The Central Research Laboratory ’ s ( CRL ) 2021 Accelerator Programme has started – Europe ’ s only business support programme for hardware start-ups . Over six weeks , an expanded cohort of 17 ventures will partake in the introductory stage of the CRL , after which six outstanding ventures will be selected to complete the full six-month programme until November 2021 .
With a focus on hardware development and innovation ,
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CRL ’ s world-leading programme provides practical handson experience , product development , engineering and testing support . Nine out of ten start-ups fail worldwide , however , alumni of the CRL have an 80 % survival rate .
First stage members include : Kouo – headphones that measure neural activity to track mental health in an accessible app , Lava – a portable washing machine aimed at students that significantly reduces water usage by filtering and recycling shower water and Project Stealth Tech – a wearable mouthpiece that could replace the standard blood test by continuously monitoring saliva for biomarkers of fatigue , even early cancer diagnosis .
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Tech Nation , a leading growth platform for UK tech companies , has released new data on the growth of the AI tech ecosystem in the UK .
New data reveals the huge growth achieved in the UK ’ s AI sector over the past ten years . The UK is now home to over 1,300 AI companies , up from only 180 companies in 2011 , representing a 600 % increase . AI companies are scaling across all regions of the UK , with 50 % of the UK ’ s top 10 scaling AI companies outside of London .
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The UK ’ s major AI hubs include Cambridge and Edinburgh . Not only are the UK ’ s scaling AI companies driving growth across the UK economy , with prevalence in FinTech ( 10 %), cyber ( 5 %) and healthtech ( 4.5 %), the AI sector is also an important engine of growth , with a collective valuation of US $ 46.3 billion ( up from US $ 1.6 billion in 2011 ), turnover of almost US $ 2 billion and employing almost 30,000 people across all regions of the UK . |
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