About the Week
Cambridge Wide Open Week is a life-sciences and deep-tech festival that, in its 2026 season, expands across the UK's innovation "Golden Triangle" — Cambridge, Oxford and London — for the first time. Over nine days it brings together venture funds, accelerators, policymakers and ecosystem leaders through curated investor breakfasts, venture showcases, networking events and evening receptions.
Its Venture Tours programme offers access to investment-ready ventures building breakthrough technologies across healthcare, therapeutics, AI and drug discovery — aimed at angel investors, venture capital firms, corporate investors, family offices and financial institutions.
Confirmed keynote voices
The 2026 programme features speakers from across innovation, government, investment and media, including:
- George Freeman, former Minister for Science
- Gillian Tett OBE, FT columnist
- Lord Richard Harrington, former Business and Industry Minister
- Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge
- Paul Bristow, Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
- Dr Jason Mellad, scientist entrepreneur
Why we highlight it
For members across our Venture & Investment and Science & Achievements interest areas, Wide Open Week is one of the densest investor-meets-founder moments in the calendar — exactly the kind of ecosystem connection the Cambridge Society exists to surface.