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The finale of this year’s WE Innovate programme at Imperial, London took place on Thursday 5 June co-hosted by Imperial Enterprise Lab and Queen’s University Belfast. The event was attended by Anne Todd, Madni Chaudhary and Moya Smith.
As a signatory to the Investing in Women Code, which aims to improve female entrepreneurs’ access to funding and resources, Michelmores is delighted to sponsor WE Innovate for a second year. We recap on the Grand Final, spotlight the winners, and share our commitment to supporting female entrepreneurs.
WE Innovate
Launched in 2014[1], WE Innovate is Imperial’s flagship pre‑incubator designed to close the stark gender gap for female founders, enabling women to grow, lead, and thrive as founders. Over £40 million has already been raised by WE Innovate’s female founders since the programme started.
This year Queen’s University Belfast has partnered with Imperial to extend WE Innovate to yet more female founders. In the coming year the programme will expand to Swansea University, Durham University, and the University of Glasgow with masterclasses in coaching, mentoring, and a prize fund to enable 175 female founder teams to benefit. Other universities will come on-stream in future years.
Judging panel
This year’s finalists had the opportunity to present their ventures to a distinguished panel of industry leaders and innovators. The panel comprised:
- Alexsis de Raadt St James, Founder and Managing Partner at Merian Ventures, and the original founder of WE Innovate.
- Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser DBE FRS, Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), bringing extensive insight into scientific and innovation policy.
- June Angelides MBE, Venture Partner at Samos Investments and founder of Levare Ventures, with a strong focus on supporting underrepresented founders.
- Erika Brodnock MBE, entrepreneur, angel investor, and co-founder of Kinhub, an AI-driven coaching platform promoting mental wellbeing and workplace equity.
- Nigel Toon, co-founder of technology company Graphcore and author of How AI Thinks, offering expertise in AI and deep tech entrepreneurship.
Dame Alison Rose DBE, the former CEO of NatWest Group and author of the UK Government’s 2019 Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, gave an inspiring key note speech. She congratulated the incredible contribution of Imperial London’s WE Innovate programme over the past 11 years, and was delighted that the programme is extending across the UK. She explained the funding gap encountered by women entrepreneurs identified in the review she led remains stark: according to the BVCA’s 2024 report only 3% of venture capital funding goes to women[2]. Dame Alison advised that more support is needed for female entrepreneurs to break down barriers, as this will not only benefit female founders but ultimately bring a substantial economic boost for the UK. Having witnessed the wealth of talent and innovation at the WE Innovate 2025 Grand Final, we agree wholeheartedly.
WE Innovate 2025 Grand Final
The final brought teams from Imperial and Queen’s University Belfast together, each pitching innovative solutions to meet a diverse range of needs including in the fields of health solutions and medical devices, crowd and event security, sustainable agriculture and apparel.
The winners were:
- Winner from Imperial London – Muju Earth: Awarded the top prize of £15,000, along with a £3,000 MiVentures legal advice support package sponsored by Michelmores, Muju Earth’s product Aeropod offers a climate-smart solution for sustainable agriculture. These biodegradable, nature-activated capsules are 100% organic and designed to autonomously aerate and enrich soil throughout the season, improving yields and reducing the need for chemical inputs. Learn more about Aeropod.
- Winner from Queen’s University Belfast – Dainty Grace: Also receiving a £15,000 prize, Dainty Grace is transforming the lingerie market with a commitment to inclusive sizing and better support for small-chested women. By rejecting the outdated notion that small automatically means AA, A, or B cups, the startup introduces a more accurate sizing model. It provides both improved fit and a brand mission focused on empowerment, education, and body confidence. Learn more about Dainty Grace.
The runners-up from Imperial London and their prizes were:
- 2nd Place – Sekhmet (£7,000): A patented “super-plaster” engineered to significantly accelerate wound healing, offering a novel approach to tissue repair. Learn more about Sekhmet.
- 3rd Place – LunaBio (£5,000): A continuous hormone monitoring platform tailored to support women undergoing IVF, enabling more personalised and informed reproductive care. Learn more about LunaBio.
- 4th Place – ClearXview (£1,500): An orthopaedic diagnostics startup using AI to enhance routine 2D X-rays into detailed images comparable to 3D CT scans. This helps enable earlier detection of knee osteoarthritis, reduce misdiagnosis, and improve patient care through faster and cost-effective diagnostics. Learn more about ClearXview.
- 5th Place – Reporti (£1,500): A real-time communication tool that connects live-event crowds with security and medical teams, enhancing public safety at scale. Learn more about Reporti.
The runners-up from Queen’s University Belfast and their prizes were:
- 2nd Place – RoutineRoo (£7,000): An AI-powered routine assistant that transforms daily tasks into engaging storyboards using personalised avatars and visual cues. It supports children, especially those with additional needs, by reducing stress, building independence, and making routines enjoyable. Learn more about RoutineRoo.
- 3rd Place – Innovascope (£5,000): A simulation-based training solution for endoscopy, offering a safe, scalable method to upskill healthcare professionals. Learn more about Innovascope.
- 4th Place – Iaso Solutions (£1,500): A mental healthcare recovery platform focused on bridging the gap between patients and practitioners, delivering accessible, evidence-based support for treatment using psychedelics, innovation, and music. Learn more about Iaso Solutions.
- 5th Place – SeeMe (£1,500): An AI-enabled personal archive platform, designed to preserve and share memories through secure, digital storytelling. Learn more about SeeMe.
Spotlight on Aeropod
Healthy soil is critical to food production and wider ecosystems. Unfortunately, many years of intensive agriculture has resulted in degraded soil. This strains farmland and reduces productivity. In the UK over four million hectares of agricultural land is considered at risk due to soil degradation.
Muju Earth through its product, Aeropod, have designed biodegradable capsules to aerate soil and release nutrients that can enhance microbial activity and restore oxygen flow. Planted once per season, the capsules operate without additional machinery or labour, integrating into existing farming routines. Data suggests aeration may support increased crop yields by as much as 30%. Aeropods offer a low disruption method to improve soil quality, which is of particular importance to farmers and landowners.
Michelmores works closely with clients across the agricultural sector, many of whom are navigating the transition towards more sustainable land management practices. Innovations like Aeropod present practical opportunities for the sector to adopt sustainable and productivity increasing technologies.
How Michelmores can help your startup
The WE Innovate 2025 Grand Final highlights the transformative potential of women-led ventures. Michelmores is proud to support founders like the team behind Aeropod and the WE Innovate 2024 winners Sealeo, providing the legal foundation that is essential to turn innovation into long-term success.
Though our award-winning MiVentures programme of support specially designed for entrepreneurs and growing ventures we offer practical legal support and mentoring across the full lifecycle of a growing venture. Our expertise includes:
- IP strategy and protection to secure innovation from the outset.
- Commercial support from drafting terms and conditions to scaling internationally.
- Sector-specific expertise including in Technology & Innovation, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Energy
- Advising on founders’ agreements and company law.
- Regulatory guidance and Data Protection.
- Employment and immigration advice to ensure teams can recruit and retain the talent needed to scale-up.
- Advice on EIS and SEIS schemes
- Advice on venture capital and fund-raising.
If you are scaling your business and are looking for trusted legal advice, we invite you to get in touch to find out how Michelmores can support your journey.
[1] Formerly known as the Althea
[2] BVCA-Venture-Capital-in-the-UK-Report-2024.pdf
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