Deeptech Labs

🦾 Fortifying your Tech & Product Edge IP is often the most valuable asset that deep tech startups have for a number of years before reaching significant commercial traction. Developing an effective strategy to protect your IP is critical to success and the earlier the IP strategy is considered, the better. Last weeks fireside chat was joined by Suzanne Oliver and Roger Martin. Suzanne is a seasoned intellectual property expert with a proven track record of success in both startups and major corporations. Her extensive experience includes serving as Director of IP Strategy at Scintilla, leading IP strategy and policy development at the high-growth tech startup GroundWOW®, and managing operations, legal, and IP at SeeChange Technologies, an @Arm subsidiary As ex Senior VP and Chief IP Strategist at Qualcomm, Roger managed a global portfolio of over 130,000 patents and applications. He led a 275-person IP department with a $325 million budget, overseeing all aspects of IP management including litigation, licensing, mergers & acquisitions, and industry standards compliance. Below is a clip of Roger responding to a question from our Founders around NDA's.

"We are excited to join the Deeptech Alliance as it aligns with our vision of fostering breakthrough innovation through collaboration. At Deeptech Labs, we believe that by connecting with the most forward-thinking minds and organizations, we can accelerate the growth of transformative technologies. The Deeptech Alliance provides a unique platform for shared knowledge, resources, and networks that will allow us to support deep tech startups in scaling their solutions globally. Together, we can push the boundaries of science and technology to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.” - Miles Kirby

🛠️ Topic of the Week: Crafting a Compelling Value Proposition During last week's DTL Autumn '24 Cohort fireside chat, we had the privilege of hearing from industry veteran Martin Mackay. Martin brings decades of global experience, having held roles such as SVP at Proofpoint, President and GM of AsiaPac & Japan at CA Technologies, and currently serving as Chief Revenue Officer at Versa Networks. One of Martin's key insights? Change is hard, and no one likes it. To drive real transformation, you need to find those people who care deeply enough about a problem to navigate the discomfort of change. And then, it's about showing them why now is the perfect moment to act. 💡 Below is a snippet of Martin’s advice on identifying champions within key organisation, the key to unlocking sales success.

Our CEO and Founder Miles Kirby was at CogX this week and sat down with Rosanne Kincaid-Smith, MBC, COO of Northern Data Group, to talk about the AI's next frontier. The future of compute is venture capital's hottest topic, with growing demand for deep tech businesses to fill the need for greater compute power, at lower cost and environmental impact.

Fantastic to see portfolio company Anaphite (DTL S22) raise their $13.7m Series A! Massive congratulations to Joe, Samuel, Alexander and the whole Anaphite team. 🎉 Read more below!

🛠️ Topic of the Week: Product Market Fit In this week’s Fireside Chat, Gary Brotman shared his journey from being a Senior Director at Qualcomm to leading Secondmind as CEO, offering valuable insights for early stage deep tech startups looking towards their next funding round. He emphasised the importance of experimenting to achieve product-market fit, prioritising customer-focused innovation to drive success, and how he navigated the challenges he faced on his journey to CEO. Below is a clip of Gary talking to our 10 founding teams of the Autumn Cohorts about understanding the value you bring to the customer when pricing a product and how that relates to the incumbent competition.

🔍 Topic of the Week: Strategic Roadmaps In the journey of building a business, understanding and meeting investors expectations is paramount. It's not just about envisioning long-term plans; it's about knowing what milestones and metrics are crucial to demonstrate progress, especially before the next funding round. Below is a clip of our Fireside Speaker of the week Stuart Chapman from Molten Ventures talking about time as a key indicator that investors look for in early stage deep tech businesses. Join us next week on Tuesday 24th at 6:00pm for a fireside chat with Gary Brotman, CEO at Secondmind, as he talks with Miles Kirby about Product Market Fit.

We’re delighted to have welcomed five pioneering deep tech start ups to our Cambridge headquarters for the kick-off of the Deeptech Labs' Open Programme. These entrepreneurs represent some of the UK's most exciting early-stage deep tech ventures, and we’re excited to help scale their world-changing innovations over the next three months. Joined by Deeptech Labs advisors, Martin McCourt and Alex Pollitt, our team conducted deep dives into these visionary businesses, exploring how we can help unlock their full potential. Special thanks to Kirsty Lloyd-Jukes, Deeptech Entrepreneur in Residence at Oxford Science Enterprises, for sharing her inspiring journey from leading an autonomous driving startup to its acquisition by Waymo in our fireside chat. Today, our Open Programme founders are engaging in expert-led discussions on scaling ambitions and achieving commercial success. Stay tuned for next week’s fireside chat with Stuart Chapman, co-founder of Molten Ventures, as we explore strategic roadmaps for scaling deep tech startups. Miles Kirby, David Groom, Sam Bird, Martin McCourt, Alex Pollitt #VentureAcceleration #DeepTech #Innovation #ScalingStartups

Kick Off Week 🎊 We’re thrilled to have launched the NG Studios Autumn 2024 programme in Manchester this week! Five pioneering early-stage deep tech spinouts from the Universities of Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield joined the Deeptech Labs team and Alex Pollitt for an intensive series of deep dives. The day was elevated by an inspiring fireside chat with Scott White, Founder of Pragmatic, who shared insights from his journey to securing the largest-ever venture round for a semiconductor company in Europe, raising a £182m Series D. Today, our cohort continues with dynamic, scale-focused sessions, led by five experts from our global network. This is where tomorrow’s innovators meet world-class industry leaders and seasoned entrepreneurs to help unlock their breakthrough discoveries at scale. #DeepTech #VentureAcceleration #InnovatorsAtScale David Groom, Miles Kirby, Alex Pollitt, Sam Bird

In February this year, Northern Gritstone launched NG Studios, a venture-building service for early-stage spinouts, delivered in partnership with technology and life science industry experts. NG Studios first partnership is with Deeptech Labs. As we get ready to welcome five early-stage companies to Cohort 2 of NG Studios, we hear from Auxetec Limited CEO Robert Gunn on his experience of being part of Cohort 1. #profitwithpurpose University of Leeds #deeptech