QUBIS

What QUBIS does

QUBIS is the wholly-owned commercialisation arm of Queen's University Belfast, established in 1984 to convert the university's research output into spin-out companies. Operating as a university technology transfer office (TTO), it sources deal flow exclusively from QUB's Russell Group research base across Digital, Life Science, Environmental, Scientific, and Engineering disciplines. The portfolio currently spans 105 companies collectively employing more than 4,500 people and having raised over £100m in capital, with realised exits including Kainos (£161m LSE IPO, 2015), Andor Technology (£176m acquisition by Oxford Instruments), Fusion Antibodies (£27m AIM listing, 2017), Titan IC (acquired by Mellanox, 2020), Avalon (acquired by PerkinElmer), Amphion (€160m), and PathXL (acquired by Philips).

The commercialisation pipeline combines enterprise programmes and direct capital deployment. Founders are supported through ICURe, Lean Launch, and WE Innovate cohorts delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, Imperial College London, EIT Food, and Venture Folk. The QUBIS Innovation Fund, structured as a SEIS/EIS vehicle managed with Sapphire Capital Partners, deploys £50k–£150k per company, and QUBIS retains equity positions through to exit. In 2019 QUBIS was ranked the #1 UK university for entrepreneurial impact.

Operationally, QUBIS runs a small core team (1–10 employees) and generates revenue primarily through equity realisations on portfolio exits and fund management economics on the Innovation Fund. The business is wholly owned by Queen's University Belfast. The leadership team underwent a full refresh in 2025–2026, with Brian McCaul departing in December 2025 after 11 years, Marina Donohoe appointed CEO in February 2026, and Artin Moussavi appointed Chief Investment Officer in May 2026.

Name

QUBIS

Legal name

QUBIS Ltd

Website

https://qubis.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

QUBIS is the commercialisation arm of Queen's University Belfast, established 1984, that spins out academic research into investable companies. It manages a 105-company portfolio across life sciences, digital, environmental, and engineering sectors via an SEIS/EIS Innovation Fund and enterprise programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

University Technology Transfer and Spin-out Commercialization

NAICS

Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities (523999), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Patent Owners & Lessors (6794)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Universities with Entrepreneurship & Incubation Focus (EDAHAEAH)

Keywords

• University technology transfer
• Research commercialization services
• Spin-out company formation
• Early-stage SEIS investment
• Enterprise accelerator programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Equity Stakes in Spin-outs: QUBIS maintains equity positions in spin-out companies it helps create, generating returns through exits, IPOs, and ongoing portfolio value
2. Enterprise Programme Delivery: Provides fully funded training and development programmes (ICURe, EIT Food Seedbed, WE Innovate) in collaboration with external partners like Innovate UK and Imperial College London

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

QUBIS is the commercialisation arm of Queen's University Belfast, set up in 1984 to identify commercially exploitable university research and convert it into spin-out companies. It runs the QUBIS Innovation Fund (an SEIS/EIS vehicle investing £50k–£150k per spin-out), delivers enterprise programmes (ICURe, Lean Launch, WE Innovate, EIT Food Seedbed) for market validation, and supports portfolio companies through to exit, holding equity stakes in 105 companies (50+ as ongoing shareholder) spanning digital, life science, environmental, scientific and engineering sectors.

Product overview

QUBIS (Queen's University Belfast Innovation System) is the commercial arm of Queen's University Belfast, established in 1984 to commercialise the University's research and development activities through the formation of spin-out businesses. QUBIS operates the QUBIS Innovation Fund (SEIS & EIS fund) for early-stage spin-out financing, and manages enterprise programmes including ICURe (Innovation-to-Commercialisation of University Research) and the Lean Launch Programme for market validation. QUBIS's portfolio spans multiple sectors including Digital, Life Science, Environmental, Scientific, and Engineering, with approximately 105 companies created, over 4,500 employees, and over £100m total capital raised across the portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QUBIS Innovation Fund: An SEIS & EIS fund aimed specifically at university spin-out companies, providing early-stage finance of £50k-£150k.

Products and services

• QUBIS Innovation Fund An SEIS/EIS-compliant early-stage investment vehicle aimed at Queen's University Belfast spin-out companies, providing £50k–£150k of equity finance per company alongside mentorship and follow-on support. Open to private investors via the fund manager Sapphire Capital Partners.
• ICURe (Innovation-to-Commercialisation of University Research) Programme Enterprise programme that supports academic researchers to validate the market potential of their research, providing up to £35,000 in Innovate UK-backed funding, training and coaching for teams planning to spin out.
• WE Innovate Programme Six-month accelerator programme for women founders, delivered in partnership with Imperial Enterprise Lab at Imperial College London and Venture Folk, supporting women entrepreneurs and innovators at Queen's University Belfast to develop ventures.
• EIT Food Seedbed Incubator Programme EIT Food Seedbed Incubator programme helping early-stage agri-food ventures validate business models through coaching, funding and access to EIT Food's industry network.
• QUBIS Spin-out Creation and Portfolio Management Service End-to-end spin-out creation and portfolio management service: identifying commercially exploitable research from Queen's University Belfast, supporting spin-out formation, taking equity stakes, providing mentorship and managing a portfolio of 105 companies across digital, life science, environmental, scientific and engineering sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 105 companies in portfolio with 4500+ employees
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Imperial College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2026Partnership through Imperial Enterprise Lab for WE Innovate programme supporting women founders to develop entrepreneurial skills and build ventures
• Venture FolkcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 June 2026Partner in delivering WE Innovate programme for women entrepreneurs and innovators at Queen's University
• Artin MoussavicoreOthers · 19 May 2026New Chief Investment Officer appointed with over 20 years experience building, financing, investing in and leading innovation-led businesses across life sciences and deep technology sectors
• Marina DonohoecoreOthers · 16 December 2025New CEO appointed effective February 2026, bringing experience in innovation, research, and international business with background supporting startups and expanding into global markets
• RochecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 July 2020Sonrai Analytics partnered with Roche and Queen's University in £7m ACTIONED consortium to improve colorectal cancer treatment outcomes through genomics and digital pathology
• Queen's University BelfastcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 July 2020Partnership with Precision Medicine Centre of Excellence at Queen's for ACTIONED consortium with Roche
• Mellanox TechnologiesmajorTechnology or Integration · 3 March 2020Titan IC was acquired by Mellanox Technologies, a leading supplier of high-performance interconnect solutions
• Cisco/SnortmajorTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2019Titan IC RXP technology integrated with Snort 3.0 (Snort++) for hardware-accelerated regex scanning in intrusion prevention systems
• Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology (CCRCB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2018Partnership between Fusion Antibodies and Queen's University CCRCB for pancreatic cancer antibody drug development
• LookingGlasscoreTechnology or Integration · 18 April 2018Titan IC provided Deep Packet Processing Module technology for LookingGlass IRD-100 security appliance for threat detection and network security
• EIT FoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEIT Food Seedbed Incubator programme helps early-stage agri-food ventures validate business models with coaching, funding and industry network access

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cambridge Enterprise: University of Cambridge's commercialisation arm. Direct peer: both are UK university TTOs that identify, invest in, and support academic spinouts via seed funds and enterprise programmes, with comparable portfolio scope and investor-operated model.
• Oxford University Innovation: University of Oxford's technology transfer and spinout creation office. Direct peer operating the same university TTO model with an investment fund and enterprise programmes, and directly named in QUBIS's competitive benchmarking.
• IP Group plc: Listed UK IP commercialisation and venture firm that partners with universities to form and fund spinouts. Direct peer operating a multi-university, investor-led model analogous to QUBIS's single-university fund.
• Parkwalk Advisors: UK growth and seed investor specialising in university spinouts and deep-tech companies. Direct peer providing EIS-fund-backed capital to academic spinouts across multiple UK universities.
• UCL Business Ltd: University College London's commercialisation company. Direct peer running UCLB Technology Fund and proof-of-concept programmes with the same university TTO mandate as QUBIS.
• Imperial College Innovation / Imperial Create Lab: Imperial College London's enterprise division. Direct peer, and an explicit QUBIS partner via the WE Innovate programme, with comparable mandate to commercialise life science and engineering research.
• Edinburgh Innovations: University of Edinburgh's commercialisation office. Direct peer providing early-stage funding, commercialisation support, and spinout creation in a similar Russell Group research context.
• Manchester Innovation Factory (now Masstech Innovations): University of Manchester's commercialisation vehicle. Direct peer performing the same TTO function (spinout formation, IP licensing, proof-of-concept funding) at another Russell Group university.
• Warwick Ventures: University of Warwick's technology transfer and investment arm. Direct peer with similar early-stage investment and commercialisation remit across academic research.

Broad incumbents

• Octopus Ventures: Large UK VC firm and producer of the Entrepreneurial Impact ranking that named QUBIS #1. Broad incumbent investor active across UK university spinouts and wider tech — a co-investor and benchmark rather than direct TTO competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/qubisltd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/qubis-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments41 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about QUBIS