Innovate UK

Innovate UK is a non-departmental public body established in 2007 and based in Swindon, United Kingdom. Funded by a government grant, it supports innovation in science and technology by providing funding services to businesses across various sectors and regions. The organization aims to drive productivity and economic growth by facilitating advancements that contribute to the UK’s economic landscape. In addition to funding, Innovate UK offers a range of services and information related to business and economic development, thereby fostering a supportive environment for innovation.

Mike Biddle

Programme Director of Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

Will Drury

Executive Director, Digital and Technologies

Paul Gadd

Deputy Director

Dr. Tom Jenkins

Deputy Director

Scott James O'Brien

Director, Innovation Finance

Nigel Walker

Deputy Director, Lending and Investor Partnerships

Dave Wilkes

Director of Innovation Ecosystem

Past deals in Laser

Q5D

Debt Financing in 2025
Q5D is an innovative company that specializes in automating the manufacture and assembly of wiring looms and harnesses across various industrial sectors. By developing advanced laser micromachining technology, Q5D streamlines the intricate process of connecting electrical components. This technology enhances global manufacturing capabilities, particularly in consumer goods, electronics, automotive, aerospace, and robotics. By enabling the direct addition of wires and printed electronics to product surfaces, Q5D improves quality, productivity, and functionality while reducing manufacturing costs. As a result, the company provides its clients with a significant advantage in achieving efficiency, resilience, and sustainability in their operations.

Vector Photonics

Grant in 2024
Vector Photonics is a spin-out company from the University of Glasgow, located in Glasgow, Scotland, a notable center for optical and photonics innovation. The company specializes in developing advanced semiconductor laser technology aimed at enhancing data communications and additive manufacturing processes, including metal and plastic printing. Its innovative approach centers on photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers, which are cost-effective and emit light from their top surface, similar to vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). This design facilitates easy packaging and integration into printed circuit boards (PCBs) and electronic assemblies, allowing various industries to seamlessly adopt this semiconductor laser technology into their operations.

Q5D

Grant in 2024
Q5D is an innovative company that specializes in automating the manufacture and assembly of wiring looms and harnesses across various industrial sectors. By developing advanced laser micromachining technology, Q5D streamlines the intricate process of connecting electrical components. This technology enhances global manufacturing capabilities, particularly in consumer goods, electronics, automotive, aerospace, and robotics. By enabling the direct addition of wires and printed electronics to product surfaces, Q5D improves quality, productivity, and functionality while reducing manufacturing costs. As a result, the company provides its clients with a significant advantage in achieving efficiency, resilience, and sustainability in their operations.

Loop Technology

Seed Round in 2023
Loop Technology specializes in industrial automation solutions and robotics, focusing on enhancing output and ensuring consistent product quality. The company offers a diverse array of services, including labeling, machining, bespoke solutions, assembly, and laser cleaning. Additionally, Loop Technology supports industries such as aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy by providing high-value manufacturing automation technology. Their offerings also include a loop leasing program, vision systems, and software development, catering to the increasing demand for composite materials in manufacturing processes. Loop Technology aims to streamline production and improve efficiency across various sectors.

Skylark Lasers

Grant in 2023
Skylark Lasers is a photonics company that specializes in the development and production of continuous wave (CW) single frequency diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers. Utilizing its proprietary BRaMMS Technology® platform, the company offers lasers known for their exceptional spectral performance and high output power. Skylark Lasers serves a diverse clientele across various industrial and scientific fields, providing solutions for applications such as microchip inspection, quantum sensing, metrology, avionics, wind power generation, defense, financial data servers, and biomedical research. The compact design of Skylark's NX lasers enables customers to reveal the unseen, detect the invisible, and measure the unknown effectively.

Datalase

Grant in 2021
Datalase Ltd. specializes in developing materials for laser coding and marking across various industries, including pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, electronics, cosmetics, and tobacco. The company's innovative ink solutions enable high-speed, in-line digital printing, allowing for the customization of packaging with variable information such as date and lot codes, barcodes, and graphics. Datalase's proprietary technology is designed for use on outercases, products, and primary packaging, enhancing quality and operational efficiency for brand owners. The company operates through a partner network in Europe, the United States, and Asia, and has established strategic partnerships with key industry players. Founded in 1987 and based in Widnes, United Kingdom, Datalase was previously known as Sherwood Technology Ltd. before rebranding in 2006.

Oxford Endovascular

Grant in 2020
Oxford Endovascular is focused on developing an innovative medical device for the treatment of brain aneurysms. The company's technology employs a laser-cut metal alloy with shape-memory properties, which can be inserted into a patient's brain via a catheter. Once in place, the device expands into a tiny mesh tube, known as a flow diverter, that conforms to the natural shape of the blood vessel. This design effectively diverts blood flow away from the aneurysm, facilitating its healing and reducing the risk of rupture. By utilizing advanced origami engineering, Oxford Endovascular aims to enhance patient outcomes and improve survival rates for those affected by intracranial aneurysms.

Oxa

Grant in 2017
Oxa is a developer of autonomous vehicle software that focuses on creating AI-based platforms for the operation and scaling of fleets of autonomous vehicles. The company's technology combines laser vision and radar for effective localization, allowing autonomous systems to understand their surroundings and navigate safely in complex environments. Oxa's software is designed to operate with low compute power requirements, making it accessible for various business applications. By providing solutions that enhance vehicle positioning and movement prediction, Oxa enables clients to implement and accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicles in a range of settings.
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