Imperial’s leap incubator attracts five startups in first month
Leap, the new shared lab incubator space from Imperial Incubator located at ARC West London, has officially opened its doors, welcoming five early-stage science companies have moved into the space in its firstmonth after launch. The first cohort of innovators joining Leap includes: Solveteq, Reseda Life Sciences, Tachmed, IgEDAPT and Sea2Carbon.
Together, these companies span a diverse range of science and deep-tech innovation from clean energy and sustainable materials to next-generation diagnostics, AI-enabled therapeutics and ocean-based carbon capture.
The announcement rounds off the city’s weeklong celebrations for London Bio-Innovation Week, where innovators, researchers, investors, and entrepreneurs engaged in bio-innovation have gathered across the capital to share insights, forge partnerships and showcase their latest breakthroughs.
Leap’s early success highlights London’s need for high-quality, flexible early-stage lab space, the very challenge Leap was designed to address. Created by Imperial Incubator in partnership with ARC West London, Leap responds directly to the severe shortage of collaborative incubator labs across the capital, enabling pioneering companies to stay and scale in London.
Located within ARC’s new 150,000 square foot Refinery building at its Hammersmith Campus, Leap plays a central role in WestTech London, the frontier innovation ecosystem that is creating jobs, attracting investment and strengthening the UK’s position as a global science and technology leader.
Leap supports the ambitions of the London Growth Plan, which identifies the science sector as a key engine of economic growth. The shared lab space will accelerate frontier innovation by helping transform scientific discoveries into commercial products and services.
Imperial Incubator’s “rent-by-the-bench” model removes traditional barriers for founders by offering science-ready workspace, shared equipment, specialist support, and a built-in community on flexible terms. Its partnership with ARC brings this proven approach into a thriving campus environment, helping early-stage ventures accelerate their growth journey.
Graham Hewson, Head of Incubation and Prototyping Spaces at Imperial, said:
It’s exciting to see innovation thriving in WestTech London. Welcoming five promising startups in our first month highlights both demand for high-quality shared lab space and the strength of the joint offering from Imperial Incubator and ARC. Together, we’re creating the right environment for science-led ventures to launch, grow, and contribute to the area’s expanding innovation economy.
Jim Stretton, Managing Director at ARC, said:
Combining Imperial’s proven incubator model with ARC West London’s state-of-the-art facilities and collaborative community, we’re giving founders the environment they need to accelerate their research and scale with confidence. The strong early demand highlights the pressing need for high-quality, flexible lab space and further strengthens WestTech London’s position as a leading hub for deep tech and life sciences.
Prof. (Dr.) P. Gayatri Hela from Reseda Life Sciences Limited, added:
We at Reseda are very excited to expand our services into Europe by being part of the co-working lab facility Leap at, Refinery, ARC West London. I am personally very motivated to be part of such a vibrant state of art facility and interacting with passionate co-entrepreneurs. It is a big shout out for ARC’s and Imperial Incubator’s initiative, Leap, for creating such a wonderful platform for the startups to grow in a vibrant, passionate and exciting environment.
Located on the ground floor of Refinery, Leap sits alongside ARC’s established accelerator, Motherlabs, London’s first commercial science accelerator, which provides flexible and inclusive scale-up space for growing companies.
ARC West London provides the space and support for scientists and innovators to turn early-stage ideas into commercialised products by scaling under one roof. The campus is already home to leading science organisations including Kesmalea, Sania Therapeutics and Epsilogen and sits minutes from Imperial’s White City and Hammersmith Hospital Campuses and the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s Charing Cross Hospital.
These landmark collaborations reinforce ARC’s growing presence in West London, where it continues to build a dynamic ecosystem connecting world-class research, high-growth companies and capital. ARC’s latest partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust saw the recruitment of a new cluster manager dedicated to strengthening West London’s innovation ecosystem and further cementing WestTech London as a global hub for deep tech and life sciences.
