From AI Unicorn to Cambridge Biotech | CAFE UK Interprets the Future VC Investment Landscape

London, 30 October 2025

As artificial intelligence reshapes the global economic landscape and breakthroughs in life sciences continue to emerge, capital is flowing toward the frontiers of innovation at unprecedented speed. The Chinese Association of Financial Executives UK (CAFE UK) recently held a seminar in the City of London titled “VC Unicorns and Frontiers of Biotech Investment”, bringing together two leading investment experts for an in-depth discussion on the logic of wealth creation over the next decade.

In his opening speech, Mr. Nick Ye, President of CAFE UK, noted that the seminar focuses on the intersection of technology, capital, and cross-border collaboration. Its goal is to provide a platform for strategic thinking and practical cooperation between the Chinese and British financial communities.

A $6 Trillion Unicorn Market: The New High Ground of Structural Opportunities

“We are seeing more and more world-class companies choosing not to go public or to raise funds in private markets. Currently, there are over 1,400 unicorns globally, with a total valuation of about $6 trillion. These companies, each valued at over $1 billion, represent some of the most competitive players in AI, robotics, quantum computing, communications, energy, and biotechnology. Compared with the higher-risk early-stage startups, the unicorn market offers a unique and highly attractive alternative asset class.” This was how Ms. Lesley Lu, Managing Partner at Capitalis Partners, opened her keynote speech.

Lesley believes that true structural opportunities lie not in the already-expensive public tech giants (the “Magnificent 7”) but in unicorns mastering frontier technologies. She cited data showing that the “Magnificent 7” generated a combined revenue of around $2 trillion last year, about a quarter from advertising, and released hundreds of billions of dollars in free cash flow annually, much of which is reinvested into acquiring or funding innovative companies. In recent years, venture capital and sovereign wealth funds have also increased their allocations to leading unicorns, particularly in AI. When the market frets about an “AI bubble,” Lesley poses a counter-question: “Is the glass half full or half empty? Should we pay a 20–30% valuation premium over historical averages to participate in a paradigm shift comparable to the Industrial Revolution, or wait for mean reversion and cling to traditional industries?”

Her answer was clear: Generative AI reached 100 million users in just two months, compared with 15–30 years in the PC era and 5–10 years in the internet age. Exponential growth is now redefining the rhythm of value creation.

Therefore, in the primary market, Capitalis Partners focuses on high-potential unicorns globally across AI, robotics, healthcare, and blockchain. Late-stage unicorns, she noted, offer more choices and the potential for excess returns compared with the established tech giants. Lesley emphasized that even private-market investors must think like hedge funds, balancing liquidity and risk through active management and flexible exit strategies to secure returns and create a safety buffer for investors.

The Cambridge Lesson: A Small Ecosystem Breeds Big Innovation

If AI unicorns represent explosive, capital-driven innovation, the Cambridge biotech ecosystem demonstrates a slower, deeply cultivated path, one defined by long-termism and systemic synergy.

“Eighteen percent of the UK’s output comes from just 0.25% of its population,” said Dr. Jerry Wu, Managing Director of LongRiver Investments. “This small town of 150,000 people stands out on the global tech map because of the co-evolution of its knowledge engine, infrastructure, and capital ecosystem.”

Since the 1970s, following government-led university commercialization reforms, the University of Cambridge has been at the forefront of tech transfer. In 1970, it founded Cambridge Science Park, Europe’s first science park. Over the past half-century, Cambridge has incubated over 5,000 high-tech companies and nearly 90 unicorns, becoming a global model for translating research into real-world impact.

Jerry illustrated the “Cambridge Model” through the story of Nobel Laureate Sir Gregory Winter, who founded Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) in the 1990s. CAT developed Humira, which later became a $30 billion-per-year drug, and spawned follow-on ventures such as Domantis and Kymab, forming a continuous chain of innovation spillovers. “Winning a Nobel Prize is an honor,” Winter once said, “but using science to improve human health is the lifelong pursuit.” Jerry summarized the Cambridge spirit as “science at the root, commercialization as the bridge.”

From a global investment perspective, the UK now sits at a “low valuation, high potential” window. Compared with the US, UK biopharma valuations from pre-A to Series A rounds are typically 30–50% lower, creating a rare value gap. But Jerry emphasized that the key to entering the UK market is not heavy-asset acquisitions but deep integration into the local innovation ecosystem, through research collaboration, supply chain synergies, and long-term capital partnerships. LongRiver Investments has therefore established an office in Cambridge and launched its “Golden Bridge” initiative to turn this philosophy into practice.

Multiple Tracks, One Goal: Navigating Diverse Paths of Innovation

Although the two speakers focused on different sectors, both addressed the same central question: How can capital identify and participate in innovations that truly change the world?When breakthrough technologies meet large-scale capital, innovation accelerates exponentially. Some innovations, meanwhile, grow slowly through long-term ecosystem cultivation; but once they break through, their societal and commercial impacts can be equally profound. Understanding and mastering these diverse innovation models will be the key to successful investing in the next decade.

Mr. Klaus Wang, CAFE UK’s Associate Director, introduced the association’s upcoming agenda, which includes discussions on stablecoins and Web3 investment, China–UK cross-border M&A trends, and the UK’s deep-tech and biopharma VC ecosystem. This seminar deepened participants’ perspectives on venture capital and private equity, ignited strong interest in frontier technologies like AI and biotech, and showcased CAFE UK’s influence and leadership within the global Chinese financial community.

Moving forward, CAFE UK will continue to foster cross-border capital flows and innovation partnerships through high-quality seminars and networking events, contributing to the long-term prosperity of the China–UK investment ecosystem.

The success of this event owed much to the generous support of Capitalis Partners, Goldstone, and TWT UK, whose commitment to frontier innovation and global capital collaboration made the forum possible. With such partnerships, CAFE UK continues to serve as a high-level platform for UK-China financial exchange and global investment connectivity.

The evening concluded with lively discussions but reflections on the investment opportunities of the next decade are only beginning. As AI rewrites business rules at exponential speed and Cambridge exemplifies half a century of patient innovation, investors must learn to perceive the underlying logic of different innovation paradigms and find their rhythm in balancing time, value, and risk. As President Ye concluded: “Tonight is not just about sharing wisdom; it’s about planting the seed for the next great collaboration and investment opportunity.”