An octet of online pitches from Imperial's startups seeking investment

Investors worldwide convened online to hear from a wide range of Imperial startups seeking investment at Imperial's biannual startup investor showcase

Hundreds of individual and institutional investors joined an event this week to hear from Imperial startups ptching for investment at Imperial's latest biannual startup investor showcase. Founders from across Imperial's entrepreneurial ecosystem pitched companies, offering technology such as next-generation human computer interface devices and a solution for monitoring patient data on medical cannabis and psychedelic treatments. Founders included alumni from Imperial and Imperial College Business School, current students and staff.

The event kicked off with a pitch from Valkyrie Industries, which is developing a wearable suit that delivers haptic feedback to immersive digital experiences. Other startups pitching included Brightcure, which is developing bioactive products to treat chronic urinary tract infections, and Cheesecake Energy, which aims to develop the world's greenest battery.

Following a summary of Imperial's investment network and fund from Seed Investment Manager, Dr Brijesh Roy, investors were treated to a longer interview with Lucy Jung, founder of Charco Neurotech. Lucy explored the innovation journey she embarked on following her Master's in Innovation Design Engineering from Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art. Lucy gave insight on her business, Charco, which is developing a vibrating device that may alleviate Parkinson's motor dysfunction symptoms, and the range of support programmes from Imperial she interacted with and that supported and enabled Charco's journey towards fundraising.

Through extensive development over the past five years, Imperial offers targeted support programmes for inventors and entrepreneurs, ranging from pre-investment accelerators such as the Venture Catalyst Challenge to customer discovery and market validation services like Techcelerate, with many others also on offer.

Dr Brijesh Roy, Seed Investment Manager at Imperial, said: “Our biannual startup showcase is a source of great pride for everyone working to support staff, student and alumni entrepreneurs at Imperial. We get to hear from exciting, deep-science, technology and consumer startups that combine great, insightful science with entrepreneurial and product and customer development skills enabled by the wide range of support on offer at Imperial. These events demonstrate the talent of our community and the drive that exists throughout Imperial to deliver impactful new technologies to the world.”

Imperial operates an open investor network which aims to connect our startup companies to the most appropriate funding available from investors, business angels and VC firms. Interested parties who were unable to attend the live event can watch the full session on catch-up and find out more about the investor network.