In October, our current cohort of startups joined us for a brilliant day of knowledge-sharing at our Autumn Archipelago Academy:

• Evoralis – an enzyme discovery platform developing solutions for the dematerialisation of textiles and plastics.
  
• Matoha – AI-powered sorting solutions for textiles, plastics and carpets.
  
• Sorted – AI sorting through low-cost robotics solutions.
  
• Nova Biochem – bio-based speciality chemicals from pulp and paper waste products.
  
• DEScycle – solvalytic recovery of valuable metals.
  
• A&B Smart Materials – bio-based Super Absorbant Polymers for nappies, healthcare and agriculture.
  
• Pinovo – safe capture of paint-based microplastics.
  
• Paques Biomaterials – PHA from high organic waste water streams.
  
• Repolywise – “atomic scissors” to break down waste plastics.
  
• SAGES – organic dyes from food waste to de-fossilise textiles manufacture.

The startups benefitted from guest speakers who covered a wide range of topics, including:

• Claudia Amos, a member of our Strategic Advisory panel and a Director at Ceres Waste, Renewables and Environment, on Impact and how to build appropriate, verifiable impact metrics.
  
• Katy Tuncer from Horizon37 on leadership and transformation for startup CEOs, with the emphasis on building a team culture that attracts the right staff as a business grows.
  
• Emmet Hyde and Laila Betts from Carta on how to build and structure a cap table that works for investors at the next fundraising round.
  
• Michael Moore from Keltie on the importance of building an IP strategy that protects a business at the right cost for each stage of the business.

There was plenty of time for everyone to network at our evening event, and the day culminated in a fascinating discussion between Catherine David, CEO of WRAP, and Saabira Chaudhuri, author of Consumed: How big brands got us hooked on plastic. Saabira has a unique talent for weaving individual stories into her narrative which makes her book feel particularly relevant right now. It was fascinating to hear her draw out some of the conversations she’d had with the chief scientists who had developed the original materials that we now regard as waste, but which in the moment of creation were revolutionary. One great example she gave was disposable nappies. Originally designed for short-term convenience, they were never envisaged for widespread use. Yet suddenly women were freed from the tyranny of washing cloth nappies, or the expense of sending them out to be laundered, transforming the way they were able to run their homes, households and lives. Today, disposable nappies are one of the most widely disposed of products, with 1.3 billion disposed of globally every single day, nearly all of which end up in landfills or incinerators, or in oceans and waterways in geographies where waste collection isn’t formalised. It was just one of the many vivid illustrations Saabira shared of how deeply-embedded our relationship is with materials that were so innovative in their time, but which are now causing vast problems with pollution and waste.

The day marked the progress Archipelago are making in supporting UK technology and innovation with investment capital in order to address some of these deeply entrenched societal issues around waste pollution.

We are grateful to Matthew Overton and his team in Joelson | B Corp for hosting us in their beautiful central London space. Our next Academy will be held in Spring 2026.