UCL startups win Techstars investment

Image: Yuk Chi Chan and James Della Valle

Two UCL startups have been selected for prestigious Techstars Accelerator programmes, which provide investment opportunities for early-stage entrepreneurs.

Being chosen for the three-month accelerators, which kicked off in September, means the startups will receive funding, mentorship and access to the Techstars network, to fuel the success of their businesses.

Charter, co-founded by Yuk Chi Chan (LLM International Law, UCL Laws) and Yukun Yin, is developing ATLAS, a collaborative logistics management platform that helps satellite companies to streamline missions and reduce wasted engineering hours so they can get to the launchpad faster.

It is the first British space company to be accepted onto Techstars’ Space Accelerator, which is partnered by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and the US Space Force.

Yuk Chi described the award as ‘an incredible opportunity for us to accelerate our trajectory’, adding: “We at Charter are thrilled to be breaking ground as the first British space company to be accepted to Techstars Space, and the only non-US company featured in the class of 2022. With Techstars' long list of incredible partner organisations, illustrious mentors, and storied alumni, we're excited to be the newest members of the Techstars family.”

Techstars is one of the most active investors in spacetech, with more than forty sector investments over the last sixteen years.

Yuk Chi added: “It is a special feeling to know that Techstars recognises our value and believes in our vision. With their support and the numerous incomparable advantages in terms of resources, credibility, mentorship that come with being a Techstars-backed company, we are excited to continue building the new industrial standard for satellite logistics to make space accessible.”

In September, the Charter team attended the world's largest aerospace conference, the 73rd International Astronautical Congress, as part of the UK delegation and launched the alpha build of its product at the British Interplanetary Society's pavilion.

BoxxDocks was co-founded by James Della Valle (MArch and BASc Architecture, The Bartlett, UCL Faculty of the Built Environment) and industry experts Alessandro Attanzio and Amarjit Pall. It addresses two of the main issues of the logistics sector: the shipment of ‘fresh air’, which increases last-mile delivery costs and compounds the already excessive fleet fuel consumption of delivery fleets; and the industry’s adoption of single-use and virgin-based plastics. The startup also received an award at this year’s UCL Santander Summer Showcase, in recognition of its impact on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Both startups are currently part of The Hatchery, UCL’s dedicated startup incubator programme based at the university’s entrepreneurship hub, BaseKX, managed by UCL Innovation & Enterprise.

UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement), Professor Geraint Rees, said: “UCL is committed to supporting entrepreneurship that can lead to global impact and transform people's lives for the better. We’re incredibly proud to see the achievements of these brilliant startups recognised by the Techstars programme and are excited to see what the future holds for them.”