The most promising entrepreneurs from across London’s top universities pitched their startups to investors at London Demo Day 2025, hosted by UCL.
The annual event, which took place yesterday at the UCL Institute of Education, brought together investors and the most promising startups from UCL, the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE), King’s College London, Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London.
Four early-growth stage ventures from UCL joined 16 others in pitching to an audience of over 700 guests, including investors, partners, students and alumni, each hoping to raise between £100,000 and £2 million.
The startups, all developed by current students or recent graduates from the five universities, spanned diverse industries including health, digital, finance, consumer and environment.
The four startups representing UCL this year were:
- Gutsee Health , co-founded by Dr Joanna Wiecek (Microbiology and Molecular Biology, 2015) and Dr Ketaki Mhatre - a business that uses cutting-edge molecular biology and AI to transform the treatment of gut disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome.
- Consus Energy, founded by William Moore (Geography 2025) - a startup that’s transforming rental properties into renewable power stations, using in-unit batteries, bulk green energy contracts, and edge-cloud AI, helping landlords unlock new revenue and slash tenants’ bills while hitting sustainability targets.
- eNOugh, a startup that’s on a mission to solve the problem of lack of safety when walking alone at night with an AI protection badge. The brainchild of Ina Jovicic (MSc Entrepreneurship, 2022) and Gaelic Jara Reinhold (Electrical and Electronics Engineering, 2023), the eNOugh badge detects if there’s a threat and contacts the police to send help.
- Jade Snow Medical, a startup that makes 3D-printed anatomical models for neurosurgical training, founded by current PhD Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering student Jia-En Danny Chen.
The four UCL startups featured this year have all been supported as part of the Hatchery incubator programme at BaseKX, UCL’s dedicated entrepreneurship hub in King’s Cross, managed by UCL Innovation & Enterprise.
Here they’ve received free training, mentorship and equity-free office space as well as masterclasses, clinics and competitions to fast-track their success and prepare them for investment.
UCL alumna Dr Joanna Wiecek said:"Pitching at London Demo Day is an incredible opportunity to showcase GutSee Health to investors, partners, and fellow innovators from across the UK and beyond. It’s a rare opportunity to share our vision for tackling gut disorders with innovative precision therapeutics, with the very people who can help us turn it into real-world impact.
"The support from UCL Innovation & Enterprise, particularly through the Hatchery Incubator programme at BaseKX, has been instrumental, from sharpening our business model to connecting us with a network of advisors and collaborators who’ve helped us move faster and think bigger. This experience has been transformative for both me and the business."
London Demo Day is one of the biggest events in the university’s calendars. Since 2019, 105 innovative teams have taken to the stage as part of the annual event. To date, they have collectively raised over £121 million and employ 578 people.
Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement), who welcomed delegates to the event, said: "London Demo Day is always such a fantastic event and we’re proud to host it this year at UCL. It’s an incredible opportunity for our entrepreneurs. It gives us a chance to hear from our most innovative startups, and opens up opportunities for them to connect with investors and get their ideas out to a much wider audience, building on the impact they’re already having on the world.
"Since the first London Demo Day, several UCL startups have gone on to attract significant investment as a result of the contacts they’ve made. I’m excited to see what’s next for the four businesses who pitched this year."
This year’s pitch session was followed by a networking drinks reception and an opportunity for the founders to exhibit their startups.
UCL has a thriving entrepreneurial community, with 527 active student startups. Between them, the businesses have raised £100m in external investment and currently employ 1,900 people (HEBCI 2023/24).
This year’s London Demo Day was hosted by UCL, in the same year we celebrate 10 years of supporting UCL’s inspiring entrepreneurial community at BaseKX.
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