Creating access to frontier innovation

At Innovate UK ICURe, we believe that equitable access to innovation is essential to building a strong and resilient research commercialisation ecosystem. Since its launch, the programme has supported university researchers across the UK to explore commercial pathways for early-stage technologies. However, we recognise that access to these opportunities has not been equal for everyone.

Progress so far

ICURe’s data show encouraging progress, while also highlighting where further action is needed.

Since the programme began, 14% of all ICURe Discover and Explore projects have come from post-1992 universities. These institutions play a vital role in regional innovation and applied research. From this cohort, 36 spin-outs have been created, accounting for 9.97% of all ICURe spin-outs, demonstrating strong commercial potential beyond traditionally research-intensive institutions.

Gender representation is also improving. Across ICURe Discover, Explore and Exploit, 29% of teams completing the programme are female-led, meaning either the entrepreneurial lead or principal scientific advisor is a woman. Twenty-six percent of entrepreneurial leads across these pathways are female, indicating growing representation among those driving commercialisation activity directly.

EDI as an enabler of frontier innovation

Many of the most pressing economic and societal challenges facing the UK require frontier technologies that are complex, high-risk and capital-intensive. These include advances in life sciences, digital technologies, advanced manufacturing and clean energy. ICURe’s commitment to EDI is closely linked to ensuring that these technologies benefit from the widest possible pool of research talent.

By expanding access to commercialisation support, ICURe helps ensure that innovation with the potential to scale is not limited by geography, institutional background or personal circumstance.

Supporting scale in frontier technologies

Across its portfolio, ICURe has supported spin-outs developing technologies with clear pathways to growth and scale.

In life sciences, companies such as AilseVax, Marra Bio, PeptiMatrix and Klas Therapeutics are translating complex research into scalable platforms spanning cancer vaccines, biomanufacturing inputs and drug testing technologies. These ventures have secured significant public funding, built early teams and are working towards global markets.

At the intersection of digital technologies and industrial innovation, companies including TraitSeq, SenseAI Vision and Matalytics are applying advanced data science, artificial intelligence and software to challenges ranging from climate-resilient agriculture to high-precision simulation. Their technologies reduce technical and commercial barriers for adoption, supporting faster routes to market.

Within advanced manufacturing, ventures such as Impulsonics, GitLife Biotech and Aegis FibreTech demonstrate how enabling technologies can unlock scale across multiple sectors, including biotechnology, materials science and automation.

In clean energy, companies including Quinas Technology, Hychor, Bactery and Protonera are developing system-level innovations focused on energy efficiency, distributed power and low-carbon hydrogen, all areas where early-stage de-risking is critical to long-term impact.

Together, these examples illustrate ICURe’s role in supporting early-stage technologies as they move from research into commercially viable, scalable ventures.

De-risking innovation through inclusion

ICURe supports teams not only with funding, but with structured customer discovery, market validation and leadership development. This de-risking is particularly important for frontier technologies, where uncertainty around markets, regulation and adoption can be high.

Ensuring that researchers from post-1992 universities and underrepresented backgrounds can access this support strengthens the overall innovation pipeline. Diversity of experience improves problem-solving, sharpens market insight and increases the likelihood that new technologies will succeed beyond the lab.

Investors as partners in inclusive scale

As ICURe-backed ventures progress from start-up to growth, access to aligned investors becomes increasingly important. ICURe is actively engaging EDI-focused investors to become involved in the programme, support spin-outs and help shape investment-ready opportunities.

Investors can engage through options roundabout panels, office hours sessions and ICURe showcase events, and can opt into communications to receive updates on new spin-outs and opportunities to engage with the programme. This approach helps ensure that investment decision-making reflects the diversity of the innovation pipeline and supports ventures with strong potential to scale.

A system-level view from Innovate UK

Equality, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to building a strong innovation ecosystem. ICURe has made meaningful progress in broadening access to commercialisation support, with growing participation from post-1992 universities and more women leading projects. Our focus now is on deepening partnerships, extending regional reach and ensuring that the investors and networks supporting these teams reflect the diversity of the innovators themselves.

– Geeta Nathan, Deputy Director of Innovation Ecosystems at Innovate UK

Extending access through targeted programmes

In 2026, ICURe will continue to strengthen inclusive access to commercialisation support through targeted programmes designed to meet researchers where they are.

These include North East Scotland ICURe Discover, delivered in partnership with regional stakeholders to support early-stage teams across the region, and ICURe Discover Sprint, a condensed programme designed to improve accessibility for researchers from non-research-intensive universities or those with heavy teaching commitments.

ICURe will also continue to run ICURe Discover for Women Entrepreneurs, supporting more women researchers to explore commercial pathways and progress towards spin-out or licensing opportunities.

Alongside these programmes, ICURe will continue to build on partnerships with organisations such as University Alliance, UKAEA, BBSRC and GOTT, as well as regional collaborations in Scotland with the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, ONE Life Sciences and Scottish Enterprise. Through this combined national and regional activity, ICURe will broaden access to commercialisation support, enable frontier innovation and help early-stage technologies progress towards scale.