ULab Equipment, a new spin-out from the University of Strathclyde, has officially launched this week.

The company, which is set to pitch at EIE21 on 10th June, provides software to help manage laboratory equipment.

According to ULab, the firm’s software provides workers with the tools needed to run labs more safely, sustainably and more efficiently. In addition, it can help generate additional revenues.

The ULab platform offers prospective research collaborators the opportunity to see what technology is already available and avoid double purchasing, while research funders can ensure their grants are being used prudently.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) platform was first developed eight years ago to meet internal needs at the University of Strathclyde. Use quickly spread to other universities and commercial labs and there are now over 4000 users in hundreds of labs across eleven countries.

It played an integral role in the development of the QR codes used to regulate access to the Strathclyde campus during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The management team for the new company includes Tim Plumridge and Ian Thompson, software developers with a combined 40 years of experience, who built and managed the platform over the last eight years, and Blair Johnston, a prominent research chemist and data scientist with strong connections in the research community across the UK and who first came up with the ULab model.

The spin-out was supported by Mark Roger and the team at Vivolution, with Rogers set to join ULab as a non-executive director.

In addition, Simon Mone will join the ULab team as CEO. Mone has over 20 years’ experience in digital technology having founded and successfully run several companies.

Mone said: “This is a very exciting time for ULab. We already have some users signed up as customers and have plans to further develop the platform generating new IP.

“We will be seeking to raise funding this year to help us grow and we are pitching on 10 June at technology investor showcase EIE 2021.”

Recommended

• Leader Insights | Saving data science with Martin Thorn, Standard Life Aberdeen
• Eight ways to halt cognitive bounce and prevent burnout
• Long working hours is causing thousands of deaths

He added: “ULab’s reporting tools provide lab managers with the reports they need for their funding bodies.

“Project leads, who have a requirement to demonstrate what capital investment has been made and what equipment has been bought with their funding, can easily do so with ULab; this is often very expensive equipment and so it’s important they can demonstrate that this investment has also benefited others beyond their project.”

ULab is currently in the process of recruiting investors and signing up customers from the higher education and private sectors.