYSE flotation of ADC Therapeutics (valued at $1.3 billion) and the 2023 Occidental Petroleum acquisition of Carbon Engineering ($1.1 billion cash). By positioning systematic diversification as a superior alternative to concentrated selective investment, ET Capital aims to broaden investor participation in the Cambridge innovation ecosystem while delivering comparable or superior risk-adjusted returns to traditional venture capital strategies.
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