#21toWatch 2025: New Sponsors Announced as Innovation Showcase Excels
Insurance specialists, Alan Boswell Group joins accountancy/ business advisors, BDO UK LLP and Peters Elworthy & Moore (PEM) in supporting for the very first time as #21toWatch, now in its 7 th year, continues to grow in impact and credibility.
All three businesses are uniting to celebrate extraordinary people, companies and the best of Cambridgeshire innovation at the award ceremony, which takes place on 6 March 2025
Paul Hughes, BDO UK LLP’s Managing Director, Life Sciences & Technology, says their involvement was fuelled by having a unique perspective.
He says: “I was able to experience firsthand the impact that the programme has on its winners while I was I was working at BIOS when they were named #21toWatch winners in 2019. The exposure they received as a result was extremely impressive. And so, when I joined BDO, it was a no-brainer to get the company more actively involved.”
The continued support of the event sponsors is invaluable according to #21toWatch founder, Faye Holland. Returning longtime sponsors include Appleyard Lees, Ashtons Legal, Bailey Fisher, Birketts, CPCA Growth Hub, Foresight, HSBC Innovation Banking, Keltie, Marks & Clerk, Mischon de Reya, Penningtons Manches Cooper, and St Johns Innovation Centre.
Faye says: “Cambridge is the UK’s epicentre for science, tech and innovation – and that makes our ecosystem invaluable across the UK as well as to the rest of the world. Many of our amazing innovators wouldn’t be able to exit, never mind grow, without that essential sponsor support. The same goes for #21toWatch, which is now widely regarded as one of the best early indicators for future gamechangers.”
Early nominations in the people category include Lucy Jung, co-founder of Medtech firm, Charco Neurotech and Raifa Al Maamari, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Land Economy.
A previous 2023 Top21 winner in the People category, Lucy has been nominated for a second time for the work she’s doing with a new company. LYEONS [corr], an early-stage neurotech venture, is focused on developing innovative solutions using sensory modulation technology to recalibrate the autonomic nervous system. The promising research project adopts a holistic approach, combining hardware devices with community support and research-backed interventions, and aims to enhance the quality of life for neuro-diverse individuals struggling with anxiety, trauma and sleep disorders
Meanwhile Raifa’s pioneering research in energy policy is driving low-carbon hydrogen value chains in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region—a sustainable focus that’s setting new standards in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Two further contenders in the Company category include semiconductor software startup, Nanomation and trailblazing biotech, LinkGevity.
Nanomation’s patented technology makes it possible for the semiconductor industry to manufacture with nanomaterials for the very first time, paving the way for faster, more powerful, and more efficient chips.
LinkGevity works at the intersection of AI and longevity, utilizing a proprietary Blueprint Theory of Aging to map the key pathways driving aging and deterioration. Its flagship therapeutic earned a spot in the prestigious NASA/Microsoft Space-H Program, showcasing its groundbreaking potential for health on Earth as well as in space.
Lastly, standout submissions in the Things/ Innovations category include Journey Lens
smart glasses by Phantom Technology and NoBacz’s sustainable, rapid-setting, liquid barrier dressings.
Dubbed the ‘fitness tracker for your focus, Journey Lensare more than just smart glasses. Just as wearables track your heart rate, Journey Lensuse biosensors to monitor your attention and help you stay in control.
NoBACZ is a wound care company specialising in sustainable, rapid-setting liquid barrier dressings. It has a novel, patent-protected solution to improve care, reduce waste and enhance sustainability, which are the main issues surrounding both human and veterinary wound care.
The #21toWatch longlists are updated on a rolling basis, with the nomination window open until noon Friday 10th January (2025). To nominate, or see the full lists of People, Companies and Things go to https://www.21toWatch.com/
The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday 5 February (2025), with the annual #21toWatch Top21 unveiled in an exclusive awards ceremony on Thursday 6 March 2025.
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