The ATI Boeing Accelerator welcomes 10 companies this week to its second three-month programme, providing startups access to leading industry strategists and technical experts, a global mentoring network and a Boeing investment.
They join the companies from the first cohort, which have raised £6.3 million additional investment and created more than 30 jobs, and gone on to partner with businesses including Rolls-Royce and Chevron Technology Ventures.
The startups for the second cohort were selected from nearly 200 applications in more than 40 countries and locations ranging from Inverness and Hull to Germany and Australia. Companies were selected based on criteria emphasising sustainability-enabling technologies.
The virtual programme opens this week with Boeing leaders, including Chris Raymond, Boeing’s Chief Sustainability Officer, and experts from the UK and around the world hosting mentoring sessions and discussions with the startups.
“We are delighted to welcome 10 new startups to this important partnership with the ATI,” said Sir Martin Donnelly, president of Boeing Europe and managing director of Boeing in the UK and Ireland. “The first cohort demonstrated the depth and breadth of the UK’s innovation ecosystem, and we now look forward to understanding and working with another 10 startups on the ideas that will help our industry create a more safe and sustainable future.”
The accelerator was created in partnership by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and Boeing HorizonX Global Ventures, and is delivered by European accelerator Ignite. GKN Aerospace is the programme’s corporate sponsor and Rolls-Royce recently joined as a programme partner. The first cohort was in-person in London and concluded just as Covid-related travel restrictions were beginning.
“We’re thrilled to be leading this programme again with ATI, especially given the focus on sustainability,” said Brian Schettler, senior managing director of Boeing HorizonX Global Ventures. “Boeing is committed to developing innovative technologies and solutions that allow for safe and sustainable air travel for generations to come, but it takes partnerships and collaboration like this to be successful. Given the success of the first cohort, I’m confident that we will again work together with these startups and programme partners to address our industry’s most critical issues.”
The startups benefit from a £100,000 equity investment from Boeing HorizonX Global Ventures and access to ATI, Boeing, GKN Aerospace and Rolls-Royce strategists and technical experts. Mentoring is available from a global network of experienced entrepreneurs, mentors and investors, and introductions will be made to the programme’s network of angel investors, venture capital firms and the wider aerospace industry.
The startups in the second cohort come from three continents, 40 percent are female and minority ethnic founded, 40 percent are first-time founders, 40 percent are from outside the aerospace industry and 20 percent are re-applicants. Six of the startups are sustainability-focused, 20 percent are specialised in industry 4.0 and 20 percent are in the energy sector. Collectively they have raised nearly £13 million to date, with 20 percent at pre-seed stage (bootstrapped or grant funded), 40 percent at seed stage and 30 percent beyond seed stage.
The 10 startups in the programme are:
- Ai Build (London, UK) Has developed an AI-powered software platform that delivers the world’s fastest and most reliable large-scale additive manufacturing
- AireXpert (Buffalo & Minneapolis, US) Enables real-time collaboration tools for airlines and other aircraft operators to reduce delays, lower labour and operating costs and reduce compliance risk
- Datch (San Francisco, US) An intelligent voice AI for industry, enabling frontline workers to capture system information using voice in real time and intelligently integrating into company databases
- HiiROC (Hull, UK) Unique and innovative plasma technology enables a low cost and low emission process for synthetic fuel and hydrogen generation
- Makersite (Munich, Germany) A cloud-based product management platform that uses artificial intelligence and graph technologies to understand and improve products from the perspective of their regulatory compliance, environmental impact, supply risk and cost of production
- MIME Technologies (Edinburgh & Inverness, UK) Remote medical software to support inflight medical events and emergencies, specifically designed for altitude
- Phycobloom (London, UK) Using synthetic biology to reduce the cost of algae biofuels by forcing them to secrete their oil where it can be cheaply collected
- Productive Machines (Sheffield, UK) Delivers software that maximises sustainability of machining processes by reducing costs, eliminating waste and improving productivity
- SensaWeb (Queensland, Australia) Real-time radiation monitoring solution
- Signol (London, UK) The world’s first software to use behavioural science to reduce airlines’ greenhouse gas emissions and increase profits and job satisfaction
