Impulse curates a limited cohort of around 40 participants a year from all over the world, selected for their technical invention, entrepreneurial potential and societal relevance. With direct access to investors, IP experts, business coaches, and a global network of peers, these innovators are immersed in an environment designed for rapid learning and real-world outcomes.
What sets Impulse apart from other entrepreneurship programmes is its unique powerhouse of mentors - a richly diverse and multi-disciplinary pool of world-class tech and entrepreneurial legends who know exactly what it takes to translate frontier research into market-defining ventures, and who are all committed to supporting the next generation of science and tech innovators.
These top-tier mentors and principal contributors include Hermann Hauser, co-founder of Arm and Amadeus Capital Partners; Cobra Beer founder, Lord Karan Bilimoria; serial entrepreneur/ Analysys and Abcam founder David Cleevely; chip revolution veteran (and Arm’s first COO), Jamie Urquhart; seasoned entrepreneur/ Abcodia’s founding CEO & CSO, Julie Barnes; and hugely successful entrepreneur/ technology investor Phil O’Donovan, who co-founded Cambridge Silicon Radio Ltd (CSR), growing it into a FTSE 250 company with an annual revenue of $1billion. (See more in Breakout at end of release.)
Impulse’s mentors don’t just offer advice - they co-create, challenge, champion and connect, matching next-generation ambition with past experience. And it’s this tried and tested model of connecting tomorrow’s visionaries with yesterday’s trailblazers, creating durable mentor-founder relationships, which has propelled Impulse to become one of the UK’s most effective springboards for smarter innovation and successful technology entrepreneurs.
Take the example of Impulse alum, Steve Brierley OBE, founder of global quantum computing venture, Riverlane. Mentored by Jamie Urquhart whilst on the three-month entrepreneurship programme, Steve received philosophical interrogation, market realism and strategic shaping as well as generic advice, which proved pivotal in Riverlane’s growth from lab spinout to international quantum contender.
And there have been many more successes. Since its inception in 2016, the Impulse programme’s 300 alumni have launched 61 ventures (tackling everything from carbon-neutral fuels to neuro-degenerative diagnostics), created 1,000+ jobs, raised £300M+ in investments and funding, and secured impactful partnerships across health, AI, sustainability, quantum and clean tech.
Over 60% of the programme’s alumni go on to commercialise their ideas, with the majority receiving investment within 12 months of completing the programme.
Successful Impulse alumni and their mentors include:
Dr Steve Brierley OBE/ Class of 2018
- Founder, Riverlane
- Focus: Quantum computing (quantum error correction solutions).
- Funding: $120.7m to date (including $75m Series C in August 2024).
- Offices in UK and US. As of 2025, remains one of the leading UK quantum computing startups.
- Impulse mentor: Jamie Urquhart
Jean de La Verpilliere/ Class of 2017
- Co-founder, Echion Technologies
- Focus: Fast charging niobium-based anodes (XNO®) for Li ion batteries.
- Funding: £52.1m to date (including £29m Series B in June 2024, then £10m follow on in Nov 2024).
- Running a production plant (~1 GWh/year capacity).
- Impulse mentor: Jamie Urquhart
Dr Marc Rodriguez Garcia/ Class of 2017
- Co-founder & CTO, Xampla
- Focus: Natural, biodegradable materials as sustainable alternatives to traditional plastics.
- Funding: $34.5m to date (including $14m Series A in Sept 2025).
- Impulse mentors: Abel Ureta-Vidal/ Miranda Weston-Smith
Xiao Ai/ Class of 2017
- Co-founder/ CTO, QLM Technology Ltd
- Focus: Developing ultra-compact, high-precision quantum optical sensors.
- Funding: £15.1m to date (including £12 m Series A in July 2025.
- Impulse mentor: Steve Barlow
Stefan Engl/ Class of 2019
- Co-founder & CEO, DeepOpinion
- Focus: Enabling teams to build AI bots and automate away repetitive cognitive processes for text and documents, without code.
- Funding: €15.5m to date (including €11m Series A in Sept 2024 to advance Enterprise Automation with AI agents).
- Impulse mentor: Paul Bailey
Carmen Palacios-Berraquero / Class of 2018
- Co-founder & CEO, Nu Quantum
- Focus: To scale up quantum computers by building a quantum networking unit that interlocks smaller quantum computers into an overall larger network.
- Funding: £9.7m to date (including £7m pre-Series A round in November 2023)
- Impulse mentor: Jane Blennerhassett
Ben Porebski/ Class of 2019
- Co-founder, CEO, CTO, Sortera Bio.
- Focus: accelerating the discovery of biologics via its proprietary Deep Screening platform/ dedicated to delivering transformative solutions in biologics discovery to meet the needs of patients worldwide.
- Funding: £7.5m Pre-Seed in June 2025
- In July 2025 announced collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop their foundational technology and Deep Screening capabilities.
- Impulse mentor: Abel Ureta-Vidal
Pahini Pandya / Class of 2018
- Co-founder, CEO, Panakeia Technologies.
- Focus: Making cancer diagnosis simpler, faster and cheaper by eliminating the need for multiple tests.
- Funding: £7.96m to date.
- Impulse mentor: Nicholas Ibery
Benjamin Droguet/ Class of 2020
- Founder & CEO, Sparxell
- Focus: The world's first 100% natural, high-performance biodegradable colour platform creating next generation colours, glitters and effects (shimmer and sparkle) for limitless creative possibilities.
- Funding: $5.2m to date (including $1.9m EIC Accelerator Grant in February 2025).
- In partnership with Positive Materials, is launching a dye-free textile ink available in matte and shimmer versions, with commercial orders for all-over printed cotton jersey starting in September 2025 in Europe. Sparxell was named a ChangeNOW Change100 winner for 2025 and received the jury’s 'Coups de Cœur' recognition in the fashion category at the ChangeNOW Summit in Paris, highlighting its impact and innovation in sustainable colourants.
- Impulse mentor: Steve Barlow
Ismail Sami & Zhuangnan Li/ Class of 2022
- Co-founders, Molyon
- Focus: Molyon is creating the next-generation energy storage system: long-life lithium-sulfur batteries that have twice the energy density of existing lithium-ion batteries on the market.
- Funding: $4.6m seed funding in November 2024.
- Impulse mentor: Steve Temple
Sanzhar Taizhan/ Class of 2022
- Founded TaiSan,
- Focus: Quasi solid state sodium-ion battery materials with novel polymer electrolyte.
- Funding: £1.3m pre seed in 2024.
- Recently awarded Department for Transport’s “Best Growth Potential” award.
- Impulse mentor: Richard Green
Applications for Impulse 2026 will open on Monday 10th November 2025.
The Round One application deadline is 2nd February 2026. Round Two application deadline is 2nd March 2026. Fellowships are available for certain technology and research areas.
To find out more: https://www.maxwell.cam.ac.uk/apply-impulse
