SETsquared is an enterprise partnership between five leading research-led UK universities (Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey)

Businesses supported by the University of Exeter have raised £10.3m investment despite the global pandemic

SETsquared has released data which shows that companies supported by the University of Exeter, including SETsquared Exeter, have raised £10.3m worth of investment from private and public sources in 2020.

This is also reflected in the national picture whereby SETsquared member companies raised a record level of investment totalling £616m, which represents a 40% increase on 2019.

These companies will have received support through a range of different programmes including through the SETsquared Exeter Business Acceleration Centre, ICURe innovation to commercialisation programme, research commercialisation services and student enterprise support.

“The record-setting £616m raise reflects the hard work of hundreds of committed founders and innovators across the SETsquared ecosystem who are developing technologies which will transform the future, from the way we live, travel and learn to the way we care for each other and our environment” said Simon Bond, Innovation Director at SETsquared.

“It shows that even during a global pandemic, strong ventures with good university connections, ambitious teams and the right support, will continue to raise investment.”

Exeter SETsquared member Rolemapper is an AI-powered intelligent job design platform which automates and transforms how organisations design and manage job descriptions to hire, retain and grow an inclusive and diverse workforce. The company raised investment in 2020 to drive growth by increasing its sales and marketing resources and further develop its tech platform.

 Sara Hill, Founder and CEO, Rolemapper said: “We’ve had so much great support from SETsquared. They’ve helped us shape and focus our business priorities and enabled us to accelerate our lead generation and marketing activities. It’s been a great runway for us to grow the business”.

Ben Voysey, SETsquared Exeter's Incubation & Acceleration Manager concluded: “We are delighted that Sara and the team at Rolemapper have been recognised as one of the UK’s rising stars in the tech start-up space. With an excellent product, great customers and a fantastic team in place, we are looking forward to providing continued support to the business as it embarks on the next stage of its growth strategy.”

SETsquared, the global no. 1 university business incubator and enterprise partnership of research-intensive universities Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey, supports tech-based businesses from start-up to scale-up with a range of specialist programmes to help companies grow and raise investment.

For more information about SETsquared Exeter visit: https://setsquared.exeter.ac.uk

Date: 14 May 2021