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Isabela Chick
Operator turned VC turned operator
Isabela Chick is a Partner at Deeptech Labs, focusing on Investments and Programme.13 She joined the company in November 20224 and plays a key role in the organization's efforts to invest in and support deep tech startups.
Background and Experience
Isabela has a strong connection to the Cambridge ecosystem, having studied at the University of Cambridge herself.1 This familiarity with the local environment has proven valuable in her role at Deeptech Labs, which operates within the Cambridge innovation landscape.
Prior to joining Deeptech Labs, Isabela served as the Chief Strategy Officer at Founders Factory, an early-stage, corporate-backed accelerator and venture studio.36 This experience in the startup ecosystem has likely contributed to her expertise in supporting emerging companies.
Role at Deeptech Labs
As a Partner at Deeptech Labs, Isabela's responsibilities include:
- Leading investments in seed-stage deep tech companies
- Designing and running accelerator programmes
- Helping prepare startups for Series A funding rounds
- Supporting entrepreneurs as they move from prototype to scalable products and services2
Isabela's role is crucial in fulfilling Deeptech Labs' mission of being a catalyst for deep tech success. The accelerator runs programmes twice a year, embedding cohorts of startups in a powerful network of successful entrepreneurs, expert practitioners, leading researchers, and deep tech organizations.2
Industry Involvement
Beyond her role at Deeptech Labs, Isabela is also involved in the broader venture capital and startup ecosystem:
- She is a member of Global Women in VC, indicating her commitment to promoting diversity in the industry.6
- Isabela has been recognized for her expertise, participating in industry events and discussions related to deep tech investments.57
Isabela Chick's combination of strategic, operational, and investment experience, along with her deep understanding of the Cambridge ecosystem, positions her as a valuable asset to Deeptech Labs and the startups they support.
Highlights
🚀 Cambridge University's economic impact has been valued at £30bn per year according to a new study by the consultancy London Economics. Even more remarkable that of this £30bn of value created, "more than £23bn of the economic impact came from commercialising university research, particularly through companies “spun out” from it".
🔬 While the research at Cambridge is world-class, so is the research at many other world-leading institutions in Europe and yet they don't all create value in the way that Cambridge has.
🤝 I think this value creation is in part thanks to the amazing ecosystem in Cambridge that supports startups from the earliest stages, and helps fund them from pre-seed to Series A and beyond. It is a model that I hope other research-heavy universities and centres can adopt too.
It's a pleasure to be back in Cambridge and learning my way around this ecosystem from the vantage point of Deeptech Labs.
Read more about it here below
Miles Kirby | David Groom | Marcos Battisti | Ania Karbownik | Ambrose Thwaites | Chris Anderson
Yesterday I had the great honour to give a talk on behalf of Deeptech Labs on how to unlock the potential of the deeptech sector in the UK and in Europe at the Department for International Trade (DIT)'s Deeptech showcase event in partnership with LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) and Neil Shah.
The event was opened by Lord Johnson, and the showcase brought 10 brilliant Deeptech founders (including: Space Forge Lumirithmic Aegiq Aidrivers Ltd. Opteran Universal Quantum iCOMAT Paragraf® Pragmatic) who shared their ground breaking technologies from space tech to quantum and AI and even semis for FMCG.
Thank you so much for having me Paul Morris!
