The Asteria Centre of Excellence

The Asteria Centre of Excellence supports PhD founders in turning deep research into real space-tech companies. We help academic teams move from the lab to market with clear structure, practical support, and a defined pathway toward investment.

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World-class space research is everywhere. Clear pathways to commercial impact are not.

Across the UK and Europe, universities produce exceptional space and deep-tech research. Yet many academics struggle to turn this work into real companies. This is not because the science isn’t strong, but because the route from lab to market is unclear.

‍Support is fragmented, incentives are misaligned, and practical guidance is often missing at the earliest stages.

The Asteria COE exists to bridge that gap.

Accelerator Programme

The Asteria Centre of Excellence runs an 8-week accelerator for PhD founders exploring the commercial potential of their research.

The programme focuses on turning research into a clear, testable business proposition. Founders work through customer use cases, market fit, and early commercial decisions, while pressure-testing whether a spinout is viable, how it should be positioned, and what the next stage should be.

The outcome is clarity: a well-defined opportunity, a realistic path forward, and a clear decision on how to progress as a company.

Submit an EOI

Pathway to Investment

Companies that perform well in the Centre of Excellence are assessed for equity investment by the Asteria Space Venture Fund.

Asteria is built to be an early investor, providing funding at stages where academic spinouts typically struggle to raise capital. This creates a clear route from research support into private investment.

Industry Leading Mentorship

Founders get direct access to people who have done this before.

Mentorship focuses on real challenges such as commercial focus, team building, customer validation, and investor readiness, not theory or generic startup advice.

Grant Strategy

We help companies apply for relevant grants, including Innovate UK, EIC, ESA, and UKSA.
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Our team provides hands-on support with application writing, positioning, and using grant funding effectively to move the business forward.

Operational Frameworks

We help teams with company formation, share structures, IP considerations, basic legal and regulatory setup, and creating a digital presence. This includes putting in milestones so the business is ready for grants, customers, and investors.

Now Accepting Expressions of Interest for our 2026 Cohort

What we're looking for

PhD-Level Research

PhD-level or equivalent academic work, with clear technical depth and originality.

Clear Industry Need

A defined problem that matters to industry, government, or space customers with clear use cases and potential buyers.

Early-Stage TRL

Technologies at an early stage of development, typically TRL 2-4.

Defensible Intellectual Property

Clear ownership or a credible pathway to secure IP. This includes patents, know-how, data, or technical advantages.

Unique Innovation & Competitive Edge

A clear reason why your solution is meaningfully different and better than existing approaches.

A Global Scale Ambition

A vision beyond a single project or local market. We are looking for teams aiming to build companies with international relevance.

Submit an EOI for the COE Apply directly to our fund