UCL Business Translational Funding

UCL Business Translational Funding

Offers UCL Business translational funding for teams turning research into market pilots.

UCL Business (UCLB) is University College London's technology transfer and commercialisation arm, administering a suite of translational funding instruments available exclusively to UCL researchers and UCL-derived intellectual property. The core offering comprises the Commercial Proof of Concept (POC) Fund — awarding up to £75,000 per project over 6–9 months — and the Social Ventures POC Fund, which provides up to £20,000 to UCL staff developing technology-enabled social-impact projects across learning, wellbeing, long-term condition management, AI/data solutions, and crime science. In addition, UCLB makes direct seed equity investments of up to £250,000 into promising UCL spinout companies that fall outside standard venture capital criteria.

At a larger scale, the UCL Technology Fund (UCLTF), managed by AlbionVC in collaboration with UCLB, offers three tracks: a POC track (up to £200,000, 6–9 months), a therapeutic licensing track (£500,000–£2,000,000), and a spinout equity track at seed or Series A up to £5,000,000. The fund targets life sciences, medtech, AI, and materials technologies emerging from UCL research. Apollo Therapeutics, an industry consortium in which UCLB participates, provides additional asset financing at pre-clinical and clinical stages, focused on oncology, inflammatory disorders, and rare diseases.

All UCLB translational funding operates on a rolling, continuous basis with no fixed annual call windows; eligibility is restricted to UCL staff, UCL researchers, or technologies derived from UCL IP. Applications are initiated by contacting a UCLB Business Manager, who sponsors proposals through an internal investment committee. External applicants cannot apply independently. The combined translational envelope — from £20,000 POC grants to £5,000,000 spinout equity — covers TRL 1 through approximately TRL 4, positioning UCLB as a first-money-in bridge between UCL lab output and external venture or licensing markets.