When was Start Codon founded?

Start Codon was founded in 2018.

Where is Start Codon's headquarters located?

Start Codon's headquarters is located in Cambridge (United Kingdom).

How many companies has Start Codon invested in?

Start Codon has invested in 8 companies, including Trimtech Therapeutics & Semarion.

Which companies has Start Codon invested in lately?

Trimtech Therapeutics & Semarion are the latest investments by Start Codon.

Start Codon - 2026 Investor Profile, Portfolio & Investment Trends

Start Codon, an accelerator and incubator program founded in 2018, is based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. With a presence in 1 country, it has supported around 8 startups in sectors like Life Sciences, HealthTech. Most notable companies in its portfolio include Trimtech Therapeutics, Semarion and NK:IO. The program primarily supports Seed startups based in United Kingdom. Its latest investment was a $14M Seed round in Trimtech Therapeutics on Jun 23, 2026, which also saw participation from Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC and BGF.

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2018

Location

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Portfolio Companies

Trimtech Therapeutics, Semarion & 6 more

Sectors of Investment

Life Sciences, HealthTech & 2 more

Stages of Investment

Seed & Series A

Locations of Investment

United Kingdom

View Start Codon's full profile

Start Codon has a portfolio of 8 companies. Their most notable investmentis in SpireaTheir portfolio spans across and United Kingdom. They have invested in Life Sciences, HealthTech, Enterprise Applications and 1 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A stages. Here is the list of top investments by Start Codon:

1. Trimtech Therapeutics

They develop treatments for CNS and inflammatory disorders. The company creates highly specific degraders that selectively target and remove toxic proteins. This approach is based on research into TRIM21, a ubiquitin ligase, to treat protein aggregation disorders. They aim to provide therapeutic benefits for intractable CNS and inflammatory diseases.

Key facts about Trimtech Therapeutics

Founded Year: 2023
Location: Cambridge (United Kingdom)
Stage: Seed
Total Funding till date: $47M
Employee Count: 24 as on Aug 31, 2026
Investors: Lilly, University of Cambridge and 11 Others
Latest Funding Round: Seed, Jun 23, 2026, $*****
Highlight: Editors' Pick

2. Semarion

Provider of a platform for drug discovery and screening. The company focuses on drug screening and lead identification of GPCR-targeting oncology drugs. The company has developed the proprietary technology called SemaCyte which is the microchip technology and nanomagnetism that helps in drug discovery. It focuses on drug discovery which will target the cell surface receptors such as GPCRs and tyrosine kinases.

Key facts about Semarion

Founded Year: 2018
Location: Cambridge (United Kingdom)
Stage: Series A
Total Funding till date: $6.71M
Employee Count: 14 as on Aug 31, 2026
Investors: University of Cambridge, Cambridge Capital Group and 10 Others
Latest Funding Round: Series A, Mar 31, 2026, $*****

3. NK:IO

Developer of small molecule therapies for hematological and solid tumors. The company is pioneering discoveries in small molecule and peptide ligand activation of blood stem cell progenitors and NK cells for the treatment of cancer.

Key facts about NK:IO

Founded Year: 2020
Location: London (United Kingdom)
Valuation: $*****
Stage: Seed
Total Funding till date: $6.55M
Employee Count: 8 as on Aug 31, 2026
Investors: Cambridge Angels, Cancer Research and 17 Others
Latest Funding Round: Seed, Dec 01, 2024, $*****
Highlight: Editors' Pick

4. Spirea

SPIREA is a developer of therapeutic solutions for cancer treatments. It has developed antibody-drug conjugate therapeutics to revolutionize cancer treatment and improve the lives of patients. It combines cytotoxic drug payload with the targeting ability of an antibody that is targeted to kill cancer cells.

Key facts about Spirea

Founded Year: 2016
Location: Harrogate (United Kingdom)
Stage: Seed
Total Funding till date: $2.93M
Employee Count: 8 as on Aug 31, 2026
Investors: Cambridge Angels, University of Cambridge and 13 Others
Latest Funding Round: Seed, Jun 14, 2022, $*****

5. HotHouse Therapeutics

Developer of plant-based therapeutics using AI-driven biosynthetic pathways. This company harnesses plant biosynthetic pathways to produce both known and novel compounds with therapeutic potential. Its AI/ML platform analyzes plant genomes to identify and optimize the production of these compounds, enabling the development of new medicines. The approach addresses the limitations of traditional natural product drug discovery by offering a design-make-test cycle for optimized chemistry tailored to specific therapeutic needs.

Key facts about HotHouse Therapeutics

Founded Year: 2020
Location: Norwich (United Kingdom)
Stage: Seed
Total Funding till date: $3.84M
Employee Count: 13 as on Aug 31, 2026
Investors: Wren Capital, SynBioVen and 3 Others
Latest Funding Round: Seed, Dec 02, 2025, $*****

View the full list of portfolio companies

Start Codon has invested in 8 companies over the last 6 years, with an average of 1 new investment annually in the last 5 years. In 2025, it made 2 investments, while as of Jun 2026, it has made 2 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Semarion and most recent follow-on round was in Trimtech Therapeutics.

Here are Start Codon's Year-on-Year Investment Trends:

Year	No. of Investments
Year	1^st Round	Follow-on	Total
2026 (YTD)	1	1	2
2025	2	0	2
2024	1	0	1
2023	1	0	1
2022	1	0	1
2021	0	0	0
2020	1	0	1

View all investments by Start Codon

Start Codon has made 6 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $12.1M and 1 investment in Series A stage with an average round size of $3.8M.

Here are Start Codon's investments by stage:

Stage of entry	No. of Investments
Seed	6
Series A	1

Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments

View all investments by Start Codon

Start Codon has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Life Sciences, HealthTech, Enterprise Applications and High Tech. Notably, it has invested in 8 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 8 Tech companies, 2 Software companies and at least 1 company focusing on Consumer (B2C).

Here are Start Codon's investments by sector:

Sector	No. of Investments
Life Sciences	6
HealthTech	2
Enterprise Applications	1
High Tech	1

Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments

View all investments by Start Codon

Start Codon has made most investments in United Kingdom (7).

View all investments by Start Codon

Start Codon has made 2 investments in 2026 so far - Trimtech Therapeutics and Semarion.

Here are the most recent investments by Start Codon:

Filter this list

Date	Company	Location	Round Details	Round Amount	Co-Investors
Jun 23, 2026	Trimtech Therapeutics	United Kingdom	Seed	5346	Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC ... [+8]
Mar 31, 2026	Semarion	United Kingdom	Series A	3518	The FSE Group [+6]
Dec 02, 2025	HotHouse Therapeutics	United Kingdom	Seed	8326	SynBioVen [+3]
Mar 05, 2025	Trimtech Therapeutics	United Kingdom	Seed	5757	Cambridge Innovation Capital ... [+6]
Aug 23, 2024	Awen Oncology	United Kingdom	Seed	6730	Development Bank of Wales

See more recent investments made by Start Codon

Over the past 6 years, 39 investors have co-invested in Start Codon's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.

Invested before Start Codon: Cambridge Enterprise, Parkwalk and 2 others have invested in rounds before Start Codon. There is 1 company where Cambridge Enterprise has invested before Start Codon and 1 company where Parkwalk has invested before Start Codon.
Top Co-investors of Start Codon: 21 investors entered a company along with Start Codon. These include investors like University of Cambridge (2 companies).
Invested after Start Codon: A total of 14 investors have invested in Start Codon's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC (1 company) and BGF (1 company).