Harry Destecroix

Dr. Harry Destecroix is a British scientist entrepreneur, and investor. In the midst of his doctoral research, he ventured into entrepreneurship by establishing Ziylo in 2014. Only a year later, recognizing a pressing need, he embarked on creating a deep technology incubator to foster Ziylo and similar ventures, which has since evolved into the widely recognized Science Creates ecosystem. Under his leadership as CEO, Ziylo flourished and was acquired by Novo Nordisk in 2018 in a lucrative deal potentially worth $800 million, as reported by Forbes. Currently, Destecroix spearheads SCVC as the founding Managing Partner, and the firm recently marked the inaugural close of its second Deep Tech Fund, aiming for a $100 million target. Science Creates has notably established two deep tech incubators in Bristol, UK, and has inaugurated a national engineering biology accelerator. This is complemented by a STEM charity to spark a passion for deep tech entrepreneurship among schoolchildren. Destecroix is also a co-founder of Carbometrics, which leverages the foundational Ziylo technology to innovate in the glucose sensing arena for diabetes management. SCVC The ethos "From Deep Founders to Deep Tech VC" encapsulates SCVC's inception, which draws inspiration from Destecroix's transition from scientist to founder. SCVC is pioneering a new breed of deep tech venture capital firms, uniquely poised to recognize potential early due to the team's deeply rooted tech expertise. With a propensity to lead investments, SCVC merges scientific acumen with business savvy, predominantly collaborating with highly technical individuals, including PhDs and professors, to cultivate category-defining deep tech enterprises aimed at enhancing human health and environmental wellbeing. SCVC focuses on the intersection of Biology, Hardware, and AI, instrumental in the fourth industrial revolution. Post-Ziylo's acquisition in 2018, Destecroix delved into angel investing, supporting nascent deep tech startups and spinouts. In 2020, alongside esteemed local investor and successful tech entrepreneur Jon Craton of Cramer Systems, he co-launched SCVC, successfully closing its first $13.5 million Deep Tech Fund in 2021. In a continuation of this momentum, SCVC announced the preliminary closure of their second $100 million Deep Tech Fund in 2023. That same year, the team was bolstered by the addition of John Williams, an AI deep tech founder who co-founded Kudan and, as CTO, steered the company toward an impressive IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, achieving a peak market cap of $1.8 billion. Science Creates Science Creates, inspired by Destecroix's personal journey from scientist to entrepreneur, emerged as a response to market shortcomings that hinder the progress of university science spinouts. Its mission is to empower individuals with scientific breakthroughs to make a positive impact on human health and the environment. In 2015, with Ziylo in its developmental phase, Destecroix co-founded the Science Creates Ecosystem, assuming the role of CEO for this new endeavor at the age of 28. By 2017, Science Creates opened its first 15,000 square-foot deep tech incubator housing two pioneering tech companies, Ziylo and NuNano. Following Ziylo's successful exit in 2018, Science Creates had already facilitated the growth of 23 deep tech companies. The ecosystem's influence expanded further by 2019, having supported 37 deep tech companies and contributed to the creation of 100 jobs, with two-thirds of University of Bristol spinouts from 2010 onwards being affiliated. In 2021, the second Science Creates incubator was unveiled, now boasting a total of 45,000 square feet, with 57 deep tech companies under its belt, resulting in 145 new jobs in the sector. By 2023, Science Creates' impact was even more pronounced, having contributed to the creation of 370 high-value jobs, a gross GVA of £125 million, and support for 82 deep tech companies, with 41 active members. In June 2023, the Science Creates Outreach charity was established, with the ambitious goal of engaging 4,000 local school children annually through its programs. That same month marked the launch of the first Science Creates Accelerator program, a collaboration with UKRI to kickstart an engineering biology accelerator, setting a new benchmark for innovation and enterprise in the UK's deep tech landscape.