Plexal

We held our first joint Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR) event yesterday, as Plexal and our fellow LASR delivery partners commenced work to bring together industry, academia and HMG experts to seize the benefits and opportunities of AI for UK national security. At a dedicated space, Plexal will bring organisations together to collaborate on AI security innovation, engaging with private industry and addressing emerging security needs driven by increasing AI adoption by connecting innovation with policy requirements to support commercialisation of these solutions. Saj Huq, CCO and Head of Innovation at Plexal, said: “AI adoption presents tremendous economic and societal opportunities, but we must be mindful of threats emerging. Through this world-class LASR partnership, Plexal will drive the development and commercialisation of breakthrough solutions to enhance resilience of public and private sectors, creating growth vectors for the UK’s tech ecosystem.” Read on for full details about our LASR role and what to expect from the other partners including University of Oxford, The Alan Turing Institute and Queen's University Belfast 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eujh_HwC Be sure to get in touch if you're interested in engaging with us ⌨️ Holly Smith | Andrew Roughan | Bernadette M. | Lucy Coutts | Diane Gilbert | William Gurney | Lisa Perkins | Darren Lewis | James Leeke | #AISecurity #AI #ArtificialIntelligence | #Startups | #Tech | #Technology |

In summer, Plexal raised the curtain on the inaugural Airbus Space Accelerator, delivered in partnership with Airbus Defence and Space as a component of the Airbus Community for Space Prosperity initiative focused on UK space ecosystem development 🛰️ Our cohort represented a diverse range of regions, technology maturity levels and growth stages, while the smallest company selected had just two employees and the largest employing more than 150 people. 🗣️ Having overseen programme delivery of the Airbus Space Accelerator, Lou-Davina Stouffs, Innovation Lead at Plexal, said: “The space sector is vital for advancing the UK’s position as a global leader in innovation, enabling groundbreaking solutions that benefit industries far beyond space. That’s why we’re so proud of the achievements of the first Airbus Space Accelerator cohort." Read on here for a programme breakdown, what innovations the companies are working and their accomplishments 🚀 https://lnkd.in/dfAkte3u ANGOKA | Applied Atomics | Aquark Technologies | BioOrbit | Calnex Solutions | D-RisQ Ltd | LIA Aerospace | Magdrive | Yondar | Vanessa Viney | Simon Rose | Andrew Roughan | Saj Huq | Dave Rowley | Bruno Sussat | Naia P. | #AirbusSpaceAccelerator | #Space | #Spacetech | #Defence | #NationalSecurity | #Innovation | #Startups | #BusinessGrowth | #ScalingUp

Lots of amazing things have happened with Diverse Made Media this year and as I reflect on just what we've done, it's great to see how, through the help of some fantastic clients and partners, we've been able to do so many of the things that we set out at the start of 2024. From developing our industry-leading camera system 'Caerus' and launching it at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June, working on some fantastic projects including the Channel 4 Paralympic Homecoming concert in Birmingham, a TV commercial for Motability, a podcast series for Aerobility, exciting research films for the Global Disability Innovation Hub at UCL and Lancaster University, through to an amazing event for Stella Howard with Rosie Jones, and last but certainly not least, having the privilege of documenting the launch and work of the fabulous Chloe Davies from It Takes A Village Collective This has enabled us to develop the business in to new and exciting territory and I'm very happy to share that we have just moved into our first dedicated offices at Plexal in London, where we have a multi-purpose facility including our new editing suite and a range of spaces for filming and working with many of our freelance team. At the same time we have just launched our new website at www.diversemade.com so if you fancy learning a little more about how we can bring some first class film content into your project, check it out when you get a chance.

Could your product help protect the UK? Make your mission matter with the SIS Technology Challenge 🔒🇬🇧 Last year, Plexal announced a key partnership with the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) – also known as MI6 – as part of the SIS Technology Challenge. SIS wants to discover creative, interesting and novel solutions for a series of technology challenges. Aiming to take advantage of a thriving science and technology ecosystem, SIS recognises the opportunities this presents for national security, with the support of Plexal’s experience creating collaborative ecosystems across the private-public sectors.  This opportunity is designed to encourage non-traditional suppliers to work in the national security space, including startups, SMEs, industry, academia and research institutions with solutions that can be applied to specific challenge areas. Visit our website for full information on how you can get involved 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eJFuCdxu #NationalSecurity | #ScienceAndTechnology | #Startups | #SMEs | #Academia | #EmergingTechnology | #AI | #ML | #CyberSecurity

🎁 We're excited to bring you an early Christmas gift... with so much demand for our Product Builder and Product Growth programmes in partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs, we've begun the search for our next cohorts ahead of schedule! 💡 Product Builder Programme is designed to fit around the busy lives of idea-stage entrepreneurs, teaching you how to validate digital product ideas and then develop, test and evolve it using customer feedback. Apply here 🗳️ https://lnkd.in/dVssEwTb 🌱 Product Growth Programme supports startups with innovative digital products and technologies in your pursuit of product-market fit, covering everything from securing funding runway to accessing high growth target markets. Apply here 🗳️ https://lnkd.in/eqBqaXQw If chosen for one of our programmes, you'll successfully enter the diverse and ambitious Plexal community of over 1,270 companies making significant impact, having collectively generated over 9,400 jobs! 💥 Emma Marshall | Joe Howard | Charlotte West | Alliah Rust | Mina Begum | Harry Baker | Amanda Allan | Rouya Mardani | #ProductBuilderProgramme | #ProductGrowthProgramme | #BusinessGrowth | #Entrepreneurship |

“We believe physical workplaces will always be critical to act as magnets that bring people together to collaborate.” 💭 We sat down with Plexal CEO Andrew Roughan to hear more about the collaborative ecosystem that Plexal is building and what the future may hold for physical workplaces. To learn more, Andrew discussed: 💻 Why are inclusive physical workplaces so critical in a digital world? ⚡ How does workplace design impact collaboration and productivity? 👥 How does Plexal’s design bring innovators and entrepreneurs together? 🤝 Why is it important for workplaces to integrate within the wider ecosystem? 🌱 How can modern workplaces support well-being as well as focused work? 🔎 What might the future of the physical workspace look like? Find out how Plexal is designing the workplaces of tomorrow ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g2iS4MwJ

Great to host the Commercial X team as well as wider MoD stakeholders and showcase 4 fantastic SMEs (Aktyvus Photonics Sentinel Photonics Raptor Photonics Ltd AVoptics) earlier this week. Closing the gap between end-user and supplier, whilst expediting Defence's procurement process is at the heart of Plexal's ethos! Get in touch if you would like to learn more. Mike Blair Johanne Moreau Dave Rowley Saj Huq Jessica Moffatt-Owen Andrew Roughan Zen Terrelonge

We've just wrapped up our third Venture Creator programme – part of the Future Industries Demonstrator from SHIFT – during which we supported companies operating in the food space to acknowledge real problems East London citizens face. 💬 Our Innovation Associate, Rose Fitzgerald, said: "Sustainable innovation is important to Plexal but also to me personally. In terms of our food challenge with SHIFT, we recognise that food shapes the health of our communities and planet. "Rising food insecurity and the cost-of-living crisis are deepening inequality in London and globally. By improving access to healthy and sustainable food, fostering inclusion and reducing diet-related inequalities, we can enhance London’s food sovereignty and create a long-term shift in food culture in line with the strategic objectives of the national food strategy. "Having worked with the leaders of five inspiring companies that formed our Venture Creator cohort over the past eight weeks, I'm excited to see where their work will lead them to next and look forward to seeing the positive impacts their businesses will have on the communities and environment of London." Congratulations to Carib Eats, East London Mushroom Collective, Made Sweetly, SAGES and Sitopia Farm on your successful programme completion! 👏 Russell Gundry | Tom Horner | Ali K. | Michael Haskamp (何敏行) | Courtney Plumb | Alicia Graham, PhD | Chloe Dunnett | #VentureBuild | #Sustainability | #FoodBusiness | #Foodtech | #CostOfLiving | #Innovation | #Collaboration

Was a privilege to be one of the Innovation coaches on the Airbus Space Accelerator - definitely one of the highlights of my year! Huge thanks to Plexal for all their support. Super proud of all the 9 SMEs that took part. I eagerly anticipate the positive impact they will have on the UK Space Ecosystem. 🛰️🚀

Thanks for having me along Plexal + team. It was great to share some of the learnings/mistakes we've had on the journey so far. Nearly 4.5 years - that's a lot of cock-ups and pitfalls discovered. Great group of founders, all of whom are building businesses that deliver meaningful value (great to catch up about Scoutifi afterwards Ben Wilkinson - If you're an Accelerator Programme looking to track cohort impact year after year, give him a shout!) Borrowing from Joe Howard's notes (great interviewer, definitely puts you at ease and asks probing questions!) 📊 We started as an Excel spreadsheet, using a glorified Ctrl + F + algo to help founders get investor information that we collected ourselves (do things that don't scale). This MVP was revenue generating! 🏆 One of our first customers became an investor—a testament to the value he saw. We've also successfully used shipshape.vc to raise for ourselves! 🚀 While they hoped to extend the life of their MVP, an Innovate UK grant forced them to effectively 10x their spending. They had to pause operations and focus on building the product 🤝 Hiring a technical team is tough. Don’t hesitate to let people go if the cultural fit isn’t right, but support technical learning from mistakes. 👨💻Seek input from a trusted technical expert when crafting a job description. You can start by using an LLM to draft it - outline the problem your company solves, the tech stack you use, and the role's key responsibilities. Then, have your draft reviewed and refined by someone with technical expertise to ensure clarity and accuracy. 💰 Pricing strategies aren’t straightforward—expect to iterate as you learn more about your customers. 🎯 Work with customer behaviour - 9 out of 10 times, you won’t change customer behaviours. Focus on providing value within their existing patterns. 📉 Daniel also highlighted a critical macroeconomic trend: when interest rates are high, capital often flows back to traditional financial products like stocks and bonds etc—leaving less for the innovation economy. Founders need to be more strategic than ever when fundraising in these environments. Also a shout out to Scribe from Rob Cossins as being a non-cost prohibitive way to find UK Angels from Companies House data. #capitalraising #startups #fundraising #founders #venturecapital #investors #vc #vcfunding #technology #startup #tech