Cambridge Tech Podcast

James Parton & Faye Holland

Your weekly tech news download from in and around Cambridge, plus in-depth conversations with the founders, innovators, and enablers within the Cambridge tech ecosystem. Published every week and hosted by James Parton and Faye Holland. Get in touch with the show via info@cambridgetechpodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 3d ago

    10 Years of the Maxwell Centre: Where Cambridge's Deep Tech Future Is Being Built

    10 Years of the Maxwell Centre: Where Cambridge's Deep Tech Future Is Being Built James heads to the Maxwell Centre at the University of Cambridge to mark its first decade, sitting down with four remarkable people who between them span the full arc from foundational physics research to frontier AI startups. If you want to understand how Cambridge actually turns brilliant science into world-changing companies, this is the episode to listen to. The Maxwell Centre opened in 2016 as a deliberate act of disruption: a place where academics, industry partners and entrepreneurs could work side by side without walls or barriers. A decade later, it has become one of the most quietly influential spaces in the UK innovation landscape. We hear from: Professor Sir Richard Friend FRS FREng, Founding Director, Maxwell Centre Professor George Malliaras FRS, Prince Philip Professor of Technology and Director, Institute for Biomedical Innovation (IBI) Loubna Bouarfa, Founder, FactTrace, Sterlina Smith, Global Lead for AI and Society, SAS, and Dr Aga Iwasiewicz-Wabnig, Director, Maxwell Centre "You're never going to run out of good challenges to tackle. And if you're in a place like Cambridge where other people are doing their 150% to tackle the problem they're passionate about, it's just impossible to stand still."    Subscribe on all major podcast platforms or visit cambridgetechpodcast.com. 🎧 Headline sponsor Holden Polestar Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    10 Years of the Maxwell Centre: Where Cambridge's Deep Tech Future Is Being Built
  2. Aug 25

    Five Startups. One Stage. Who Wins at CamTechWeek 2026?

    Cambridge Tech Week's pitch competition is back, and this year's shortlist might be the strongest yet. James and Faye sit down with four of the five finalists ahead of their head-to-head on the main stage of the Cambridge Corn Exchange on 16 September 2026. It's a special, quick episode, a reunion of sorts: four of the five companies have featured on the podcast before, many as #21toWatch winners. The fifth - an Edinburgh-based AI company - proves that Cambridge Tech Week's reach now stretches well beyond the city. This episode introduces the finalists: Phil Spence, HotHouse Therapeutics (Norwich) - engineering plants to produce entirely new-to-nature vaccine adjuvants. Their target? Replacing QS-21 - with a scalable, less toxic, bioengineered alternative of similar efficacy.Dr Monica Saavedra's, Lambda agri (Cambridge) - an additive embedded into greenhouse paint and polytunnel sheeting that converts damaging UV light into red light, boosting photosynthesis and delivering up to 20% more yield per crop.Sam Kamali, Myonerv (Cambridge) not present on recording - a wearable medical device, to monitor and treat stroke induced paralysis, allowing stroke patients suffering from upper limb paralysis, to regain real-time control of their hand.Ruben Ruiz-Mateos Serrano, Polytecks (Cambridge) - a novel conducting polymer woven into e-textile electrode arrays that map the body's electrical activity in high-density detail - their first product, stages the most common cardiac disease in dogs.George Arden, Xplore Intelligence (Edinburgh) - simulates real operational environments to train and benchmark entire AI agent systems - catching hallucinations and errors before they reach users in regulated sectors like MedTech and logistics. Why Are They Competing? The answer is consistent across all finalists: it's not just about the prize money. Fundraising momentum - multiple founders are mid-round and treating the stage as a high-quality investor touchpointEcosystem reach - Cambridge Tech Week draws a global audience; and creates a deliberate bridge across the UK deep tech community The live final is sponsored by Mills & Reeve, and joined by PwC, and Julius & Clark. Judging on the day: Zickie Lim (Partner & Head of VC & Investments, Mills & Reeve), Marilena Ioannidou (British Business Bank), Richard Lewis (Foresight Group), and Emmi Nicholl (Cambridge Angels). Two prizes are up for grabs: Judges' Award and People's Choice Award. Be there in person: Wednesday 16 September, Cambridge Corn Exchange. Tickets at cambridgetechweek.co.uk   Subscribe on all major podcast platforms or visit cambridgetechpodcast.com. Headline sponsor Holden Polestar Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Five Startups. One Stage. Who Wins at CamTechWeek 2026?

About

Your weekly tech news download from in and around Cambridge, plus in-depth conversations with the founders, innovators, and enablers within the Cambridge tech ecosystem. Published every week and hosted by James Parton and Faye Holland. Get in touch with the show via info@cambridgetechpodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You Might Also Like