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From Bootstrap to Breakthrough: How VetCT Is Building the Future of Veterinary AI In this episode of the Cambridge Tech Podcast, hosts Faye Holland and James Parton meet Dr Victoria Johnson, founder and CEO of VetCT. Victoria shares how she turned a shortage of veterinary radiology expertise into an international business, why she bootstrapped for around 15 years, and how the company is exploring AI with radiologists firmly in the loop. Inside the episode Spotting the opportunity: As digital imaging and animal CT scanners became more accessible, vets needed specialists who could interpret the results. VetCT built a service that connects veterinary practices with radiologists working remotely.Technology meets expertise: Vets send digital images to VetCT, where radiologists interpret them and return reports to support patient care. The model depends on both specialist knowledge and a platform that makes the process work smoothly.Building without venture capital: Victoria initially funded the business by carrying an ultrasound machine between practices in East Anglia. She explains how bootstrapping offered freedom and control, while requiring each stage of growth to pay for itself. VetCT took minority investment in 2023 to support technology and growth.Making data useful: VetCT has retained anonymised imaging data and expert reports dating back to 2009. Working with the University of Cambridge and its own AI team, it is exploring how that resource could support diagnostic insights and faster case triage.Keeping humans central: Victoria says AI tools will support radiologists rather than replace them. She describes patient safety and accuracy as essential benchmarks, alongside the potential to prioritise urgent cases.Navigating a changing market: Consolidation has brought larger veterinary contracts, but also pressure on margins and payment terms. Victoria reflects on rapid international growth, pandemic disruption and the challenges of scaling a specialist service.Finding the right ecosystem: Collaboration with Cambridge researchers has helped VetCT access expertise it could not easily build alone. Victoria also makes the case for bringing more bootstrapped founders into the wider innovation community. Listen to the full episode for an honest look at building a global business, finding value in specialist data and applying AI where accuracy matters. Subscribe to the Cambridge Tech Podcast for more conversations with the people building and backing the next generation of technology. Headline sponsor Holden Polestar Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cambridge Tech Podcast Weekly News Drop - 30 Oct 2026 The weekly Tech news roundup from in and around the Cambridge Tech cluster. Featuring Quantinuum, Rajeeb Hazra, Plextek, King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation, The European Space Agency, Brent Hudson, Victoria Johnson, VetCT.. Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Cambridge Tech Podcast goes inside the Postdoc Venture Creation Challenge (PVCC), to meet seven University of Cambridge teams turning rigorous research into investable ventures. Hosted by Faye Holland and James Parton, this episode is a snapshot of where the next wave of Cambridge innovation is forming: construction intelligence, regenerative medicine, industrial biotech, robotics, grid analytics, battery circularity and climate resilience. What you will hear Camentis, led by Dr Ashan Senel Asmone, is piloting a construction data platform that gives site leaders earlier visibility of productivity risks, helping prevent delays and cost overruns.A therapeutics company, led by Dr Jin Seok Lee, is developing a temporary mRNA signal designed to help heart muscle cells regenerate. The team is progressing from encouraging animal data towards further preclinical studies.DroplexBio, led by Brian Ng, uses RNA nanotechnology to create compartments inside bacteria, aiming to make commercially valuable proteins that are difficult to manufacture today.Haptos Technology, led by Zhuo Chen, is building electronic skin for robots. Its sensors capture pressure, temperature, texture and slip, with industrial robotics as the first market before wider applications in care, agriculture and surgery.Loom Light, co-founded by Dipanshu and Leonie Muck, provides grid risk intelligence for renewable projects, lenders, insurers and infrastructure investors.PeatWaterWise, co-founded by Dr Neha Joshi and Dr Hamid Rahimi, combines satellite data and hydrological modelling to help farmers and land managers understand water tables without manual dip well measurements.MetCycle, founded by Esther Gray, is developing a room temperature process to recover critical metals from used batteries, with potential to fit into existing recycling operations. For founders and investors, the recurring lesson is clear. Great science is only the starting point. The teams making progress are validating urgent customer problems, narrowing their first market and using mentors to turn technical capability into a compelling commercial story. With the PVCC Grand Finale approaching, this is an early look at founders building technologies with the potential to reshape major industries. Listen for practical insight on commercialising research, then subscribe to the Cambridge Tech Podcast to follow the next generation of deep tech companies as they move from breakthrough to business. Headline sponsor Holden Polestar Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cambridge Tech Podcast Weekly News Drop - 23 Oct 2026 The weekly Tech news roundup from in and around the Cambridge Tech cluster. Featuring University of Cambridge, IonQ The Ray Dolby Centre, The Cavendish Laboratory, Speechmatics, NVIDIA, Anglia Ruskin University, TWI, Innovate UK, Charlotte Ridley, Memorify, Kodak Moments, UKRI, Department for Business and Trade, Innovate Cambridge, Pascal Levensohn, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Postdoc Venture Creation Challenge, ie cambridge, Cambridge Enterprise. Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take for an established company to create the kind of breakthrough that changes its market? In this episode of the Cambridge Tech Podcast, host James Parton speaks with Joe Corrigan, Chief Technology Officer, and Tim Fowler, Chief Commercial Officer, at Cambridge Consultants about 'Radical Innovation'. The conversation explores the Deep Tech Index and a challenge familiar to founders, investors and corporate leaders alike: businesses say they want radical innovation, yet their systems often make it difficult to pursue. The guests unpack why incremental improvements can preserve the status quo while disruptive ideas create genuine strategic advantage. Joe and Tim argue that innovation is not simply a technology question. It is a leadership and execution question. Radical ideas can threaten an existing business model, which is precisely why they are often slowed down by familiar processes, short term return expectations and organisational caution. The organisations that succeed are those with a clear strategic direction, leaders who can sustain conviction and teams able to turn technical promise into commercial momentum. The episode also offers practical insight for startup founders selling into large companies. Rather than relying solely on procurement, the guests recommend building broad internal support among technical and economic buyers, identifying the value that is unique to the customer and creating enough stakeholder belief that a decision cannot be easily delayed. Subscribe to the Cambridge Tech Podcast for more conversations with the people building the technologies, companies and investment stories shaping the future. Headline sponsor Holden Polestar Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cambridge Tech Podcast Weekly News Drop - 16 Oct 2026 The weekly Tech news roundup from in and around the Cambridge Tech cluster. Featuring CMR Surgical, Stryker, Massimiliano Colella, CuspAI, Darktrace, Andy Burnham, Chad Edwards, Ed Jennings, Echion Technologies, Proper Voltage, Alchera Technologies, Maven Capital Partners, British Business Bank, Nyobolt, Agility Robotics, Cambridge Design Partnership, Michael Zeitlyn, Patrick Pordage, Paolo Seresini, Joe Corrigan, Tim Fowler, Cambridge Consultants. Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live at Cambridge Tech Week, this panel brings together a founder who is actively rewriting the economics of drug discovery, two of Europe's most respected deep tech investors, and a sovereign fund deploying capital from Seoul into the UK ecosystem. The result is a substantive conversations on what it actually takes to build a globally consequential company from Cambridge. The moderator is Sherry Coutu CBE a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, LP in five VC funds, and board member at Raspberry Pi, Pearson, Standard Life and Cancer Research UK. The panellists are Dr Tim Guilliams, Co-founder and CEO of Healx; Tom Wilson, Partner at Seedcamp; Amelia Armour, Partner at Amadeus Capital Partners; and Ute Kim, Head of the London Office at Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC). 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.

Cambridge Tech Podcast Weekly News Drop - 9 October 2026 The weekly Tech news roundup from in and around the Cambridge Tech cluster. Featuring Reclinker, Adviisa, Zenithon and QPT. Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Cambridge Tech Week 2026: The (UK) Deep Tech Playbook The UK has the research, talent and capital to create category defining deep tech companies. The missing piece is a more connected system that turns breakthrough science into globally scaled businesses while keeping more of the economic value in the UK. In this Cambridge Tech Podcast panel, Joanne Hosker of Northern Gritstone is joined by Tom Adeyoola, Executive Chair of Innovate UK, Bradley Jones, founder and CEO of ThatRound, Owen Thompson, CEO of Cambridge Future Tech, and Dr Christina Yan Zhang, CEO of The Metaverse Institute. Together, they unpack the practical shifts needed to make the UK a stronger launchpad for founders building in fields such as quantum, AI, climate technology and advanced engineering. The conversation challenges a familiar assumption: that UK deep tech lacks capital. The panel argues that the issue is less about the total amount of money available and more about how confidently investors understand technical risk, how effectively funding connects with founders, and how incentives keep high value companies rooted in the UK. What you will hear Why the UK’s world class science base needs stronger commercial pathways, not just more research fundingHow founders can adapt their pitch for different markets while keeping a genuinely global ambitionWhy early stage deep tech must be evaluated differently from software businesses with immediate revenueWhat investors look for when product market fit is still emerging, including defensibility, market access, resilience and coachabilityHow government procurement could become a major growth engine for UK innovationWhy employee ownership, exited founders and angel reinvestment can create a more circular capital ecosystemWhere US expansion makes sense, and why a UK research and development base can remain strategically valuable This is a sharp, practical listen for founders, investors and operators who want to help build the next generation of UK deep tech leaders. Headline sponsor Holden Polestar Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cambridge Tech Podcast Weekly News Drop - 2 Oct 2026 The weekly Tech news roundup from in and around the Cambridge Tech cluster. Featuring Cambrionix, Intralink, Raspberry Pi, Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association, Innovate Cambridge, Cambridge Enterprise, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Paragraf, EPSRC, Hannah Goldsmith, The Centre for Computing History. Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please note this episode covers some difficult topics, specifically the issue around child sexual abuse, which some listeners may find distressing. Listener discretion is advised. In this episode of the Cambridge Tech Podcast, hosts Faye Holland and James Parton speak with Emma Hardy, Communications Director at the Internet Watch Foundation, about the fast-moving fight to prevent child sexual abuse online. Emma brings a clear message for founders, investors and product leaders: safety cannot be an afterthought. From generative AI to user generated content, every new capability can create opportunities for harm as well as value. The strongest companies consider both from day one. The Internet Watch Foundation, or IWF, is a UK charity that identifies and works to remove online child sexual abuse imagery. Its teams combine specialist human judgement with technical tools, intelligence and partnerships across industry, government, law enforcement and academia. Emma explains how digital fingerprints, known as hashes, can help prevent previously identified imagery from being uploaded again on participating platforms. “Build it safe from the start. Don’t try and retrofit safety.” For startups and tech companies, the practical takeaway is simple: build safety into the product, the business model and the operating culture. Emma encourages teams to examine how an idea could be misused before it reaches scale, rather than attempting to retrofit protections after harm has occurred. The IWF can support organisations, particularly those handling user generated content, with expertise and services designed to make platforms safer. This is an essential listen for anyone building, backing or governing technology. Subscribe to the Cambridge Tech Podcast for candid conversations with the people shaping safer, smarter innovation across the UK tech ecosystem. Headline sponsor Holden Polestar Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cambridge Tech Podcast Weekly News Drop - 25 September 2026. The weekly Tech news roundup from in and around the Cambridge Tech cluster. Featuring Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE), Cambridge Atomworks, Riverlane, Discovery District Maryland, Kendall Square, Boston, University of Maryland, British Business Bank, Andrew C**k-Starkey, Optimisey, Internet Watch Foundation. To submit your own news, visit https://www.cambridgetechpodcast.com and click "Call the Show" Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cambridge Tech Week has firmly earned its place as a must-attend moment for the UK innovation community. In the latest Cambridge Tech Podcast, hosts Faye Holland and James Parton are joined by Cambridge Angels Emmi Nicholl to reflect on a packed week of founder conversations, investor insight and the big questions shaping the sector. The Week retained its distinctive Cambridge energy: busy, organic and full of chance encounters. Alongside familiar faces were new connections across manufacturing, defence, security and international innovation ecosystems. Innovation Alley was once again a phenomenal success with one founder describing the session with Cambridge Angels “the most productive 25 minutes they had spent all year”. The Cambridge x Manchester Partnership offered tangible evidence of cross-cluster momentum, with four joint investments already spanning therapeutics, technology and life sciences. The lesson for founders is that regional networks are becoming increasingly connected, and a broader investor base may be closer than it appears. One of the week’s most compelling discussions examined the increasingly blurred boundary between civilian and military technology. The debate did not offer easy answers, but it made the need for active governance impossible to ignore. For technologists, the challenge is not only what can be built, but what should be built, and how companies set ethical boundaries as dual-use applications emerge. During the rest of 2026, #CamTechPod will be covering some of the key sessions from #CamTechWeek so subscribe on all major podcast platforms or visit cambridgetechpodcast.com to hear more of the conversation. Headline sponsor Holden Polestar Produced by Cambridge TV #CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cambridge Tech Podcast Weekly News Drop - 18 September 2026. The weekly Tech news roundup from in and around the Cambridge Tech cluster. Featuring Cambridge Tech Week, CWConnected, Echion Technologies, and Cambridge Enterprise. 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 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.