#UK Darktrace becomes Cambridge’s 16th $Bn business and No.17 is looming

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Cyber defence technology specialist Darktrace has become the Cambridge UK cluster’s 16th billion dollar company and its fastest to achieve unicorn status.
 
It is the youngest surviving unicorn, having taken the record of telecoms pioneer Ionica which went bust in spectacular fashion after a mercurial rise and fall.

Darktrace is now valued at $1.25bn just five years after launch on June 10, 2013.

This follows an investment in the business by Vitruvian Partners and decisions by two early backers to unload some of their shares; combining to push Darktrace to the $1.25bn landmark.

The business has been backed from Day One by Cambridge technology investor Mike Lynch’s Invoke Capital venture, which also has its roots in the cluster.

Turnover rose 80 per cent in the last year recorded and has continued to hire fast and big on both sides of the Atlantic under the astute leadership of Nicole Eagan in the US and Poppy Gustafsson in the UK and EMEA.

Business Weekly predicted Darktrace’s surge to unicorn status a year ago after it won our Business of the Year Award.

It was only 12 months ago that the fertile Cambridge tech cluster gave birth to its 15th billion dollar business – virtual reality sensation Improbable – following a $500m investment round led by ARM’s new Japanese owner SoftBank.

Improbable had just been named by Cambridge Computer Laboratory svengali Andy Hopper as the Lab Ring’s company of the year; it was already in the Lab’s 257-strong Hall of Fame.

The business was founded by Cambridge computer science alumni Herman Narula (CEO) and Rob Whitehead (CTO) in 2012.

Its SpatialOS operating system is transforming capabilities across sectors as diverse as game development, smart city design, including transport networks, telecoms and monitoring of autonomous vehicles.

The platform enables third parties such as games developers and civil engineers and architects to build virtual worlds on a massive scale.

As Business Weekly has also recently flagged up, games developer Frontier Developments is a whisker away from becoming the17th $Bn business spawned in Cambridge from home-rooted IP.
 

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#UK Darktrace becomes Cambridge’s 16th $Bn business and No.17 is looming

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Cyber defence technology specialist Darktrace has become the Cambridge UK cluster’s 16th billion dollar company and its fastest to achieve unicorn status.
 
It is the youngest surviving unicorn, having taken the record of telecoms pioneer Ionica which went bust in spectacular fashion after a mercurial rise and fall.

Darktrace is now valued at $1.25bn just five years after launch on June 10, 2013.

This follows an investment in the business by Vitruvian Partners and decisions by two early backers to unload some of their shares; combining to push Darktrace to the $1.25bn landmark.

The business has been backed from Day One by Cambridge technology investor Mike Lynch’s Invoke Capital venture, which also has its roots in the cluster.

Turnover rose 80 per cent in the last year recorded and has continued to hire fast and big on both sides of the Atlantic under the astute leadership of Nicole Eagan in the US and Poppy Gustafsson in the UK and EMEA.

Business Weekly predicted Darktrace’s surge to unicorn status a year ago after it won our Business of the Year Award.

It was only 12 months ago that the fertile Cambridge tech cluster gave birth to its 15th billion dollar business – virtual reality sensation Improbable – following a $500m investment round led by ARM’s new Japanese owner SoftBank.

Improbable had just been named by Cambridge Computer Laboratory svengali Andy Hopper as the Lab Ring’s company of the year; it was already in the Lab’s 257-strong Hall of Fame.

The business was founded by Cambridge computer science alumni Herman Narula (CEO) and Rob Whitehead (CTO) in 2012.

Its SpatialOS operating system is transforming capabilities across sectors as diverse as game development, smart city design, including transport networks, telecoms and monitoring of autonomous vehicles.

The platform enables third parties such as games developers and civil engineers and architects to build virtual worlds on a massive scale.

As Business Weekly has also recently flagged up, games developer Frontier Developments is a whisker away from becoming the17th $Bn business spawned in Cambridge from home-rooted IP.
 

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#UK Cambridge University spin-outs rule the world for cash raised

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University of Cambridge spin-outs raised $2.216 billion in capital from 2013-17, putting it at the top of the global list of universities.

In this period Cambridge’s spin-outs closed 96 deals, making it second only to Stanford University in total number of deals, though ahead of it in total capital raised.

Although half of the universities in the top ten for spin-out capital are in the US, the other five are in the UK. In addition to Cambridge, these are the University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University College London and Edinburgh University.

The stats were revealed in an annual data review published by Global University Venturing.

Dr Tony Raven, chief executive of Cambridge Enterprise, the commercialisation arm of the University of Cambridge, said:  “We are pleased to see these results and believe they should lay to rest any lingering doubts about the vitality and global standing of the university innovation sector in the UK.”

Monthly magazine and website Global University Venturing, which covers university technology transfer and investment in spin-outs based on university IP, tracked 2,151 deals globally over the five-year period.

In its breakdown of each university’s deals, the GUV report revealed that in spin–outs from US universities, venture and corporate capital typically dominated the deal numbers. In the UK, by contrast, university and university-associated funds dominated.

Dr Raven said: “This is an important distinction and shows how, in the absence of a vibrant, early stage venture capital market, universities in the UK have taken control of helping their innovations and spin-out companies cross the notorious ‘Valley of Death’ with remarkable success.”
 

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#UK Facial recognition technology and law enforcement

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Technological advances in the last 20 years have rapidly increased the ability of online systems to identify individuals, writes Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner.

These advances can make many transactions straightforward, such as passing through passport control or unlocking a mobile phone but they can also increase the risk of intruding into our privacy.

Technology represents both a risk and an opportunity and this is why I have recently published our first Technology Strategy which addresses these new technological developments and ensures the ICO can deliver the outcomes which the public expect of us.

One particular development is the use of biometric data, including databases of facial images, in conjunction with Automatic Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). 

The technology has been available for some time but the ability of the technology to be linked to different online databases, with mobile and fixed camera systems, in real time, greatly increases its reach and impact.

FRT is increasingly deployed by police forces at public events like the Notting Hill Carnival or big football matches, for example the last year’s Champions League final in Cardiff.

There may be significant public safety benefits from using FRT – to enable the Police to apprehend offenders and prevent crimes from occurring. But how facial recognition technology is used in public spaces can be particularly intrusive. It’s a real step change in the way law-abiding people are monitored as they go about their daily lives. 

There is a lack of transparency about its use and is a real risk that the public safety benefits derived from the use of FRT will not be gained if public trust is not addressed. A robust response to the many unanswered questions around FRT is vital to gain this trust. How does the use of FRT in this way comply with the law? How effective and accurate is the technology? 

How do forces guard against bias? What protections are there for people that are of no interest to the police? How do the systems guard against false positives and the negative impact of them?

At another level, I have been deeply concerned about the absence of national level co-ordination in assessing the privacy risks and a comprehensive governance framework to oversee FRT deployment. I therefore welcome Baroness Williams’ recent confirmation of the establishment of an oversight panel which I, alongside the Biometrics Commissioner and the Surveillance Camera Commissioner will be a member of.

I also welcome the recent appointment of a National Police Chiefs Council lead for the governance of the use of FRT technology in public spaces.
A key component of any FRT system is the underlying database of images the system matches to.

The use of images collected when individuals are taken into custody is of concern; there are over 19 million images in the Police National Database (PND).

I am also considering the transparency and proportionality of retaining these photographs as a separate issue, particularly for those arrested but not charged for certain offences. The Biometrics Commissioner has also raised these concerns.

For the use of FRT to be legal, the police forces must have clear evidence to demonstrate that the use of FRT in public spaces is effective in resolving the problem that it aims to address, and that no less intrusive technology or methods are available to address that problem. 

Strengthened data protection rules coming into law next week require organisations to assess the risks of using new and intrusive technologies, particularly involving biometric data, in a data protection impact  and provide it to my office when the risks are difficult to address.

I will also carefully consider the reports recently issued by Civil Society, Big Brother Watch in the UK and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in the US.

I have identified FRT by law enforcement as a priority area for my office and I recently wrote to the Home Office and the NPCC setting out my concerns. Should my concerns not be addressed I will consider what legal action is needed to ensure the right protections are in place for the public.

• Elizabeth Denham was appointed Information Commissioner in July 2016. Her key goal is to increase the UK public’s trust and confidence in what happens to their personal data.

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#UK Cambridge bio cluster’s show of force in Boston

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A power-packed delegation of Cambridge life science innovators forms part of an East of England show of force in the US biotechnology capital of Boston in early June.

But this Cambridge2Cambridge business venture is more a case of hands across the water than an arm wrestling match-up between the UK’s biotech stronghold and Boston’s finest.

Twenty enterprises from the region fly the flag for the UK at the annual BIO 2018 International Convention and Tony Jones (pictured above), CEO of One Nucleus, believes the time is right to forge more and bigger collaborations between the transatlantic Cambridge cousins.

Cambridge UK life science trailblazers attending BIO 2018 from June 4-7 are Abzena, Arecor, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Avacta, Bactevo, Bicycle Therapeutics, Global Regulatory Services, Iontas, Kymab, Lonza Biologics and TwistDx.

They are joined by One Nucleus, BioMed Realty, James Palmer (the Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority), Invest Essex, TM and patent attorneys JA Kemp and Mathys & Squire, the Bedford operations of Swiss Precision Diagnostics (SPD Development Company), LifeArc (Stevenage) and CN Bio Innovations (Welwyn).

Business Weekly is simultaneously flying the flag in Boston as guest of London Stansted Airport and Primera Air which has just launched direct flights there from the Essex hub.

Tony Jones said: “Both the similarities and differences between the Life Science clusters surrounding Cambridge UK and Cambridge Massachusetts have been well documented and discussed for the past decades.

“Their world-leading research universities and hospitals, a thriving start-up ecosystem, quality of life, major industry player presence along with regional Government policy that places Life Sciences as a key sector has helped each location deliver a track record of impact and success.

“These two locations are forecast by many to continue leading the growth of their national Life Sciences industry going forward – witness the recent AstraZeneca cluster report suggesting that our region could add £1 billion to the UK economy by 2032, for example.

“The recent launch of the direct Stansted–Boston flights by Primera Air is an example of how the two clusters are increasingly connected, not just at an R & D level, but also logistically.

“The total cohort demonstrates the strengths our cluster offers potential investors and partners right across the R & D spectrum.

“The synergies between the two Cambridge clusters creates exciting opportunities to foster transatlantic growth for the companies located in either location – along with the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences and the common challenges they face. 

“At One Nucleus we are keen to support our members in maximising these potential benefits by enabling the two-way connectivity. Two specific examples are the above trip, followed by a focus at our July 10–11 ON Helix conference at the Babraham Research Campus where BioMed Realty will lead a session entitled ‘Cambridge vs Cambridge’.

“For June, we have been working with partners such as BioMed Realty, DIT East of England, Santander, the British Consulate in Boston, BDO, Stansted Airport and Primera Air to enable our members to maximise their return on investment on their trip to BIO.

“Our members will be attending a tour of the Cambridge Massachusetts Life Science cluster and breakfast reception by BioMed Realty – a chance to hear how the cluster has and is planned to continue to develop.

“Guided by long-term One Nucleus collaborator and ex-CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Susan Windham-Bannister, the group will be fully updated on the Cambridge and Boston clusters in order to identify forthcoming opportunities.

“Consul General, Harriet Cross will be hosting an East of England reception for our members and key US contacts at the British Residence in Boston whilst AstraZeneca with DIT and BIA will be hosting a reception – also during BIO – to bring our UK companies together with US counterparts.
 
“Whilst punting on the River Cam may be quintessentially Cambridge UK, some of our members will be attending a quintessentially Boston experience during Bio by attending the Red Sox MLB game – also courtesy of Biomed Realty. What better way to demonstrate that both these world-leading clusters offer the balance of work, rest and play?

“At ON Helix in July, some of the observations from the BIO trip will be reflected and discussed with attendees in a session entitled ‘Cambridge vs Cambridge’ moderated by Doug Cuff, senior director of development at BioMed.

Derek Jones, CEO of Babraham and One Nucleus Board member, will join Colleen O’Connor, director of leasing in Boston for BioMed, to discuss how our two clusters compare and contrast when it comes to sources of finance, lab space development, incubation models and what ancillary benefits each cluster brings to its constituent parts.

“BioMed is ideally placed to craft such a discussion given its impressive growth in provision of facilities in both the Cambridges, exemplified here by its investment in new labs at Babraham which delegates will see under construction as they arrive at the conference.

“Babraham has also just launched its Accelerator@Babraham competition, providing an opportunity for young companies to win a period of occupancy and mentoring at Babraham this year.

“Perhaps as we continue to profile the opportunities each location offers, innovators from other emerging teams in Cambridge Massachusetts will see the value of entering to win such a golden opportunity.”

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#UK Ex-Microsoft chief to chair Samsung’s new Cambridge AI lab

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Cambridge’s growing status as Europe’s leading Artificial Intelligence hub was underlined today as Korean owned Samsung Electronics UK revealed it was opening an AI research hothouse in the city.

Some 150 new jobs will be created by the move to add to the 250 staff Samsung already employs in the UK, including at its existing St John’s Innovation Park base.

The former director of Microsoft Research’s Cambridge Laboratory – Professor Andrew Blake – will chair the venture but Samsung has not revealed the location for the R & D lab.

Prof. Blake is a pioneer in the development of the theory and algorithms that can make it possible for computers to behave as seeing machines.

Samsung says the world-class institute will open up new opportunities for fundamental research in artificial intelligence and enable greater cooperation with the UK’s academic community on the development of advanced technologies. 

It says the venture – one of several in the company’s global network of AI research – will reinforce its position as a leader in the field and “bring significant future benefits to the UK’s economy and society.”

Seunghwan Cho, executive VP of Samsung Electronics, said: “This new artificial intelligence research centre in Cambridge is one of the key milestones in the long-term strategy of the company. 

“In this new world of connected devices and services based on AI, Samsung’s vision is to help people do their jobs and live their lives better. We enable a physical connection between people and information, finding new ways of working together to develop more human-centred technology that serves the needs of users first.”

The Cambridge area is a global epicentre of machine learning and one of the world’s foremost hubs for AI research and development, home not only to world-class talent but also some of the most well-renowned AI scholars with whom we will cooperate closely. 

The intended outcomes of this centre’s work will in future make a substantial impact on the development of the UK’s digital economy, as well as help contribute to global technological breakthroughs. 

Professor Blake said: “This new centre signifies Samsung’s commitment to the advancement of AI. The centre’s research will help us to better understand human behaviour, exploring areas like emotion recognition, and further expand the boundaries of user-centric communication to develop AI technologies that ultimately improve people’s lives.”

AI is a lynchpin of the Government’s plans to leverage the power of new-wave technologies for the benefit of the UK economy and No.10 was suitably excited by Samsung’s increased commitment to this country.

Prime Minister Theresa May said: “Today’s announcement by Samsung will create high-paying, high-skilled jobs and our modern Industrial Strategy will encourage further investment like this all around the country. 

“It is a vote of confidence in the UK as a world leader in artificial intelligence, and the new AI research centre will benefit from the world-renowned talent and academic prowess of Cambridge.” 

Samsung plans to implement the results of its global network of AI research centres – including Cambridge – by building an open ecosystem of devices leveraging user-oriented AI to bring value back to users.

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Professor Andrew Blake

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#UK Cambridge technology hothouse hands ownership to workforce

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Technology and product design business Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) has become a fully employee-owned company as it embarks on its next stage of growth. 

An employee ownership trust has been set up to hold the company’s shares on behalf of its staff.

“We believe this is a great opportunity for CDP to accelerate our mission to become a world-leading innovator with the company’s most important asset – its staff – at the centre of our strategy,” said CDP founding partners Mike Cane, Mike Beadman and Matt Schumann.

“It means we can continue to grow without the involvement of external shareholders so we can maintain full control over the direction of the business and our creative culture.” 

The CDP leadership team of 10 partners will continue to manage the company and the staff will have a say in the company’s future through an elected employee council. 

As an employee-owned company, CDP joins the ranks of organisations such as John Lewis, which is probably the most well-known – and the UK’s largest – employee-owned business.

Cane said: “We have been very successful as an owner-managed company but we believe that – to achieve our ambitious goals – we need a structure that is not only scalable but ensures our talented staff have a direct stake in the success of the business.

“Following a major strategy review last year, we realised that our team wanted to be more directly involved in the CDP story – so we decided to break away from the standard company structure.” 

Since it was founded by three engineers 22 years ago, the company has grown to around 120 scientists, engineers, researchers and designers in Toft near Cambridge UK, and Palo Alto in California. 

“Employee ownership through an employee ownership trust provides us with a stable and equitable structure that has the flexibility to scale and adapt to whatever the future brings,” said Mike Beadman. 

“It neatly gets around many of the unintended consequences that come with other employee ownership models. It is fundamentally more democratic and inclusive – values that resonate with the CDP creative culture.”

Over the last three years, CDP has significantly expanded its capabilities to make it a ‘one-stop shop’ for businesses in the healthcare and consumer sectors that need to innovate and launch their next-generation products quickly. 

While its strength has traditionally been in technology and engineering design, it now also has strong teams working at the front end of innovation – helping clients optimise their innovation plans – and at the back end, where its manufacturing engineering group sets up new processes and multinational supply chains. 

“Partnership has always been in our name – and now it means even more,” said Matt Schumann. “Every member of staff, in every interaction with our customers, will be fully invested in the success of their project. Working together, with our goals aligned, we believe is the best environment for innovation to occur.” 

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#UK New forum targets direct air link from Stansted to China

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A major initiative has been launched to drive a direct link from Stansted Airport to China and bring extra Chinese investment and trade opportunities to the East of England.

Airport representatives, business and political leaders and members of academia have started talks and formed a new brains trust designed to stimulate increased inward investment, tourism spend, student numbers and export opportunities.

The East of England-China Forum is membership-based and open to all companies and organisations wanting to strengthen ties between the region and China.

Last year, China accounted for 30 per cent of all global economic growth and the country’s sustained expansion has created a surge in UK bound tourism and investment as well as increased demand for British education, research capabilities, goods and services. In 2016, the combined value of imports and exports between the East of England and China was valued at £4.3 billion. 

At the inaugural meeting of the Forum, representatives from East of England and London businesses, business groups, County Councils, East of England Local Government Association, tourism agencies and universities agreed to build on their relationships in China but also provide a focus for organisations looking to increase their connectivity with China, and to encourage more businesses to explore opportunities in China. 

The Forum will also leverage local and national assets in order to develop these areas.

Ken O’Toole, chief executive of London Stansted Airport said: “As China becomes an increasingly important force in 21st century global trade, it is of paramount importance that the East of England, plus north and east London, has in place a clear strategy that allows it to nurture long-term economic ties with the country.

“In the next few years China is expected to overtake the US to become the biggest aviation market in the world and together with a relaxation of visa and flight restrictions for Chinese visitors, now is the time for the region to come together to secure new direct links between our region and China.

“We know there is significant demand for Chinese destinations and are confident we can secure new links over the next years but it is crucial we build a strong coalition of businesses, universities, tourism agencies and local Government to demonstrate the size of the opportunity to airlines.”

Claire Ruskin, chief executive of the Cambridge Network added: “Nearly five per cent of the population in Cambridge is Chinese and we have considerable activity between businesses and institutions in this region and across China already. Direct links from Stansted will encourage even more productive relationships.”

A similar coalition has already proved successful in Manchester, where a partnership between Manchester Airport, local government, tourism agencies, universities and the business community helped to secure direct links to both Hong Kong and Beijing in 2014 and 2016, respectively.  

The Beijing route alone helped exports from the north of England to China increase by 260 per cent to £200 million per month while Chinese visitors to the north increased by more than 50 per cent.

• Those wanting to join the Forum’s networking database and receive news and event information can email details to eastchinaforum [at] stanstedairport.com

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#UK Derek Jones, CEO of Babraham Bioscience Technologies

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Novogene, a China-headquartered global provider of genomic services and solutions, has chosen Cambridge for its first genomic sequencing centre in Europe.

The Novogene UK Genomic Sequencing Center will be established at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge.

The company says the hub will be its springboard to serve its European customers and contribute to human health across Europe. The centre will be equipped with a full automation system and the latest illumina NovaSeq and super computing platforms. 

Establishing this facility will enable Novogene to provide cutting edge next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics services and solutions to scientists at European universities, research institutes, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies.

Dr Ruiqiang Li, founder and CEO of Novogene, said: “We are proud to set up our first European Laboratory at the Babraham Research Campus. Our UK lab is a first step towards addressing the increasing demand for our European customers and will help us contribute to advancing human health, environmental protection and plant and animal breeding in the UK and the whole of Europe.”

Derek Jones, CEO of Babraham Bioscience Technologies, which is responsible for the management and development of the Babraham Research Campus added: “The role of genomics is rapidly evolving and the Cambridge Cluster has become a hub for innovation in this area, attracting leading organisations, like Novogene, to locate here.

“Close proximity to academic and commercial collaborators – both on campus and within the wider cluster – is hugely beneficial to the organisations based here and results in innovative and ground-breaking research that will ultimately benefit us all.”

A privately-owned institution headquartered in Beijing with branches in Hong Kong, the US and UK, Novogene was founded in 2011 and has been steadily growing at unprecedented rates in terms of both size and revenues. It has genomic sequencing labs in the US (at the University of California at Davis campus), China, and Singapore. 

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Derek Jones, CEO of Babraham Bioscience Technologies

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#UK Oracle creating 10 new Cambridge millionaires by paying £325m for Grapeshot

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US giant Oracle is said to be paying £325 million for Cambridge company Grapeshot – creating 10 new millionaires in the process.

The companies have kept quiet about the terms of the deal while the legal process continues towards completion but the value is now said to be more than triple original market speculation. 

Grapeshot provides brand safety and pre-bid contextual solutions to over 5,000 of the world’s leading marketers.

The acquisition of Grapeshot will dramatically expand Oracle Data Cloud’s ability to improve marketing outcomes for partners worldwide by adding the important dimension of Context to Oracle Data Cloud’s expertise in audiences and measurement.

Business Weekly can further reveal that global investors are in the process of injecting well over $1 billion dollars in early stage Cambridge robotics, AI and life sciences companies over the next few months.

A number of the most significant funding rounds are already in the late stages of due diligence. In terms of source territories behind the investment upsurge, we will see an unprecedented ethnic mix with the US, China, Japan, Singapore and Europe very much to the fore.

There is a knock-on benefit to this increased internationalisation of the Cambridge science & technology cluster. The cash is being driven down to embryonic enterprises with potential.

We are seeing evidence of a heightened interest in AI and machine learning startups, particularly those emanating from Cambridge University, as well as digital healthcare plays.

Serial investors in the life sciences are also vetting opportunities to create federations of businesses that will be able to deliver turnkey healthcare services to mass populations. This will be engineered through synergistic local and international acquisitions, many of which are already in the pipeline.

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