Start-up backed by the King's E-Lab raises $10m
Zenithon, an AI start-up that emerged from the inaugural SPARK incubator programme at King’s, has raised $10 million to develop new AI models designed to dramatically accelerate some of the world’s hardest physics and engineering problems. The company has secured investment from BACKED, Lunar, Seraphim, MMC and SOSV, alongside founders and hyperscaler directors.
The company is building world models for extreme physics: physics-grounded machine learning models that make simulation for fusion, aerospace and semiconductor development dramatically faster. Its technology is designed to enable engineers to search a million design points in the time it would traditionally take to run a single conventional simulation, potentially accelerating the development of technologies including fusion reactors, rockets and semiconductor fabs.
Zenithon was one of the 23 ventures selected for SPARK 1.0, the inaugural cohort of the intensive residential incubator created by the King's E-Lab, which last year brought together participants from 17 University of Cambridge departments. Alex Higginbottom, Founder and CEO of Zenithon, joined SPARK as a solo founder during the earliest stages of the company, using the programme to help navigate the transition from technical idea to building an ambitious commercial venture.
Looking back on his participation in last year's SPARK programme, Alex said:
There are a thousand things to learn as a founder, and through SPARK I found camaraderie with others on similar journeys, as well as invaluable help mapping out the unknown unknowns. That combination really kickstarted our development and made me a better founder.
The programme has since returned for SPARK 2.0, supporting University of Cambridge students, researchers and recent alumni as well as Anglia Ruskin University students and researchers with ambitious ideas and early-stage ventures across technology-led sectors, and is free for all participants made possible thanks to a generous donation. Over five intensive weeks, founders receive dedicated mentoring, masterclasses with global commercialisation experts, entrepreneurs and investors, and access to extensive King’s E-Lab and Cambridge innovation networks, helping them develop their ventures towards investment readiness and future growth.
Kamiar Mohaddes, co-founder and Director of the King’s E-Lab, said:
Cambridge has been responsible for many world-changing discoveries, but entrepreneurship isn't the first thought of most people studying here. Driving economic growth requires inspiring the next generation to think boldly about how their ideas can shape industries and society. We want SPARK to be a catalyst, showing students the reality of founding a company. We look forward to seeing this cohort turn their ambitions into ventures that contribute meaningfully to the economy.