Scores of students from Imperial have been named semi-finalists at the Mayor of London’s annual Entrepreneur Competition.

Out of 150 semi-finalists selected for this year’s Mayor's Entrepreneur Competition, 38 teams are from Imperial College London. The programme aims to create growth that makes London cleaner, greener and ready for the future, and to ensure students see entrepreneurship as a viable career path and get the skills they need to succeed.  

Imperial teams include creating underwater urns, an at-home breast monitoring tool and a tool for online clothes shopping.  

It’s fantastic to see so many Imperial teams reach the semi-finals of this year’s Mayor’s Entrepreneur Competition and testament to the diverse and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem of student entrepreneurs at Imperial College London. Ben Mumby-Croft Director of Imperial Enterprise Lab

All semi-finalists will now attend a bootcamp-style training session to get additional training and tips on pitching. They will then create a two-minute video pitch for the competition’s expert judges who will select the top six ideas from each award to go through to the final. 

In June 2022 the 30 finalists will get to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of celebrity judges and a live audience, and this is when the five Mayor’s Entrepreneurs for 2022 will be chosen. Each of the five winners will receive £20,000 to start up their business along with expert mentoring from staff at City Hall to get their idea to market.  

The competition is separated into five awards, each addressing a key challenge for London: Creative Industries, Environment, Health, Tech, and Social Enterprise. Find out more about some of the Imperial semi-finalists below:  

Underwater urns 

The Environment award is looking for innovations to reduce carbon emissions in London. One of the Imperial teams shortlisted for this award is Resting Reef who aim to provide an alternative to the polluting burial industry, all while restoring vital marine ecosystems. To do this, the team are developing underwater urns that double as oyster reefs, made from cremated ashes.  

The Resting Reef team are also currently participating in this year’s WE Innovate programme, a women’s entrepreneurship programme run by Imperial Enterprise Lab designed to inspire and accelerate the progress of women entrepreneurs. 

Migraine management 

The Social Enterprise award is looking for innovations to create platforms to support different social groups in London. Shortlisted for this award is Imperial team Happyr Health who are developing a headache and migraine management app that uses storytelling and gaming to help manage chronic pain in children and young people. The team took part in the College’s WE Innovate programme 2021.  

At-home breast monitoring tool 

The Health award is looking for innovations to reduce waste and make the health sector more sustainable and one of the Imperial teams shortlisted for this award DotPlot. The team, who were recently crowned the winners of the College’s Venture Catalyst Challenge 2022, are developing an at-home breast health monitoring device to help catch cancer early. 

Online dressing room 

The Tech award is looking for technological innovations to help make London a better place to live and work. One of the Imperial teams shortlisted in this category is Revery.AI who are developing a tool that leverages computer vision and artificial intelligence to create a better online dressing room experience, allowing shoppers to mix and match outfits and visualise them on any model instantly. 

Music industry platform 

The Creative Industries award is looking for innovations to make the creative industries more sustainable. One of the semi-finalists for this award is Amphere, a digital platform to connect artists, venues, promoters and live music attendees.  

The team were semi-finalists in the College’s Venture Catalyst Challenge (VCC) 2022. 

Diverse and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem

Ben Mumby-Croft, Director of Imperial’s Enterprise Lab said: “It’s fantastic to see so many Imperial teams reach the semi-finals of this year’s Mayor’s Entrepreneur Competition and testament to the diverse and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem of student entrepreneurs at Imperial College London.

"Competitions like this one provide a fantastic platform for showcasing the incredible talent of London’s entrepreneurial student community and I wish all participants the very best of luck for making the final.”