The Cambridge phenomenon has just enjoyed one of its most successful weeks, with an astonishing variety of events and conferences across the city drawing nearly 2,000 attendees from 30 countries.

The two major events were Cambridge Tech Week, with more than 1,500 delegates – 30 per cent up on last year – over five days, and the three-day Grand Rounds Europe conference, with 400 executives from 18 countries for the first such event in Europe.

“The spotlight is on Cambridge,” said Kathryn Chapman, executive director of Innovate Cambridge. “Last week, WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2025 ranked Cambridge as the most intensive science and technological cluster in Europe, and second in the world.”

She added: “We’ve turned up the volume. This is a call to action to find out more about our brilliant ecosystem and find a ‘home’ in Cambridge.”

Cambridge Tech Week transformed the city into a hub for the world’s brightest minds, boldest founders and most influential policymakers under the rallying cry of ‘Seizing the AI Advantage’.

Across multiple venues, Cambridge Tech Week attendees experienced a dynamic mix of big-stage keynotes, debates, hands-on workshops, and a buzzing Innovation Alley showcasing early-stage companies shaping the industries of tomorrow.

Start-up to Scale-up Day was another highlight, featuring the main pitch competition where Reclinker won both the Judges Award and Audience Choice Award. Fireside chats took place with icons including Kristian Segerstrale, and Daniel Hulme, plus one between Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton and London Stock Exchange chair Michael Findlay described as “amazing”.

Nick Clegg – fresh out of his three-year shift as president of Global Affairs at Meta and with a book to plug – was one of the top draws.

There were “thought-provoking” discussions on building the next generation of unicorns, and a “brilliant” session on unlocking investment potential for female founders and leaders in the tech sector.

Delegates explored AI, medtech, climatetech, agritech and quantum, with sessions highlighting the critical role of governance, sustainability, and commercial impact. A new-found urgency saw policy leaders and industry experts stress that regulation, ethics, and geopolitical awareness are central to building durable companies.

The week culminated in the Big Tech Debate, which challenged whether AI in creative industries undermines human creativity, sparking a “lively” discussion on IP, compensation, and the meaning of value in art.

Michaela Eshbach, chief executive of Cambridge Wireless, said: “Our preliminary numbers show a 30 per cent increase in unique delegates compared to last year, and more than double the attendance of the inaugural 2023 event.

“This year, over 1,500 delegates took part in the main conference, together generating 6,552 session attendances – an average of four activities per person. The total number of participants rises significantly once the many fringe events are factored in.”

Calling the week “a phenomenal demonstration of Cambridge at its best”, she added: “I would like to thank my incredible team at Cambridge Wireless, all our sponsors and exhibitors – including our diamond sponsors Cambridge Management Consulting, Dell Technologies and AMD – and to our steering committee, ambassadors and partners.”

Over at Churchill College, biotech intelligence company BioCentury had lined up the first Grand Rounds Europe conference, the first outside the US.

Opened by science minister Lord Vallance, the three-day conference was organised by California-headquartered BioCentury, which headed a coalition of eight Cambridge organisations acting as regional hosts for the event. The coalition partners were the Babraham Research Campus, the Wellcome Genome Campus, AstraZeneca, Cambridge Innovation Capital, One Nucleus, Innovate Cambridge, O2h and Cambridge University Health Partners.

Kristin-Anne Rutter, executive director of Cambridge University Health Partners said: “This conference showed that despite recent challenges in the UK commercial environment, companies, investors, academics and entrepreneurs from around the world still believe that the UK is a great place to do science and business.

“Our city hosted 400 executives from 18 countries and the overall message is that talented people from organisations around the globe want to collaborate with Cambridge to unlock emerging technologies and tackle the biggest public health challenges, including mental health issues and obesity.

“It was a major coup that BioCentury chose Cambridge – and indeed the UK – to host the very first Grand Rounds Europe and we look forward to welcoming many more global events in future.”

And there are plans to capitalise. Innovate Cambridge has launched the Cambridge Innovation Story, an initiative to showcase the advantages of being in Cambridge.

“The Cambridge Innovation Story is not just for those working in innovation,” Dr Chapman said. “It’s for everyone. It’s about people, community and the benefits that a thriving innovation ecosystem can bring.”