Barclays Eagle Labs has formed a new partnership with the University of Edinburgh’s Venture Builder Incubator (VBI), a programme tailored to help PhD students develop and commercialise academic research.

The news comes as 24 new cohort companies – all operating in sectors addressing key societal challenges including green technology, animal welfare, and agri-tech – have been announced for this year’s VBI.

The intake includes 10 innovative health-related start ups, the majority of which are focused on combating cancer and will be supported through an existing partnership with Cancer Research Horizons.

The new association with Barclays Eagle Labs will offer further mentoring to the University-supported entrepreneurs as well as access to its Eagle Labs premises situated across the UK.

Seeking to add further value to the programme’s partnership with Cancer Research Horizons, Barclays Eagle Labs will support founders behind oncology-related startups and other health-related cohort companies, providing content and support via its network of more than 600 healthtech start ups, and also offer access to other specialst areas outside health as required.

Among the health-focused ventures involved in this year’s VBI is Less Grey, a triaging technology tool that will help prostate cancer patients; and Naela Technologies, developers of an improved form of vibrational spectroscope which enhances cancer detection.

Also participating in the programme is PallorMetrics, creators of new technology which can automatically measure pallor in routine retinal photographs, aiding disease detection, monitoring and progression.

Other start ups involved in this year’s programme include sustainability business Carbon Glance, which helps companies to control their exposure to carbon pricing and comply with climate-related disclosure obligations; DeepQA, developers of software testing hyperautomation which helps companies scale; and Eweper, a platform designed to aid farmers in recording sheep DNA information.

The full list of all this year’s 24 cohort companies can be found here.

Charlotte Waugh, Enterprise and Innovation Programme Lead at Edinburgh Innovations, said: “We are delighted to announce the new relationship between our Venture Builder Incubator and Barclays Eagle Labs. This will bring additional value to all of this year’s 24 participant companies and will build on our existing partnership with Cancer Research Horizons in supporting oncology-oriented ventures.

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“With the support of our partners, we look forward to supporting a range of innovative start up ventures which aim to address key societal issues around health and wellbeing, food production, financial accessibility, and the environment.” 

Helen Tate, HealthTech Lead at Barclays Eagle Labs added: “We are proud to become part of the University of Edinburgh’s Venture Builder Incubator. We look forward to offering support to all the businesses participating in this year’s programme through our business growth programmes, investor connectivity, mentoring and access to our UK-wide network of Barclays Eagle Labs.

“As an organisation nurturing a community of innovative HealthTech businesses, we also look forward to working with the University and Cancer Research Horizons to provide additional support for the health-focused entrepreneurs involved in the VBI programme.”

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