KQ Labs, an accelerator programme for high growth potential companies in the area of data-driven health, delivered by the Francis Crick Institute and funded by LifeArc, hosted its Demo Day on Tuesday 1 March to an invited virtual and in-person audience of investors and corporate partners. The event showcased the ten start-ups that are now graduating from the KQ Labs accelerator programme.
The Demo Day 4.0 marked the culmination of the accelerator programme for our fourth cohort of exciting data-driven health start-ups. These ten companies began their 5-month journey in October 2021, and have attended weekly customised workshops, received personalised introductions to mentors, major corporates and investors. Each company also receives £40k in funding through a convertible loan as a part of the programme.
The Demo Day was an opportunity for our fourth cohort to showcase their companies and to connect with a specialised network of investors and industry leaders- a huge congratulations to our ten innovative start-ups for their excellent pitches!
KQ Labs has now supported forty companies, through four cohorts, to build and validate their ideas with the help of many fantastic partners and supporters, including our funder LifeArc. Looking back at the past year, we have been delighted to introduce new partnerships and collaborations, such as an internship exchange programme with London Business School and a collaboration with world renowned arts and design college Central Saint Martins, as well as working with Novartis on their BIOME UK Healthhub 21 Challenge. We have also been very proud to see our alumni from cohorts 1 to 3 making great strides, having raised £45M since finishing the programme. We celebrated our first Exit involving a company from our third cohort, Glamorous AI. The total portfolio value from cohorts 1 to 3 is estimated at £158M, according to online sources such as PitchBook.
KQ Labs will be opening its next cohort for applications in May 2022, with a view to running the next programme starting late October 2022, with the selection process running over the summer. Early stage data-driven health start-ups are encouraged to express interest early by registering on the website and the KQ Labs team are available to discuss the programme content and applicant eligibility. Please see the KQ Labs website for more information.
