Imperial startups pitch for investment at London Demo Day 2025

Four startups founded by Imperial students and alumni have pitched their businesses to an audience of investors at London Demo Day 2025.

"London Demo Day is a fantastic platform for our founders to share their ideas and ambitions with the investment community." Ben Mumby-Croft Director or Entrepreneurship at Imperial College London

The annual event, hosted this year by UCL at the UCL Institute of Education, is one of the capital’s biggest university entrepreneurship showcases, bringing together 20 of the most promising early-stage ventures from Imperial College London, UCL, LSE, King’s College London and Queen Mary University of London.

More than 700 guests – including investors, partners, students and alumni – attended the event, with founders seeking to raise between £100,000 and £2 million to accelerate their growth.

The ventures representing Imperial this year were:

• Fibe – developing textile fibres from potato harvest waste to create low-impact, scalable alternatives for fashion and interiors.
• Pyri – building early wildfire detection using heat-activated, biodegradable “PyriPods” that emit radio alerts detectable by nearby infrastructure for rapid response.
• PulpaTronics – creating metal- and chip-free paper RFID tags to cut cost and e-waste while remaining compatible with existing retail systems.
• Resting Reef – transforming human (and pet) ashes into memorial reef structures that restore marine habitats and store carbon.

The Imperial teams have all been supported by the Imperial Enterprise Lab and Undaunted – both ranked among the Financial Times Top 50 European Startup Hubs 2025. Together, they help students, alumni and researchers turn ideas into scalable businesses through flagship programmes such as the Venture Catalyst Challenge, The Greenhouse and WE Innovate, as well as funding opportunities, mentoring, and specialist support for climate and sustainability ventures.

A launchpad for growth

Since its launch in 2019, London Demo Day has showcased 105 teams, who have collectively raised more than £121 million in investment and created more than 570 jobs. The event offers founders the chance to connect directly with investors, partners and potential collaborators.

Ben Mumby-Croft, Director of Entrepreneurship at Imperial, said: "London Demo Day is a fantastic platform for our founders to share their ideas and ambitions with the investment community. It’s always inspiring to see Imperial teams, alongside other London universities, demonstrating the strength of entrepreneurship across the capital."

Collaboration across London

London Demo Day rotates between the partner universities each year. This year’s event was hosted by UCL and sponsored by Double Dutch - a drinks mixer business founded by UCL alumni and now stocked in more than 45 countries.

The evening also included a networking reception and startup showcase, giving investors and guests the chance to meet the founders behind the ventures.

More information on Imperial’s Enterprise support for staff and students can be found here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/enterprise/.