University spinouts typically have their foundations in deep science — think drug discovery, nuclear energy, robotics — which means that when it comes to scaling up, finding the right operational talent can be an uphill battle.
But that hasn’t stopped some companies born out of research labs across the continent from bolstering their teams in the last 12 months.
Sifted looked at which spinouts have hired the most across all roles at their company in the last year, using data from Dealroom and the companies. Sifted reached out to all of the spinouts to confirm their headcount; five out of 10 confirmed and data for the others is pulled from Dealroom. To avoid results being skewed by early-stage companies making lots of hires while growing quickly, businesses needed to have raised at least $50m and have at least 25 employees to be considered.
Amber Therapeutics
Spinout from: University of Oxford
HQ: London, UK
Founded: 2021
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 256% to 32 employees (Dealroom data)
Amber Therapeutics is a medtech spinout which has developed an implantable therapy that treats mixed urinary incontinence in women. It raised a $100m Series A in July this year from New Enterprise Associates, F-Prime Capital, Lightstone Ventures, Intuitive Ventures, Oxford Science Enterprises and 8VC.
Cylib
Spinout from: RWTH Aachen University
HQ: Aachen, Germany
Founded: 2022
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 128% to 73 employees (confirmed with Sifted)
Cylib is an end-to-end battery recycling company which has developed a way to recycle every component of a lithium-ion battery — the raw materials from which are key to the green transition and the EV market. The spinout raised a €55m Series A in May this year led by World Fund and Porsche Ventures, the venture arm of the German car maker.
Jimmy
Spinout from: École polytechnique
HQ: Paris, France
Founded: 2021
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 122% 111 employees (Dealroom data)
Jimmy designs and operates mini nuclear reactors which provide heat to industrial sites without creating greenhouse gas emissions. It raised a €15m Series A in October 2022 from investors including Noria Invest, Otium Capital and Polytechnique Ventures, and was given €32m in grant funding last year as part of the French government’s France 2030 programme, according to Dealroom.
Again
Spinout from: Technical University of Denmark
HQ: Copenhagen, Denmark
Founded: 2020
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 113% to 49 employees (Dealroom data)
Again develops bioreactors for industry which capture waste carbon dioxide at source, ferment it with hydrogen and then purify it into carbon-negative chemicals it sells to market. The company spun out of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the Technical University of Denmark in 2020. It raised a $43m Series A in July this year co-led by GV and HV Capital.
ANYbotics
Spinout from: ETH Zurich
HQ: Zurich, Switzerland
Founded: 2016
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 100% to 200 employees (confirmed with Sifted)
ANYbotics was spun out of Swiss public research university ETH Zurich in 2016. It’s building four-legged autonomous robots for industrial use, which can be used for inspection in sectors such as oil and gas, mining and chemicals, where employees often collect data manually in potentially hazardous environments. It counts companies like Petronas, Shell, SLB, Siemens Energy and BASF among its clients. The company raised a $50m Series B in May 2023 led by Walden Catalyst and NGP Capital.
T-Therapeutics
Spinout from: University of Cambridge
HQ: Cambridge, UK
Founded: 2022
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 91% to 63 employees (Dealroom data)
University of Cambridge spinout T-Therapeutics develops cancer therapies and treatments for autoimmune diseases using T cells, a type of white blood cell that helps our immune system fight off disease. The company was founded in 2022 and raised a £48m Series A in November last year from Sofinnova Partners, F-Prime Capital, Digitalis Ventures, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Sanofi Ventures and the University of Cambridge Venture Fund.
Reverion
Spinout from: Technical University of Munich (TUM)
HQ: Eresing, Germany
Founded: 2020
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 88% to 115 employees (confirmed with Sifted)
Reverion is a climate tech spinout developing fuel cell tech and plug-and-play clean power plants, which look like big containers and can be used by any biogas plant operator, including individual farmers, energy companies and heavy industry. The company closed a $62m Series A last month from investors including Energy Impact Partners, Honda and the European Innovation Council Fund.
Moon Surgical
Spinout from: Sorbonne University
HQ: Paris, France
Founded: 2019
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 87.5% to 60 employees (confirmed with Sifted)
Moon Surgical has developed a surgical robot to assist with laparoscopy, a procedure used to examine organs in the abdomen. It raised a $55m Series B in May last year from investors including Sofinnova Partners, Cathay Capital, Johnson & Johnson and NVentures, the venture arm of Nvidia.
Curve Therapeutics
Spinout from: University of Southampton
HQ: Southampton, UK
Founded: 2019
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 71% to 29 employees (confirmed with Sifted)
Curve Therapeutics is developing a pipeline of ‘first-in-class’ small molecule drugs, initially to target various cancers. The company raised a £40.5m Series A in February 2024 from investors including Pfizer Ventures, Columbus Venture Partners and British Patient Capital.
Synthesia
Spinout from: University College London
HQ: London, UK
Founded: 2017
Headcount growth over the last 12 months: 65% to 412 employees (Dealroom data)
Synthesia is an AI video generator that lets businesses create their own instructional content for employees. It counts Seedcamp, Accel and Kleiner Perkins on its cap table, and last raised a $90m Series C in June 2023.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/university-spinout-europe-startup-fastest-growing/
