Up to 10 UK embedded electronics innovators will get lab access, hardware-specific mentoring and the chance to apply for up to £25,000 in match funding, with no equity taken.

  • Applications open today and close on 1st December, with the programme starting in late February 2027
  • Apply at andtr.com/apply

“It is great for companies who don’t know how to turn a good idea into a successful business.”

— previous cohort member, CEO and founder of Haptiv8, Nicki Allen

London, UK, 1st October 2026. Applications are now open for Cohort Two of The Embedded Accelerator, the 12-week programme from AND Technology Research (ANDtr) that takes embedded electronics products from early concept to a working, marketable prototype. Up to 10 innovators will get access to ANDtr’s engineers, professional-grade electronics lab, rapid prototyping and 3D printing, plus technical and business mentors and speakers with over 400 years combined experience.

The first cohort covered a wide spread of technologies, including Haptiv8’s smart insole for children who walk on tiptoe, Gamlen Tableting’s pharmaceutical materials analysis, the University of Essex’s AI-powered recycling sorter, CheckUup’s mental health early-detection app and Sensore’s pressure ulcer monitoring. Survey results showed:

  • 100% moved up at least one Technology Readiness Level (TRL)
  • 100% would recommend the programme to another early-stage hardware founder
  • 100% felt prepared for the pitch day in front of investors
  • 80% progressed design for manufacture
  • 60% unlocked new market access
  • Average rating of 4.8 out of 5

Any sector is welcome, from manufacturing to medtech and femtech. Applicants should be a start-up, SME or researcher with a UK presence, developing an embedded electronics product at TRL 2 or above, and ambitious about investment and commercial growth.

What founders get

Industry practitioners lead workshops on industrial design, design for manufacture, compliance, investment and exits, and financial fundamentals, alongside sessions on how to pitch and market to investors and customers. Each founder also gets bookable one-to-one online sessions with technical and business mentors, and the programme finishes with a pitch day in front of investors. Sessions run online and in person in the UK and average two to three hours a week.

Match funding of up to £25,000 is applied for during the programme, with ANDtr covering up to two-thirds of prototype development costs in return for an IP licence agreement with buy-back options. There is no upfront fee and no equity is taken.

Commenting on the launch, ANDtr Managing Director and founder of the accelerator, Dr Nicola Wheeler-Thorn said, “Embedded and hardware founders are usually strong on the technology. The trouble starts when the product meets compliance requirements, manufacturing realities and the commercial world, including pitching to investors who are wary of what a physical product costs to build. The programme gives innovators with big ideas access to engineers who know their stack, compliance guidance from the outset, and business mentors to shape the commercial story alongside the product.”

ANDtr Founder and Chairman Dr Valerie Lynch added, “There is a real need for UK electronics innovation, and the ambition is there. We want to take innovators from idea to market by putting the right engineers, mentors and resources around them from the start.”

Previous cohort member, Dr Weiyong Si, University of Essex, said: “We came into The Embedded Accelerator with a strong research base and an idea for an AI-powered robotic recycling sorter. What we didn’t have was a clear view of the market: who actually needed this, what problem it solved for them, and how that should shape the technology choices we made. The programme changed that. We came away with a set of known unknowns we could work through methodically. We also built commercial skills we didn’t have, including how to pitch in front of investors and frame the technology in terms they care about.”

Places are limited. Apply at andtr.com/apply.

Contact and@andtr.com for more information.