Enterprise Hub Liverpool launch
Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub
Transforming breakthrough engineering innovations into disruptive spinouts, startups and scaleups
We launched our latest regional hub in Liverpool this week, designed to support local engineering and technology innovators from across the North West region. Led by Ben McAlinden , the Enterprise Hub Liverpool is based at Central Tech, in the Knowledge Quarter, and marks our fifth location outside of London, alongside Belfast, Swansea, Glasgow and Newcastle.
National Spinout Register launched
The first publicly curated list of all spinout companies across the UK launched earlier this month. The National Register of Spinouts, developed by Research England in partnership with HESA: Higher Education Statistics Agency, is something we have been eagerly awaiting.
Further tangible change in the spinout landscape can only be achieved by increasing the amount of data available on UK spinouts. Our annual Spotlight on Spinouts report has been the Academy’s contribution to this so far. The publication of this spinout register now has real potential to provide consistency through a unified definition of spinouts, and public data to help inform important policy decisions impacting the UK spinout landscape.
Science and Technology VC Fellowship
We’re pleased to announce the second round of the Science and Technology Venture Capital Fellowship. A pioneering initiative designed to strengthen the UK’s capacity to invest in the next generation of science and tech breakthroughs.
The announcement was made by Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle at London Tech Week last week.
Delivered by the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub and Imperial Business School, this programme is developing a new wave of investors equipped to understand and support high-potential, high-impact ventures.
Applications for round two will open over the summer.
Programmes ✨
Explore opens soon
Applications for our exclusive alumni programme will open this Summer.
Explore supports up to five deep tech entrepreneurs to increase their visibility, connections and exposure to investment in new overseas markets. The mission will be to San Francisco, with a sector focus on AI and machine learning.
What's going on at the Hub? 👀
We now have a home on Bluesky. Follow us at @enterprisehub.raeng.org.uk as we explore this exciting new platform together. It’s a fresh space for ideas, conversation, and connection, and we’re excited to see how it evolves. Come say hi.
The Hub Summer Social
🗓️ Date: 26 June, 5.30pm to 8.30pm
📍 Location: Prince Philip House, London
Calling all Hub Members! Is the Summer Social in your calendar yet? On 26 June, we’re bringing together Hub Members, Leaders in Innovation Fellows, and Chairs in Emerging Technologies for an evening of conversations with the brightest minds in UK innovation.
This isn’t your standard networking event, it's an opportunity to come together with fellow founders and innovators. It’s a space to share stories, make meaningful connections, and celebrate the people powering progress.
Hub Members in the news 📰
Oxford Ionics hits unicorn status in $1.075B IonQ deal
Thomas Harty co-founder at Oxford Ionics and Shott Scale Up Accelerator alumnus, is celebrating a major milestone as the company reaches unicorn status following a landmark acquisition agreement with IonQ, valued at up to $1.075 billion.
This transformative deal brings together IonQ ’s scalable quantum computer and networking stack with Oxford Ionics’ world-leading ion-trap-on-a-chip technology. The combined strengths are set to accelerate the path to fault-tolerant quantum computing, with plans to build systems reaching 256 qubits by 2026 and scale to 2 million by 2030.
We’re proud to celebrate this moment for the UK quantum ecosystem, and excited to see Oxford Ionics continue to grow as a core part of the global quantum future.
Funding and deals 💹
External events/opportunities 💼
Cartier Women’s Initiative 2026 Cohort
🗓️ Application deadline: 24 June
The Cartier Women’s Initiative is now accepting applications for its 2026 cohort. This annual international entrepreneurship programme supports mission-driven women founders from any country and sector whose businesses create strong, sustainable social or environmental impact.
Selected fellows will receive:
Fintech Accelerator
🗓️ Application deadline: 24 June
Are you building the next big thing in fintech, AI, cybersecurity or health tech? The University of Warwick’s Fintech Accelerator is now recruiting ambitious founders ready to take their ventures to the next level.
What’s on offer: