Cambridge Tech Podcast

This week’s episode features a rapid-fire yet insightful interview with Kathryn Chapman and Michael Anstey from Innovate Cambridge.“It’s been a really good year for Cambridge. There’s a huge amount of momentum, inclusive innovation, and people really getting behind the agenda.”Here are the key takeaways A more united Cambridge tech clusterInnovate Cambridge has helped align the ecosystem around a clear, collective visionOne voice into government is paying off, with £400m secured for ecosystem infrastructureStrong buy-in across academia, founders, VCs and industryAI is accelerating fast, while early-stage life sciences face tougher conditions, but the depth of local support continues to be a differentiatorScaling ambition through partnership and inclusionCambridge’s strength is not just density, but collaboration beyond the cityGrowing partnerships with Manchester and Oxford to unlock talent and investmentA strong focus on inclusive innovation, from schools through to scaleupsA push to raise ambition: less talk of unicorns, more focus on building decacornsWhat’s top of the agenda for the year aheadActivating the Cambridge–Manchester partnership in a meaningful wayMaking innovation careers accessible to local talent through work with schools and councilsAttracting more global R&D leaders to the regionBacking founders to build, scale and exit globallyQuick facts from the conversationCambridge now ranks 37th globally for tech cities (Savills)£60m raised for quantum networking, a new sector recordInclusive innovation and growth capital remain front and centreA call to tell the Cambridge story better on the world stage, spotlighting companies like TRIM and Cusp AI“We need more company creation, more exits, more global syndicates.”Produced by Cambridge TV

In another of our exclusive recording from Cambridge Tech Week we hear from leading experts as they explore the frameworks, policies, and innovations shaping the ethical expansion of AI.As leaders race to integrate AI, ensuring safety, ethics, and trust is more critical than ever. How can we scale AI responsibly while mitigating risks, avoiding bias, and maintaining transparency? The expert panel includes Emilie van der Lande (Creative Intelligence), Daniel Quirke (Wayve), Dr Jakob Mokander (Tony Blair Institute) and Ray Eitel-Porter (Lumyz Advisory).Key takeaways- Cambridge is setting new benchmarks for innovation and investment in AI, biotech, and space tech. - Scaling responsibly means embedding AI governance, risk assessment, and inclusion at every level. - The debate on regulation favours targeted, industry-led frameworks - Mobility and AI are merging - promise and complexity will require cooperation between startups, regulators, and the public. - The tech community should focus on people, not just software: “Stop thinking about tech as tech; think about the human risks.”Produced by Cambridge TV

This week on Cambridge Tech Podcast, we sit down with David Fyfe and Kamil Sokolowski from Kodiaq Technologies for a conversation that left us excited about the future of energy storage.Key insightsMetal-Free, Organic Electrolytes: Kodiaq is developing next-gen organic electrolytes for flow batteries, avoiding the supply chain risks and costs tied to traditional metals like vanadium.Enhanced Energy Density: They had already demonstrated that the energy their electrolyte could absorb was twice that of existing vanadium technology.Drop-In Replacement: Their solution can potentially retrofit existing vanadium battery systems, instantly increasing capacity without a total system overhaul.Resilience & Simplicity: Unlike current technologies that need strict air-free conditions, Kodiaq’s electrolyte is “oxygen-tolerant” -making construction, operation, and maintenance more flexible and less expensive.Sustainability & Sovereignty: Kamil notes, "Developing this chemistry removes the dependence on the mining sector. These electrolytes can be produced anywhere and recycled for a second life."Licensing-Led Approach: Inspired by models like ARM, Kodiaq plans to supply the chemistry and intellectual property, leaving battery manufacturing and integration to partners.Global Impact, Local Roots: With worldwide ambitions, they’re actively building collaborations - especially seeking corporate partners ready to pilot their tech.As renewables explode worldwide, storing energy safely, efficiently, and scalably is the central challenge of our net-zero future. Kodiaq could be the company to crack this problem - right from Cambridge’s legendary cluster.Produced by Cambridge TV

This week’s episode is a deep-dive interview with Finn Stevenson, cofounder and CEO of Flok Health, who brings a unique combination of medical expertise, startup experience, and relentless ambition to solve one of healthcare’s biggest headaches: scalable, accessible physiotherapy.Key Takeaways:Drawing on his experiences as an Olympic-level rower and healthtech professional, Finn noticed a gap: “For most people, access to high-quality, frequent physio is nearly impossible.” Enter Flok: an AI-powered physiotherapist offering on-demand, regulation-compliant digital care.Rather than building another SaaS product, Flok became a licensed healthcare provider. “We are a CQC-approved provider, treating NHS patients directly using our technology and clinicians.” This makes procurement smoother and delivers real outcomes for both patients and the NHS.Flok’s approach shuns off-the-shelf LLMs in favour of a domain-specific language for clinical reasoning, ensuring safe, explainable decision-making at every step. The system combines real-time video assembly (with a real physiotherapist, Kirsty, as the face of the AI) and robust guardrails against clinical risk.The results speak for themselves: 68% of patients offered Flok’s service choose it over traditional care, covering ages 18 to 75, and less than 2% need traditional escalation. “Positive patient feedback is central. If people aren’t happy, we don’t have a business.”Investment Ready: Raised £3.2M pre-product, pre-team. Investors love the addressable market: 80% of healthcare spend is on the delivery of services, not just tools.Built in Cambridge: Access to deep tech talent, regulatory expertise, and Europe’s largest bio campus makes Cambridge a “no-brainer” HQ.Actively Hiring: From engineering to clinical and commercial roles - Flok is scaling rapidly and innovating across new therapy areas.Produced by Cambridge TV

This week’s episode features Dr. Margaret Heffernan’s powerful keynote from Cambridge Tech Week, giving a call to arms for anyone building or funding the next wave of innovation. She challenges the tech sector to resist “the rhetoric of inevitability” surrounding AI.Key Takeaways:On the myth of inevitability in AI:“What we’re hearing is a kind of ugly, aggressive language of inevitability. AI is coming, it’s going to do what it’s going to do. If you don’t like it, get out of the way.”The real cost to creators:“What we’re seeing right now in AI is the greatest level of industrial ID destruction in human history… Artists’ work is all being scraped so that it can feed large language models.”Copy, consent, and credit:Dr. Heffernan highlights the necessity of strong copyright for artists to keep their livelihood, identity, and voice. Without it, “no income, no reputation, no control, no consent, no identity.”The tech sector must act like grown-ups:“We’re not an infantile adolescent industry anymore… we now have choices in front of us that we have to take with some kind of adult responsibility.”Opportunity, not inevitability:The big prompt: Use technology to strengthen copyright protections and ensure creators are part of the value chain.Produced by Cambridge TV

We’re joined by Rupert Elston, who shares his journey from Oxford to leading the London AI Hub - a new centre driving collaboration across the UK’s fast-growing AI startup scene.Rupert explains how London’s 3,000+ AI startups were once scattered across disconnected clusters:“That fragmentation was stopping the UK from really leading the charge in AI.”The London AI Hub is changing that. It’s now a go-to space for founders, policymakers, and researchers to meet, collaborate, and shape the future of UK AI.In just eight months:40 events hosted and 3,000 participants engaged15 resident startups across healthtech, SaaS, wearables, and more9 of 12 startups expanded their teams, and 5 secured funding roundsCross-sector collaboration is sparking fresh ideas and new partnershipsLooking ahead:The Hub isn’t staying local. Rupert shares plans to connect with hubs across the UK - from Glasgow to Manchester - and to record and share events nationwide. There’s also active engagement with government through policy roundtables giving founders a direct voice in shaping AI regulation.“It’s about putting founders and regulators in the same room and letting them be heard.”What’s next?Expect another 5–10 startups joining the Hub, new themed event series (like investor demo days and sessions on AI in decarbonisation), and better ways to keep the community in the loop.Produced by Cambridge TV