Five exciting new startups will compete for a share of a £100,000 prize fund in the final of Imperial's flagship entrepreneurial competition.
The Venture Catalyst Challenge (VCC) is a competition for Imperial students, alumni and early career researchers that helps emerging startups develop their ideas for commercialisation.
Previous participants have gone on to form successful businesses, such as seaweed-packaging company Notpla (which has partnered with Just Eat at major sporting events), Breathe Battery (which has partnered with Volvo), and FA Bio (which has raised more than £5m in investment).
This year's finalists are building startups to address issues in dental care, agriculture, heart disease, sexual health, and safety at public venues.
The startups will pitch their businesses to a panel of experts and an audience of investors and industry stakeholders at the Science Museum on Thursday 6 November.
VCC takes 25 teams through a three-month programme of 1-2-1 coaching, meetings with experts, workshops and pitch training. The five finalists compete for a Grand Prize of £20,000, with smaller prizes available from the £100,000 prize fund for the category winners and teams which are pushing the boundaries of innovation and positive societal impact.
This year's competition has been sponsored by Terra, Dojo, Novartis, and Intesa Sanpaolo's IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division.
The finalists are split into five categories: AI & Robotics, Creative & Consumer, Digital & Finance, Energy & Environment, and Health & Wellbeing.
This year's finalists are:
AI & Robotics (sponsored by Terra): Cardiovolt.ai
Heart disease is often diagnosed too late, with issues around early detection and insufficient prognostic insights leading to costly hospitalisations and avoidable deaths, according to Cardiovolt.ai, co-founded by Cardiovascular Science PhD student Boroumand Zeidaabadi.
The startup is aiming to transform standard ECGs into an early-warning risk tool, using an AI platform to detect hidden disease and predict future conditions. It is hoped that this will lead to more proactive interventions and better decision-making for heart disease cases.
Creative and Consumer (sponsored by Imperial): PHLYXR
PHLYXR, co-founded by Clinical Medical Research PhD student Sophie Stephens and University of Leeds researcher James Warren, is developing a non-hormonal lubricant which can reduce the transmission of sexual transmitted diseases (for both bacterial and viral STIs). The lubricant is designed to be pH matched to the vaginal microbiome and to have secondary capabilities to act as a contraceptive.
The startup is aiming to address issues around STI cases rising across Europe, as raised by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, alongside the issues of antibiotic resistance and sub-optimal levels of HPV vaccination coverage.
Digital & Finance (sponsored by Dojo): Reporti
Reporti, founded by Global Innovation Design MSc graduate Gracie Broom, is a browser-based platform for live events, which aims to allow attendees to report safety issues, share locations, and get instant guidance – without the need for mobile service or app downloads.
The technology is hoping to address concerns around safety in public spaces and venues, with the startup arguing that underreported violence and harassment is endangering lives and eroding trust.
Energy & Environment (sponsored by Intesa Sanpaolo's IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division): Muju Earth
Muju Earth, co-founded by Innovation Design Engineering MSc graduates Lu Afolayan and Ocean Hu, is aiming to address the issue of poor soil health, which the startup says is caused by a combination of climate change, heavy machinery use and chemical inputs in farming.
The startup's flagship product, Aeropod, is a 'nature-activated' capsule that can aerate and enrich soil by breaking through soil compaction and restoring oxygen flow. The founders say these capsules can be planted like seeds by farmers and then work for months.
Health & Wellbeing (sponsored by Novartis): Arcus Dental
Arcus Dental, co-founded by Design Engineering MEng graduates Rojeanne Stoffer and Thomas Kingan, is aiming to tackle a 'global dental crisis', with the founders saying that one in five people in the UK and US struggle to access dental care.
Their solution is a digital dental check-up device which lets patients and dentists monitor oral health anytime, anywhere. The device is designed to allow users to take images of their mouth at home, which dentists can review remotely with the help of an advanced algorithm.
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The Grand Final will be held at the Science Museum on Thursday 6 November. Register here to access a recording of the full event on Friday 7 November: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/venture-catalyst-challenge-2025-grand-final-streaming-tickets-1825960419769
