St John's Innovation Centre was established by St John's College, part of the University of Cambridge, in 1987 to provide early-stage, knowledge-based companies with business advice, strategic consultancy, introductions and flexible accommodation. It was the first innovation centre of its kind in Europe and has become world-renowned for its success as a business incubator.

The Centre is located at the heart of the Greater Cambridge technology cluster, in which it plays a pivotal role. The philosophy of the Innovation Centre is to provide security and flexibility to tenants, and the Centre therefore offers an easy-in, easy-out policy with renewable leases for three years and the option to break on one month's notice.

St John's Innovation Centre exists to provide a dynamic and supportive incubation environment to accelerate the growth of ambitious innovative firms in the Cambridge region. It is privately owned and commercially managed.

St John’s Innovation Centre has delivered a number of government-funded programmes. Both Understanding Finance for Business and Coaching for High Growth were funded by the East of England Development Agency, as part of the government-funded Solutions for Business programme. In 2012 St John’s Innovation Centre became part of the consortium (which includes Grant Thornton and Pera) delivering the national GrowthAccelerator Service to help growing businesses unlock and sustain their high-growth potential and support businesses looking to raise finance. In 2015 it became a consortium partner of The Enterprise Europe Network and through close collaboration with Innovate UK, St John’s Innovation Centre is able to provide organisations across the East of England with a unique opportunity to access both UK and European sources of funding and support.

St John’s Innovation Centre offers a wide range of highly effective training programmes and workshops, all designed to help business grow and improve the performance of staff and management teams. Training services are delivered by leading experts in their fields, using the latest techniques and knowledge.