What does it take to build a global deep tech company without leaving the UK?
Oxford Nanopore co-founder Gordon Sanghera joins Susannah de Jager on Oxford+ in partnership with Mishcon de Reya to explain how an Oxford spinout became an international sequencing business. From his earlier work at MediSense to Nanopore’s London listing, Gordon describes the decisions that shaped the company and the gaps that still hold UK founders back.
His account challenges cautious fundraising and the habit of proving a technology before planning its manufacture. He explains how honest budgets attracted patient capital, why building production capacity helped speed up development, and how employee share sales supported continuity through years of growth.
The conversation comes as British Business Bank research published on 29 September reports UK venture funds matching US pooled total-value returns for 2002–2021 vintages. Fund performance and access to growth funding remain different questions, a distinction that runs through Gordon’s argument.
Gordon also considers technological sovereignty and AI in genomics. His case is for continued investment in biology, chemistry and electronics, with AI helping researchers make better use of the data those fields produce.
- (00:00) - Welcome to Oxford+
- (01:51) - Oxford’s Progress and the Scale-Up Funding Gap
- (04:39) - From MediSense to Oxford Nanopore
- (08:08) - Choosing the Hardest Technical Challenge
- (13:02) - Finding Patient Capital through Honest Budgets
- (17:26) - Building Manufacturing into the Strategy
- (21:35) - Choosing London over NASDAQ
- (25:30) - Employee Equity and Private-Market Liquidity
- (29:18) - Ambition, Culture and Technological Sovereignty
- (33:44) - AI and the UK’s Scientific Strengths
- (37:23) - Genomic Data and the Next Opportunity
Gordon Sanghera: Dr Gordon Sanghera CBE FRS is a co-founder of Oxford Nanopore Technologies and its technology innovation adviser. He led the company for 21 years, from an Oxford spinout to its London Stock Exchange listing in 2021. His work centres on bioelectronic technologies, including blood glucose monitoring and DNA sequencing. Earlier roles at MediSense covered research, manufacturing process development and worldwide marketing, experience that informed Nanopore’s approach to production and commercial growth. Gordon was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2026.
Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital.
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Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya, HSBC Innovation Banking, and James Cowper Kreston.
Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.
