Cambridge Tech Podcast

This week on Cambridge Tech Podcast, we sit down with Sabesan Sithamparanathan, founder and president of PervasID, to talk about how a passion for innovation, and a background shaped by a journey from Sri Lanka to Cambridge, led to pioneering advances in RFID technology. In the episode, Sabesan breaks down how battery-free RFID is quietly transforming major industries: Retail: Tackling theft and s...

Have you ever thought about the massive impact of insect infestations on our world? Robert Fryers, CEO of Spotta, shared some incredible insights on how their innovative early warning systems are revolutionising pest control. From humble beginnings in 2013 to now operating in 24 countries, Spotta is making waves in the tech world. Robert's journey is a testament to the power of innovation and pers...

What happens when a San Francisco VC takes the reins at Cambridge Enterprise? Six months into the role, Jim Glasheen joins us to talk about his early moves as incoming CEO, like opening a London office to better plug Cambridge into global capital and talent flows. But this episode goes deeper than strategy. Key takeaways: • Cambridge has over 40 entrepreneurship programmes, but Jim questions if we...

This week James sits down with David Cleevely to explore the concept of serendipity and its role in innovation. David’s insights are not only thought-provoking but also practical for anyone looking to foster creativity and collaboration in their ventures. Key Takeaways: • David challenges the traditional notion of serendipity as mere luck. He asserts, “Serendipity doesn’t happen by accident. It’s...

This week’s episode features a fascinating interview with Nazmus Tareque and Raoul Peltier, co-founders of AnthroTek, a startup that is pushing the boundaries of material science in medical and robotics applications. Nazmus and Raoul come from very different worlds - law and VC on one side, drug delivery and materials science on the other - but together they’re building hyper-realistic silicone so...

In this episode, we sit down with Anne Bailey from Form the Future to talk about how we can better connect young people with opportunities in the tech industry. Anne shares why building those bridges matters now more than ever: “We want to bridge the gap between employers who need skilled talent and young people who are eager to learn.” We also dive into Tech Futures Day, an initiative designed to...

We sat down with Teja Potočnik, founder of Nanomation, to talk about her journey from Slovenia to Cambridge, and the potential of nanomaterials in transforming chip production. Teja’s background is impressive, she holds a PhD in nanomaterials, has published research in top journals, and recently won the Female Founders category at the Wolfson Entrepreneurship Competition. But it’s her ability to b...

This week we speak with Alexandra French, CEO of Xampla, a company leading the way in sustainable materials. Xampla is developing natural, plant-based alternatives to single-use plastics, and their technology could have a huge global impact. Alexandra talks openly about the journey of scaling deep tech, the importance of educating the market, and how strategic partnerships are helping Xampla grow....

This week we’re joined by Sarah Turner, founder of Angel Academe, a network she launched in 2014 to get more women involved in angel investing and support female-led tech startups. Angel Academe now has over 1,000 registered investors, with a core group of around 100 active angels - 70% of whom are women. That’s a key part of what sets them apart. As Sarah puts it, “70% of our core community are w...

This week features an engaging conversation with Dr. Andy Williams, Chair of the Oxford Cambridge Super Cluster Board. He explains the mission of the Oxford Cambridge Super Cluster Board, which aims to unite businesses, universities, and investors to create a thriving ecosystem. Andy shares insights from a commissioned report predicting an additional £78 billion contribution to the regional econom...

In this week’s episode we welcome Amelia Miller, co-founder and CEO of ivee, a groundbreaking platform dedicated to helping women re-enter the workforce after career breaks. Amelia shares the personal story behind ivee, inspired by her mother’s struggles to return to work after taking time off for motherhood. With a background in psychology, Amelia discusses how gender differences in job applicati...

In this episode, we sit down with Chris Ellis, Scale-Up Director at Innovate UK Business Growth, to unpack what it really takes to scale a tech business. Key Insights: • Defining Scale-Up: Chris emphasises that a scale-up is more than just a growing business; it’s one that has a product in the market and is pushing towards a million in annual recurring revenue. • The Importance of Internationalisa...

From a single day to an entire week, Cambridge Wide Open Week (CWOW) is back and bigger than ever! With just six weeks to go until CWOW, we caught up with creator, Prashant Shah. CWOW offers a glimpse behind the scenes of Cambridge’s pioneering life sciences companies. The event also welcomes visitors from outside Cambridge, around the country, and across the world who are curious to see what’s go...

This week Faye and James sit down with Martin Rigby, co-founder of ET Capital, for a must-listen conversation that challenges the traditional venture capital playbook. Martin shares insights from his research, revealing that a diversified investment strategy in Cambridge tech deals since the mid-1990s has consistently outperformed traditional stock market benchmarks like the FTSE 100. Key highligh...

In this week’s episode we’re diving deep into AI optimisation with Ushnish Sengupta and Federica Freddi, the co-founders of Sqwish, a startup on a mission to make AI smarter and more efficient. Ushnish and Federica share their unique journeys and how a shared vision at MediaTek led to the creation of Sqwish: an “efficiency layer” for AI that’s already reducing input sizes by up to 10x and transfor...

In this week’s episode Faye and James welcome two inspiring guests: Natalie Gray, head of marketing and partnerships at Codurance, and Ilker Akansel, a community strategy consultant. They delve into the importance of grassroots tech communities and how they contribute to a vibrant tech ecosystem. Key Insights include: · The Importance of Community: Ilker emphasises, “Technical communities provide...

In this week’s episode we hear from Russell Haggar, CEO and co-founder of VyperCore. Russell shares his fascinating journey in the "hard tech" space, revealing the challenges and triumphs of creating breakthrough technology in a highly competitive market. With over 35 years of experience, Russell explains how VyperCore is reinventing general purpose computing. We delve into: • VyperCore’s innovati...

Last week, we attended the launch of Cambridge Tech Week. This week, we’re sharing key highlights from the panel discussions, covering AI innovation, policy challenges, and collaboration. Some standout moments included: ·       Dr. Nik Johnson highlighted Cambridge’s role as a global tech hub, stressing that AI should enhance, not replace, human creativity. ·&nbs...

Special guest Michaela Eschbach, Deputy Chair of the Cambridge Tech Week Steering Committee, joins us to give the inside scoop on Cambridge Tech Week 2025 (15th – 19th September 2025). We discuss what will be taking place during the week including: • Seizing the AI Advantage - this year’s overarching theme focuses on how Cambridge’s deep-tech ecosystem is leading AI innovation. • Industry Deep Div...

Last week marked the 7th annual #21toWatch awards, a key event in the Cambridge startup scene that recognises rising talent across People, Companies, and Things. This year's list is dominated by ground-breaking innovations in neuroscience, medtech, and AI-driven diagnostics. Today’s episode features: ·       Details of the winners across all three categories. ·&n...

This week’s special guest, Andi Hektor , takes us on a deep dive into his journey from academia to entrepreneurship, how GScan is tackling critical infrastructure challenges, and why he chose Cambridge  as the company’s UK base. GScan is pioneering Muon tomography , an advanced scanning technology originally used for border security  but now revolutionising non-destructive testing (NDT)...

This week we meet the co-founders of Cambridge Female Founders Network, created in response to the lack of genuine support for women entrepreneurs. Key initiatives include: Founder Dinners & Fireside Chats – Creating spaces for female founders to connect. Funding Programmes – Helping women navigate the notoriously tough fundraising landscape. Investor & Conference Connections – Placing fem...

This week’s episode features an insightful discussion with Roz Bird  (Anglia Innovation Partnership) and Dr. Nicola Hancock  (University of East Anglia) on the cutting-edge research, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem at Norwich Research Park. “We have more microbiologists here than anywhere else in the UK—possibly the world. That’s a testament to the depth of expertise we’re building.” &nb...

This week, we caught up with Farbod Shakouri of Phantom Technology, a returning guest who’s undergone a significant pivot in his startup’s journey. Originally focused on building an operating system for smart glasses, Farbod and his team made a bold decision: to build the entire hardware and software stack themselves. Their mission? To help people combat smartphone addiction and improve cognitive...

This week, we sat down with Nick New, CEO of Optalysys, to explore the groundbreaking technology transforming data security, AI, and cloud services. From optical processing to fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), this episode dives into the cutting-edge innovations driving the next era of secure computing. Nick shares: ·       His journey from his PhD in optical p...