Key Facts
- Imperial has a greater proportion of world-leading research than any other UK university (REF 2021).
- Imperial’s startups and spinouts have raised over £1bn in the past five years, directly contributing to 5,500 jobs in 2024/25 alone (Enterprise Metrics 2024/25).
- Companies graduating from the Imperial Incubator have an 82% survival rate three years after graduating, compared to the average of 53% across the UK.
For every defining political challenge - on growth and competitiveness, security, healthcare and public
service delivery - the government's long-term success depends on science, research and innovation. As the UK seeks to raise long-term productivity, deliver sustainable economic growth and strengthen national security, research-intensive universities can make critical contributions at the local, national and global level.
Imperial researchers and entrepreneurs create substantial economic impact, supporting growth and employment across the country. Our UK Impact Map demonstrates how research-led innovation generates economic activity, enhances quality of life, and creates jobs nationwide.
- Founded on research from Imperial and the Francis Crick Institute, Myricx Bio is a spinout that has developed breakthrough technology for the delivery of cancer therapeutics. Only founded in 2019, Myricx Bio closed a £90m Series A funding round in July 2024, representing one of the largest Series A funding rounds of all time by a European biotechnology company. In June 2026, a deal was agreed with Novartis for the acquisition of Myricx Bio for up to $1.5bn.
- Two Imperial alumni-founded companies, Airhive and Mission Zero Technologies, have partnered to build the UK’s first direct air carbon capture plant in Teesside, on the Wilton Industrial Site that used to be home to BP and ICI. Called UnionDAC, the facility will aim to remove 20,000 tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030, scaling to 60,000 tonnes per year by 2032
- Founded by Imperial academics, Ceres Power grew from an Imperial spinout founded to develop fuel cell research to one of the UK’s leading clean technology companies with Innovation Centres across Surrey, Sussex and Warwickshire. Ceres is listed on the London Stock Exchange, receiving a record order intake of £112m in 2024, and in turn is now investing in partnerships with other university spinouts.
- Co-founded by four Imperial graduates, Ponda has created a product called BioPuff which is a plant-based fibre that can be used as an alternative to goose-down or synthetics. Headquartered in Bristol and with a manufacturing facility in Scotland, Ponda's agricultural practices are focused on regenerating the environment with projects in North Berwick and Cambridgeshire.
These successes are made possible by a funding landscape that supports excellence-driven research and innovation.
- QR funding enables strategic, long-term research, supports emerging talent, and underpins world-class discovery - making it a model admired globally.
- HEIF provides essential support for commercialisation, entrepreneurship, and start-up incubation - fuelling key Imperial entrepreneurial initiatives like the Enterprise Lab and Advanced Hackspace.