If you’re a tech entrepreneur, be it aspiring, scaling or late stage, we have a programme for you. See here...
Supporting climate tech founders
Empowering underrepresented tech founders
Growing late-stage ventures, to IPO and beyond
Powering the UK's most ambitious Series A startups
Championing disabled founders and entrepreneurs innovating around disability
Taking DeepTech founders from breakthrough to business
Our previous Rising Stars competition has evolved into four distinct UK early-stage competitions, designed to spotlight the best emerging startups.
Where 10 ambitious EIS-eligible founders pitch to win an opportunity for investment that defines their next chapter
Where SEIS-eligible founders from across the UK compete for their share of £2M investment opportunity at a Grand Final in Manchester
Where transatlantic founders aged under 26 compete for up to £500k in investment
Where exceptional founders from around the world pitch to win the backing, spotlight, and momentum that shapes what comes next
Your entry to Europe’s innovation powerhouse
Discover the steps to apply and begin your journey
Premium account management for companies launching in the UK
Commission a high-impact experience for your cohort of early-stage startups
Connecting the world’s brightest minds to UK AI opportunities
Connecting the world’s brightest minds to UK Quantum opportunities
Our new initiative for early-stage UK DeepTech founders – the community infrastructure built to take founders from breakthrough to business.
DeepTech supports post-spin out and Series A founders across the UK building something truly transformative. We help you navigate the hardest part of the journey – the gap between spinning out and scaling up.
Through mentorship from founders who’ve done it before, hands-on masterclasses, site visits inside leading scaleups and direct investor access, you’ll get the connections and practical support you need to reach your next milestone.
Want to find out more?
DeepTech is powered by founders and operators who have built and scaled DeepTech companies in the UK and beyond. Scaleups aren’t just adjacent to the programme, they’re embedded within it.
Step inside leading scaleups to see how DeepTech companies actually scale. Spend time inside operating businesses, engage directly with founders, operators and technical teams, and ask candid questions across product, hiring, fundraising and execution.
DeepTech supports both readiness and access – from expert-led workshops on DeepTech fundraising strategy to curated investor packs, warm introductions and structured 1:1 investor meetings.
Monthly masterclasses and roundtables with scaleup founders who have navigated similar challenges, peer circles for founder-to-founder support, and structured engagement with policymakers, investors and corporate partners.
From translating breakthroughs into investor narratives, to grant acceleration across Innovate UK and UKRI, to structured corporate pilots and procurement pathways.
DeepTech doesn’t end at six months. Alumni stay part of the community long after their cohort wraps, with ongoing invitations to events that keep connections and momentum alive.
A cohort-based programme for post-spin out and Series A founders across the UK. Running twice a year with 10–15 companies per cohort, it starts with six hands-on months and grows into a lifelong community.
Masterclasses and Roundtables
Monthly masterclasses and roundtables with scaleup founders, plus structured engagement with policymakers, investors and corporate partners.
Investor Access
Structured one-to-one investor meetings, curated investor packs and introductions from scaleup founders and operators.
Beyond the Cohort
After six months, Cohort 1 companies are invited back to join Cohort 2 masterclasses, workshops, dinners and site visits. At the end of Cohort 2, both cohorts come together for a showcase event connecting them with investors, grant makers, and potential partners and clients. All alumni remain part of the DeepTech community and are invited to every future cohort event.
Cohort 1 – 2026
June 10, 2026 → July 31, 2026
July 31, 2026 → August 14, 2026
August 31, 2026
September 21, 2026
September 2026 → December 2026
January 2027 → Onwards
Cohort 2 – 2027
December 2026 → January 31, 2027
January 31, 2027 → February 14, 2027
March 2027
March 2027 → June 2027
July 2027
July 2027 → Onwards
Novel AI
Homomorphic encryption, federated learning, explainable AI, TinyML, multi-modality
Future of Compute
Superconductors, photonic computing, neuromorphic computing, silicon photonics, brain-computer interfaces
Space Tech
Ground infrastructure, propulsion systems, satellite platforms, Earth observation, navigation
Resilience
Dual-use defence systems, UAVs/UGVs, cryptography, strategic semiconductors, biodefence, advanced materials
Robotics
Humanoid and collaborative robotics, AI vision, soft robotics, exoskeletons, autonomous systems
Life Sciences
Techbio & AI in drug discovery, synthetic biology & gene editing, next-gen therapeutics
Yes. DeepTech is built to upskill your whole company. Bring colleagues from across the business – CTOs, CFOs, technical teams and beyond – to the sessions most relevant to them.
HSBC Innovation Banking provides commercial banking services, expertise and insights to the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity and venture capital industries. HSBC Innovation Banking UK is a subsidiary of HSBC Group, benefiting from its stability, strong credit rating and international reach to help fuel its growth.
www.hsbcinnovationbanking.com
Dexory is revolutionizing the warehousing and logistics industry with AI-driven automation and advanced robotics, delivering real-time data intelligence that elevates operational efficiency.
The vision? Empowering businesses to achieve unmatched productivity and precision in their warehouses.
https://www.dexory.com/en-us
Co-Founder & CEO
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Co-Founder & COO
Founder & CEO
Andrei is Co-Founder and CEO of Dexory, a robotics and AI company transforming warehouse operations. With a background in systems engineering and autonomous technology, he has been building robots since 2004, developing autonomous systems that provide real-time data visibility for logistics businesses.
Benjamin is the Co-Founder and COO of Relation. Relation is building a generational pharmaceutical company with artificial intelligence at its core. We deploy a vast range of technological tools across the drug development cycle, developing novel and in-licensed medicines to clinical value inflection points across a range of therapy areas, all under the central theme of capitalising on better biological understanding.
Sai is an entrepreneur in energy and advanced materials. As Founder and CEO of Nyobolt, he has raised over $160m to deliver high-power-density energy storage systems that enable AI power infrastructure and autonomous mobility.