About

A builder first.

Crucible Consulting is led by Tom Fleming, who spent a decade as co-founder, COO, and CEO of Arctoris, building a fully automated, data-native drug discovery company.

Portrait of Tom Fleming
Tom Fleming · Founder

Tom is an operator-scientist: a chemist by training who went on to build and run a deep-technology company through every stage, from founding to scale. At Arctoris he co-founded and led an Oxford-based business that automated the laboratory itself, creating Ulysses®, a platform that runs experiments end to end and captures structured, decision-grade data at a scale manual work struggles to reach.

That work put him at the centre of three converging fields: biology, engineering, and AI. He went on to pioneer the Partnership Research Organisation, a model designed as an AI-ready alternative to the traditional CRO, and to found and lead OpenImmune, a Focused Research Organisation consortium spanning academic, clinical, industrial, and AI partners. Across these ventures he has raised venture and grant funding from public, private, and philanthropic sources, and built the cross-sector relationships that deep-technology companies depend on.

He works at senior levels with UK government on the life sciences, AI, and sovereign capability, and focuses on the Oxford, Cambridge, and London ecosystem he knows best.

In his words

I started Crucible for a simple reason. The hardest technology companies are built by people carrying too much at once, and the advice available tends to cover one half of the problem: strategy without the lab, or science without the cap table.

I have worked in both halves. I know what it takes to stand a company up, hit the milestones, manage a board, raise the money, and build something new under real pressure. Some of it went well and some of it did not, which is most of why the experience is worth anything. That is what I bring to the people building what comes next.

Tom Fleming · Founder

Credentials & affiliations

On the record.

  • Training

    MChem, CChem, MBA, DPhil (Oxon, dropped out to launch Arctoris)

  • Business

    Executive MBA (TRIUM): LSE, NYU Stern, and HEC Paris.

  • Fellowships

    FRSC, Royal Society of Chemistry. FRSB, Royal Society of Biology. FRSA, Royal Society of Arts. Royal Commission of 1851. Royal Academy of Engineering.

  • Government

    Senior UK engagement on the life sciences, AI, and sovereign capability.

  • Sectors

    CRO, PRO, and FRO models across pharma, biotech, and techbio.

  • Focus

    The UK, with particular depth in the Oxford, Cambridge, and London ecosystem.

Selected experience

What that looks like in practice.

  • Arctoris

    Co-founder, COO, and CEO for a decade of an Oxford-based autonomous drug discovery company.

  • Ulysses®

    Built a fully automated, data-native drug discovery platform that runs experiments end to end.

  • OpenImmune

    Founder and lead of a Focused Research Organisation consortium across academic, clinical, industrial, and AI partners.

  • The PRO model

    Pioneered the Partnership Research Organisation as an AI-ready alternative to the traditional CRO.

  • Funding

    Raised venture and grant capital, structured across public, private, and philanthropic sources.

  • Ecosystem

    Cross-sector relationships across pharma, techbio, government, and philanthropy.

In the room

The work happens in person.

Tom Fleming speaking on a panel
Panel discussion
Tom Fleming presenting the Partnership Research Organisation model
Presenting the PRO model
Tom Fleming speaking to a seated audience at a roundtable
Roundtable session

Work with Tom directly.

Crucible is a one-person practice, so you are dealing with Tom throughout. Start with a short call to see whether it is a good fit.

Start a conversation