All case studies
Innovate UK Smart GrantDeep tech: advanced sensing
Advanced sensing startup
£305,000 Smart Grant to prove a high-risk sensing architecture
The challenge
A pre-revenue hardware startup had a novel sensing architecture with a genuine physics unknown at its core. Investors wanted proof the approach worked before pricing a round, and the company needed to fund a year of experimental work without giving up equity at a low valuation.
What we did
- Screened the company against Smart Grant criteria and drafted the pitch around genuine innovation and route to market.
- Framed the central technical unknown as the research question, with clear go / no-go milestones an assessor could score.
- Wrote the full application, commercialisation plan and budget justification, then ran two assessor-style internal review rounds before submission through Innovation Funding Service.
The result
A £305,000 Smart Grant funding twelve months of feasibility work, positioning the company for a larger collaborative CR&D bid worth up to £1M.
Written and submitted by the GrantUp team; references available on request.
Let's talk about your project
Talk to us about your grant funding plans and we'll help you make it happen through effective, results-driven grant writing.