Frontier Tech Across Borders: Closed-Door London Final Pitch
Frontier Tech Across Borders
The London Final
A closed-door pitching contest for founders building in frontier AI, deep infrastructure, bioscience and defence technology. Ten finalists pitch live in front of an international panel of investors and partners, including the winner of the October online heat.
Thursday 12 November, 6:00 to 9:00pm. Investors and founders only. Attendance is by invitation and curation. The session is closed to the public.
Apply to pitch: APPLY
Applications close on 31 October at midnight. Ten finalists are selected from the applications and contacted directly.
The venue
The final takes place at 1 Great St Helen's, Elementa Workspace's recently reopened flagship building in the City of London, five minutes from Liverpool Street. Pitches run in the first-floor conference space, with networking drinks to follow.
Who should apply
Seed, Series A or Series B+ with solid traction
Early institutional or VC backing
Building in frontier AI, deep infrastructure, bioscience or defence technology
Cross-border ambition
Founders join by pitching only. There is no observer seat. Applications: APPLY
Format
Ten finalists selected from the applications
Four minute pitch and three minutes of questions, closed room
An international panel of investors and partners scores each pitch live
Winners announced by category on the night
Investors wishing to attend can request an invite on this page. Partners and investors interested in a judging seat or broader involvement: investors@sclrlabs.com
The judging panel
Jeff Jiang, Investor, Seraphim Space
Jeff is an investor on the investment team at Seraphim Space, the global leader in SpaceTech investment. Across the Seraphim Space investment funds, Seraphim Space Accelerator and Seraphim Space Investment Trust, Seraphim is the first organisation to support space entrepreneurship from inception to exit.
Total investment raised by portfolio $13.5b+ | 6 portfolio IPOs
Craig Fagan, Partner, Ashurst Perkins Coie
Craig is a Corporate partner advising founders and investors on growth capital, M&A and venture capital transactions. His practice is grounded in his time on the client side as General Counsel at the global fintech Bud, where he led global expansion, fundraising and equity transactions as part of the executive team.
Fabrice Bienfait, Senior Partner, ETF Partners
Fabrice is a Senior Partner at ETF Partners, the Environmental Technologies Fund. Founded in 2005, ETF is Europe's original venture capital firm dedicated to sustainability and impact, investing at the convergence of digital technology, sustainability and impact. Portfolio exits include Enablon (acquired by Wolters Kluwer for €250m) and MWR InfoSecurity (acquired by F-Secure for €120m). Fabrice sits on the boards of Riverlane, Normative, AIPERIA and shipzero.
20+ years backing sustainable innovation | Ranked 19th in Sifted's 2025 Top European VC Firms
Bartu Kaleagasi, Principal, BridgeX Ventures
Bartu is a Principal at BridgeX Ventures, where he leads investments in frontier technologies across AI, robotics and space. He started his venture career at Seraphim Space, then worked at the European Space Agency and the Satellite Applications Catapult. He co-founded the AIBE Summit and the startup Autoplay AI, and built the U.S. Frontier Tech Map, with an EU edition now live.
BridgeX Ventures is a San Francisco venture fund investing in frontier technologies across AI, biotechnology, robotics and space, focused on founders from Stanford and Berkeley and expanding to UT Austin, Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Oxford and Cambridge.
Pre-seed and seed fund | Series B to pre-IPO co-investment platform
Dr Hiroki Takai, Partner, Global Brain
Hiroki is a Partner at Global Brain, based at Global Brain Europe in London, investing in deep tech and life science startups globally. He brings a researcher's background to investing: a PhD in brain tumour research, research at Harvard Medical School and drug development at Eli Lilly. He holds an MBA from London Business School and works as a bridge between academia and industry.
Global Brain is a Tokyo-headquartered venture capital firm backing startups through hands-on support, a global ecosystem and open innovation with major corporations, across AI, space, life sciences, fintech, mobility and enterprise software.
$2.7B+ AUM | 450+ active portfolio companies | 46 IPOs and 95 M&A exits
Sara Rona, Managing Director, Head of EMEA, Silicon Valley Bank
Sara works with technology founders and venture capital firms on international growth and US expansion. She brings 15+ years of experience across international business development, strategic partnerships and cross-border growth spanning the US, UK and Europe, MENA and Australia and New Zealand.
Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank, is a specialist financial institution serving innovative companies and investors across technology, life sciences and healthcare, private equity and venture capital.
Artem Shakhbazyan, International Commercial IT Director, Internal AI, AstraZeneca
Artem leads commercial IT and digital strategy across AstraZeneca's international medical business, having previously served as International Commercial Innovation Lead within the group. His earlier career spans founding a tax advisory partnership and serving as COO of a biopharmaceutical cluster.
Emma Jones, Senior Investment Analyst, Claret Capital Partners
Emma is a Senior Investment Analyst at Claret Capital Partners, covering deal origination, due diligence and execution across the firm's technology and life sciences portfolio.
Claret Capital Partners is Europe's largest independent growth debt fund manager, providing growth financing to venture-backed technology and life sciences companies across Europe. Its most recent fund closed at €575 million.
Jordan Anning, AI Engineering Lead, Mercuria
Jordan leads AI engineering at Mercuria in London. He joined from Credit Suisse, where he spent six and a half years as a high-performance computing software engineer, and studied at Imperial College London.
Mercuria is one of the world's largest independent energy and commodity trading groups, founded in Geneva in 2004 and active in over 50 countries, with a growing focus on the energy transition.
Meet the finalists
IONA, United Kingdom: Long-range cargo drones and software for parcel carriers.
Checkstep, United Kingdom: One AI system for platforms to run every content moderation decision, with a full audit trail.
Cardiovolt.ai, United Kingdom: AI that reads a routine ECG to flag hidden structural heart disease.
Magdrive, United Kingdom: Rechargeable modules that release power in milliseconds for defence, data centres and spacecraft.
DeepCyte, Denmark: Single-cell metabolomics and AI to reveal how drugs cause toxicity.
Vateris, United Kingdom: Turning CO₂ and gypsum waste into carbon-negative building minerals and fertiliser.
Amprologix, United Kingdom: AI-led discovery of new antibiotics that kill superbugs such as MRSA.
Neologik, United Kingdom: AI agents built around one business problem at a time, proving value in under 30 days.
clock.health, Austria and United Kingdom: Biotech discovering the mechanisms of cellular ageing and engineering rejuvenation.
Polar Light Technologies, Sweden: A new way to make microLEDs for displays and optical interconnects.
Prize partners
Ashurst Perkins Coie works alongside founders, high-growth companies and investors throughout the business life cycle, from early-stage fundraising through growth-capital rounds, international expansion, strategic transactions and exit. With 52 offices across 20 countries and regions, its multidisciplinary team advises on fundraising, corporate governance, M&A, strategic partnerships, product development, regulatory compliance and intellectual property.
2 x 10 hours of fundraising readiness preparation advice for company and management (worth c.£12-15k)
3 x 3 hours of fundraising readiness preparation advice for company and management (worth c.£3-5k)
Accuracast is an international digital marketing agency helping ambitious brands accelerate growth through data and technology. With offices in London, New York and Madrid, the agency specialises in paid media, SEO, generative AI optimisation and social media marketing. Clients include PwC, Penguin Random House, WTW, Club Med, Informa, China Mobile and Hard Rock Hotels.
1 x 6 months of free access to Creator by Accuracast for up to 5 team members (worth $8.5k)
2 x 3 months of free access to Creator by Accuracast for up to 5 team members (worth $5.5k)
Most offices are designed once and left to stand still. Elementa shapes workplaces that constantly evolve, with 30+ buildings in London and locations across the UK.
Meeting room credits: three winners each receive £500 in meeting room credits, redeemable across Elementa Workspace locations throughout the UK. T&Cs apply
sclr labs is a GTM and scale partner for growth-stage companies, supporting investment pathways and commercial expansion through to scale.
Three winners each receive a two-hour market strategy session focused on market entry or expansion, commercial positioning or scaling strategy, arranged within 90 days of the event. T&Cs apply
Zendesk builds customer service software, from ticketing and help centres to AI agents, used by companies from early-stage startups to global enterprises.
All ten finalists receive six months of the Zendesk Resolution Suite free, including AI Agents and Copilot, for up to 50 seats on the Suite Professional plan. T&Cs apply
More prize partners to be confirmed.
Event flow
18:00 Doors open. Arrivals and informal networking
18:30 Welcome and introductions
18:40 Pitches, round one. Five startups, four minute pitch and three minutes of questions each
19:15 Comfort break
19:25 Pitches, round two. Five startups, four minute pitch and three minutes of questions each
20:00 Judges' final scoring and awards
20:10 Networking drinks
21:00 Close
Dress code: smart casual.
By attending, you consent to being photographed and filmed for promotional use. If you would prefer not to have your photos used or details shared, let us know and we will respect your preference.
Previous editions
Finalists from across the globe, selected from over 170 applications per edition
18 institutional funds on judging panels, with many more in attendance. See the funds in previous editions
Over $50k of additional value from prize partners