Member Article

University of Southampton’s latest startup talent to be unveiled at the Future Worlds Demo Day

Eight of the University of Southampton’s most promising startups will unveil technologies to make the world smarter, safer and more sustainable at the Future Worlds Demo Day this month (10th June).

The highly innovative and ambitious startups include an audio mixing and processing platform that brings an immersive audience experience to live audiences, award-winning chemistry research that closes the carbon loop in industrial chemicals, a student-led ‘data passport’ that gives users control over their personal data, and specialist health-tech to improve chronic disease management.

The group of the University’s most impressive talent has been working closely together through the Future Worlds Founders Cohort, an intensive programme accelerating startups from February until June.

Talented students and researchers from across the University won support from the startup accelerator, helping them to rapidly develop toward launch. In this Virtual Demo Day on 10th June, they will pitch to a network of high impact, early stage investors ready to help launch their ideas into a global market.

Ben Clark, Director of Future Worlds at the University at Southampton, said: “The founders pitching at Demo Day are addressing some of the biggest challenges and most exciting opportunities in the world. I’ve no doubt investors will be impressed by their bold visions, dedication and rapid progress, and be enticed by the world-changing potential they will discover.”

The Future Worlds Founders Cohort supports the next generation of Britain’s university talent and is free of charge for the founders.

The eight startups that have made it through the demanding stages of the Founders Cohort, selected from over 30 startups that applied to reach Demo Day, include:

o ViridiCO2 – A hybrid catalyst platform that efficiently and sustainably converts carbon dioxide into tailored chemical products. The novel CO2-mitigation solution can be used to more effectively produce tens of millions of tonnes of chemical products that find ubiquitous use in mattresses, clothing and building installations, while reducing CO2 emissions. Founded by Chemistry researchers Dr. Daniel Stewart and Professor Robert Raja, ViridiCO2 has been recognised by the Royal Society of Chemistry as a winner of its prestigious 2020 Emerging Technologies Competition. o CareIQ – A chronic disease management platform that makes care for chronic health conditions faster, cheaper and more transparent for patients and GPs. The new health analytics platform helps uncover clinical optimisations and tracks patient progress over long periods using existing patient data. It was created by Computer Science graduate Janu Shan and senior GP Dr. Pratheep Suntharamoorthy. o Stardust – A platform that enables direct, easy and secure data handling between people and companies. Created by Mathematics undergraduate Andrius Matsenas and Computer Science undergraduate Til Jordan, the venture gives users a better online experience while providing companies with an opportunity to access richer data and reduce data management costs. It’s aim is to give people more control over their data and privacy, helping them access richer data more securely. o Aquark Technologies – A breakthrough system to capture, manipulate and exploit the quantum characteristic of atoms. Founded by physicist Dr Andrei Dragomir, it promises to unlock a new generation of devices that will radically multiply our ability to sense, measure and compute on a mass-market scale. o ArchAI – AI software that helps large infrastructure construction companies avoid costly delays by sweeping for sites of historical interest that are hidden from the human eye, scanning thousands of satellite images for tiny hints of ancient features buried beneath the ground. It was developed by Computer Science postgraduate researcher, Iris Kramer. o Fourier Audio – An audio mixing and processing platform that brings an immersive audio experience to live audiences for the first time by reinventing the tools used by sound designers on live productions. Created by acoustical engineering postgraduate researcher, Henry Harrod, alongside multi-Olivier award-winning sound designer, Gareth Owen and lighting designer and software engineer, Peter Bridgman. o Sentient Sports – An algorithmic platform based on cutting-edge AI research that optimises the decision-making and scouting process for buying and selling football players. Founded by AI postgraduate researcher Ryan Beal, alongside Professor Gopal Ramchum and former Southampton PhD student, Tim Matthews, deployments through a leader in football analytics are providing revolutionary insights to major football teams across Europe. o OhmSpace – A highly innovative satellite propulsion system, characterised by extreme efficiency and production scalability, addresses an acute need in the rapidly growing small satellites market. Created by Research Fellow Dr. Federico Romei together with PhD candidates Matthew Robinson and Christopher Ogunlesi, the team is launching the next generation of satellite propulsion.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katherine Adams .