⚡ How this Start-Up is Rebuilding the Backbone of Healthcare AI

Morning Innovators ⚡ In less than 5 minutes, we’ll cover…

🥳 The best funding opportunities, events and jobs in the Start-Up world this week
📰 This week’s biggest news stories in the Start-Up world
🩻 How is this Start-Up rebuilding the backbone of Healthcare AI?
💥 How disrupting stereotypes can open up new markets
📇 A tool that acts as your all-in-one AI assistant

✨ Last weeks most clicked link was this link taking you through to connect with the GP of Upside VC, who are looking to write cheques of £100k - £500k into ConsumerTech companies.

Happy hustling,

Rich

🎤 Opportunities + Events

 📣 TechCrunch are running their Start-Up Battlefield competition for Pre-Seed to Seed stage companies to win $100,000 equity free - apply here!

✍️ Scribble have raised a new $80m fund to back AI Native Founders at the earliest stage - get in touch with the team here!

😇 Adaption Ventures are looking to write $250,000 cheques into disability and accessibility Tech Start-Ups - connect with the team here!

We now have a community of thousands of Start-Ups and Founders, here are the hottest Start-Up job opportunities from the Innovators Uncensored community on our very own Start-Ups Job Board!

💼 Start-Up Jobs

🧑‍💻 Full Stack Developer, Taught by Humans
📲 Social Media and Community Executive, The Feets
👷 GTM Engineer, RevvedUp

🛠 Builder. ai investigation uncovered ‘potentially bogus’ sales before collapse. Sifted

🧑‍🎨 OpenAI goes all in with Johnny Ive as Google plays AI Catch-Up. TechCrunch

🤖 One of Europe’s top AI researchers raised a $13m seed to crack the ‘Holy Grail’ of models. TechCrunch
 
🤝 UK forms closer ties with European AI sector with new compute deal. UKTN

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Black Sheep Coffee wanted to shake things up when launching their new Matcha drinks, and they definitely did that! The popularity of Matcha has absolutely boomed in recent years, but in doing so, it’s picked up a bit of a stereotype. In the public eye, it’s seen as a Gen Z drink that has a bit of a hipster feel to it, but Black Sheep don’t agree with that.

So, they tried to find the complete opposite of the Matcha stereotype, and based their entire Matcha 2.0 launch campaign around them. Not only did this go viral, but it also actually worked in dissolving the Matcha stigma! Sales boomed on launch, and continue to do so!

If you want to break into new audiences, how can you disrupt the vision that people have of your product?

Each week we highlight our favourite tools - either something we’ve been using in our businesses, or tools that our innovator community have recommended.

Aidy is an all-in-one AI assistant for Mac that helps you generate slides, code, diagrams, invoices, mind maps, banners, and more - with manual editing support and the ability to choose from multiple AI models for each task.

Pontiro: Quietly Rebuilding the Backbone of Healthcare AI

At first glance, Pontiro doesn’t shout for attention. But behind the scenes, it’s quietly solving one of the biggest blockers in healthcare AI: how to handle sensitive patient data securely, at scale.

Founded by Evan and a team of technologists from the Alacrity Foundation UK, Pontiro’s first product automates the anonymisation of medical imaging data. It replaces the slow, manual methods still used in most hospitals with a workflow that’s fast, compliant, and infinitely more scalable.

They’ve already processed over 10,000 patient images and are live in NHS pilots - a sign that the sector is ready for a new standard.

Four Founders, One Mission: Fix the Data Problem

Pontiro wasn’t born out of a hackathon or a lone technical breakthrough. The founding team, four individuals with complementary skill sets, met at the Alacrity Foundation UK, a Start-Up accelerator for graduates with a bias for real-world problems.

What brought them together was a shared obsession: the disconnect between the promise of AI in healthcare and the realities of how data is accessed and handled. They didn’t want to build just another analytics tool. They wanted to fix the pipes.

NHS Pilots, Not Pitch Decks: Finding Their First Customers

Rather than launching with a press release or cold outreach blitz, Evan and the team started by tapping into Life Sciences Hub Wales and leveraging key partner introductions. It led to direct conversations with NHS teams - radiologists, governance leads, and systems managers.

They didn’t walk in pitching software. They asked how things worked. They listened. And then they showed how Pontiro could make life simpler, faster, and safer.

Scaling by Doing, Not Just Talking

Pontiro’s scaling plan wasn’t PowerPoint-deep. It was rooted in proof.

By focusing on making their early pilots successful, they earned the right to use those case studies to open doors with other NHS trusts. From there, they expanded through healthtech networks, industry events, and smart relationship-building that got them in front of the right decision-makers.

No viral launch. No gimmicks. Just consistent delivery and credibility.

Lessons from the Frontlines of Healthcare IT

One of the early wake-up calls? Everyone in the NHS has different priorities.

Evan and the team quickly realised that aligning IT leads, radiologists, data governance officers, and procurement managers wasn’t just desirable - it was essential. If they were starting again, they’d invest more up front in stakeholder mapping and product validation to streamline the pilot-to-adoption journey.

The product might solve a clear technical problem. But navigating the layers of decision-making required a new kind of finesse.

Backed by Belief, Now Looking for Capital

Pontiro was initially backed by the Alacrity Foundation UK, which gave the team both runway and structure to validate the opportunity. That early support enabled them to move quickly, get the product in the hands of real users, and generate tangible NHS traction.

Now, they’re raising a £500k SEIS-qualified pre-seed round to expand adoption and continue product development. The pitch is simple: regulated tech, a defined niche, and a clear role in the future of AI-enabled care.

The Hardest Part? Earning Trust Without a Track Record

The NHS doesn’t move fast. Especially not when it comes to patient data.

For a new company like Pontiro, the biggest challenge was proving trustworthiness without the backing of a long client list. The team leaned into this, working closely with compliance leads, building with governance in mind, and co-designing every step of the product with frontline users.

It took time. But it worked.

Clarity Over Complexity: Lessons From the Journey

Evan’s biggest reflection?

The turning point came when the team focused solely on imaging data anonymisation. It simplified the pitch, sharpened the product, and made every decision easier.

Other lessons?

• Early focus beats wide ambition

• Build trust before trying to scale

• In healthcare, compliance is the product

• Solve for workflow, not just outcomes

Next week I’ll be highlighting another awesome Start-Up, as well as sharing all the usuals including funding opportunities, Start-Up news, plus plenty of awesome tips, tricks and tools.

P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn…