Robert Daniel Sansom

Dr. Robert Daniel Sansom is a Cambridge-based technology entrepreneur and angel investor. He holds an M.A. from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon lists him as Dr. Robert D. Sansom, SCS 1988, among the four FORE Systems founders who endowed the FORE Systems Professorship in 1995.

Sansom co-founded FORE Systems in 1990 with François Bitz, Eric Cooper and Onat Menzilcioglu. FORE developed high-speed ATM networking equipment, listed on NASDAQ in 1994, grew to more than 2,000 employees, and was acquired by Marconi in 1999 for $4.5 billion. IQGeo’s board biography says Sansom was FORE’s CTO and joined IQGeo’s predecessor, Ubisense, as a board member on 16 December 2005.

In September 2001, Sansom co-founded Cambridge Angels with David Cleevely and served as chairman through 2010. Cambridge Angels describes itself as a Cambridge-based group of high-net-worth, active angel investors, most of whom are exited entrepreneurs, investing directly and mentoring start-up and scale-up companies. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2010.

Alongside angel investing, Sansom has held board, chair or advisory roles across Cambridge technology companies including Featurespace, Cambridge Communication Systems, Focal Point Positioning, Myrtle Software, Netronome, CRFS, Audio Analytic and IQGeo/Ubisense. His investing pattern is strongly technical: infrastructure software, AI, communications, positioning, semiconductor-adjacent systems and other IP-rich engineering businesses.

• Cambridge Angels’ stated criteria emphasize early-stage companies with “science and engineering-based or IP-rich technology,” tools and technology enabling healthcare, B2B markets, £100m+ target markets, proprietary IP, and potential to return ten times initial investment over 7-10 years.
• Sansom appears most active where he can underwrite technical depth: Myrtle Software’s Cambridge Angels seed round was led by Sansom, who said he was impressed by the team’s “unique blend of hardware, software and mathematical skills” and by demonstrated results under existing contracts.
• He has repeatedly backed communications, networking and infrastructure technologies, including FORE Systems, Cambridge Communication Systems, Netronome, IQGeo/Ubisense and Focal Point Positioning.
• He invests and mentors hands-on: Cambridge Network reported that Sansom led Cambridge Communication Systems’ £1.3m seed round and became the company’s chairman.
• He is open to US-style early-stage instruments: his public LinkedIn activity includes a comment saying he has invested in multiple US start-ups using SAFEs and views them as faster and simpler than UK ASAs for early-stage funding.