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Ferreira Fellows is a selective incubator for the UK's most ambitious early-stage founders, building in the UK. Our first cohort starts in spring or summer 2027.
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Thanks. We'll email you when applications open for our first cohort, SP27 or SU27.
Explore Ferreira Fellows- First cohort
- SP27 or SU27
- Cohorts
- Four a year
- Applications
- Not open yet
- Waiting list
- Open now
- Location
- UK, city to be confirmed
Why the UK
For years, the UK's most ambitious founders built a prototype, then bought a one-way ticket to San Francisco. Enough time has passed. The companies, the capital and the people are here now. We want the next generation to stay, build and grow in the UK, and to make London the best city in the world to start a company.
What changed
London has produced Europe's most valuable fintech, a self-driving company backed by NVIDIA, Microsoft and Uber, and Europe's largest-ever seed round. The next ones don't need to leave to get that big.
Why it still matters
Some still go. Fluidstack, founded in London in 2017, moved its headquarters to New York in 2025. Odyssey, started by two British AI researchers, is based in Palo Alto. We want the next ones to stay.
Who we're here for
For our first three years, Ferreira Fellows is for founders from the UK. We'll open up to founders from abroad later. Right now the job is keeping our own best people here.
Why London
The world already runs its money, its insurance and its contracts through London. If you're building for any of those industries, your first customers are a Tube ride away.
- Finance
- The UK handles 37.8% of the world's foreign exchange trading, more than any other country. London ranks second only to New York as a global financial centre, and it's the only European city in the top ten.
- Insurance
- Lloyd's of London wrote £57.9bn of premiums in 2025. The wider London Market is the world's leading centre for commercial and specialist insurance.
- Law
- Around 40% of global business and financial deals are governed by English law, and London is the most popular city in the world for international arbitration.
- Capital
- The UK attracts 39% of Europe's venture capital, more than Germany, France and Sweden combined. London is Europe's leading tech hub and fourth in the world.
A city worth staying for
Talent and money matter, but so does where you spend your evenings and weekends. London has been ranked the best city in the world for eleven years running.
Harry Potter. The Beatles. James Bond. Shakespeare. The Premier League. Doctor Who. The West End.
The stories the world grew up on were made here. Harry Potter was filmed at Leavesden, just outside London, and the Beatles recorded at Abbey Road in St John's Wood.
The best city in the world
Resonance's World's Best Cities report has put London first for 11 years in a row, most recently for 2026.
Easy to get around
11 Tube lines and 272 stations, the Elizabeth line, and the Night Tube on Friday and Saturday nights. You don't need a car.
Always something on
The British Museum, the Natural History Museum and Tate Modern are free to enter. Then there's the West End, gigs and football most weekends.
Every industry is here
Finance, law, insurance, media, fashion, pharmaceuticals, defence and government all have major offices in London, so customers and advisers are close by.
In the middle of the world
A London working day overlaps with Asia and the Middle East in the morning, Africa and Europe all day, and North America in the afternoon.
The rest of the UK, close by
Cambridge, Oxford, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester are all a short train ride away, with Edinburgh and Glasgow a few hours north.
The talent is here
Four of the world's top ten universities are in the UK: two in London and two an hour away by train. Your co-founder, your first engineer and your first scientist are probably studying at one of them now.
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2in the world
Imperial College London
Science, engineering, medicine and business, in South Kensington.
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4in the world
University of Oxford
Oxford Nanopore, now listed in London, started as an Oxford spin-out.
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6in the world
University of Cambridge
The city around it is home to Arm, CuspAI and Darktrace.
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9in the world
UCL
DeepMind's founders met at UCL. Synthesia and Ineffable Intelligence were co-founded by UCL academics.
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31in the world
King's College London
Medicine, law and the life sciences, on the Strand and at Guy's.
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56in the world
LSE
Economics, finance and policy, a short walk from the City and Westminster.
Rankings from the QS World University Rankings 2026.
Built here
Some of the companies the UK has already produced, from Cambridge labs to a Solihull garage. There is serious money in building here.
| Company | What they do | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Arm | Chip designs inside almost every smartphone on earth. | £200bnMarket value, 2026 |
| Rolls-Royce | Jet engines and power systems. Proof the UK has built world leaders before. | £121bnMarket value, 2026 |
| Revolut | Europe's most valuable fintech. | £85bnValued, 2026 |
| Nscale | AI data centres. Raised Europe's largest-ever Series B, then Series C. | £10.8bnValued, 2026 |
| Wise | Moves money across borders for nearly 19 million customers. | £10bnMarket value, 2026 |
| Checkout.com | Online payments for businesses around the world. | £8.9bnValued, 2025 |
| Wayve | Self-driving AI backed by NVIDIA, Microsoft and Uber. | £6.4bnValued, 2026 |
| Octopus Energy | The UK's largest energy supplier within ten years. Its Kraken software arm was spun out in 2026. | £6.4bnKraken spin-out, 2026 |
| Monzo | A bank millions of people chose over the old ones. | £4.4bnValued, 2024 |
| Darktrace | AI cyber security for nearly 10,000 customers. | £3.9bnAcquired, 2024 |
| Ineffable Intelligence | AI that learns from experience. Europe's largest-ever seed round. | £3.8bnValued, 2026 |
| Fuse Energy | Energy supply and generation, started by former Revolut executives. | £3.7bnValued, 2026 |
| Lendable | Consumer loans and credit cards, decided in minutes. | £3.5bnValued, latest round |
| Synthesia | AI video used by more than 90% of the Fortune 100. | £3bnValued, 2026 |
| Deliveroo | Food delivery across the UK and beyond. | £2.9bnAcquired by DoorDash, 2025 |
| Starling | Digital bank, profitable five years running. | £2.5bnValued, 2022 |
| OLIX | Photonic AI chips, backed by Arm and the UK's Sovereign AI fund. | £2.4bnValued, 2026 |
| Thought Machine | Core banking software used by JPMorgan and Lloyds. | £2.2bnValued, 2022 |
| CuspAI | AI that discovers new materials. | £1.9bnValued, 2026 |
| PhysicsX | AI for engineering, started by former Formula 1 engineers. | £1.8bnValued, 2026 |
| Oxford Nanopore | Real-time DNA and RNA sequencing. | £1.7bnMarket value, 2026 |
| Multiverse | Apprenticeships and AI training. The UK's first edtech unicorn. | £1.6bnValued, 2026 |
| Skyscanner | Travel search used by over 100 million people a month. | £1.4bnAcquired, 2016 |
| Tide | Business banking for 1.6 million small businesses. | £1.1bnValued, 2025 |
| Humanoid | Humanoid robots. Europe's first humanoid robotics unicorn. | £1bnValued, 2026 |
| Gymshark | Started in a garage. Now over £600m a year in sales. | £1bn+Valued, 2020 |
| Nothing | Phones, audio and wearables. | £960mValued, 2025 |
| Flo | Women's health app with around 70 million monthly users. | £740m+Valued, 2024 |
| Moneybox | Saving and investing app with 1.7 million customers. | £550mValued, 2024 |
| DeepMind | Built AlphaFold. Its co-founder won a Nobel Prize for it. | £400mAcquired by Google, 2014 |
| Shazam | Music recognition, downloaded over a billion times. | £300mAcquired by Apple, 2018 |
| Isomorphic Labs | AI drug discovery, spun out of DeepMind. | £1.6bnRaised, 2026 (valuation not disclosed) |
Values are the latest reported valuation, stock market value or sale price, with the year shown. Dollar figures are converted at $1.352 to £1 (11 September 2026) and rounded. Combined totals add different kinds of value from different years, so treat them as a rough guide; Isomorphic Labs is left out because its valuation hasn't been disclosed. None of these companies are affiliated with Ferreira Fellows.
Who it's for
The most ambitious founders in the UK, early enough that the right help changes what happens next.
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You're from the UK
You want to build a global company without leaving. For our first three years, these are the founders we back.
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You're aiming high
You want to build something on the scale of the companies above, and you're ready to work for it.
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You're early
A prototype, a handful of users or your first revenue. A strong idea and the willingness to go full time counts too.
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Solo founders welcome
You don't need a co-founder to join. Some of the best companies started with one person.
Four cohorts a year
One cohort each season, each kept small. We launch in 2027 with either a spring or a summer cohort, and we'll confirm which before applications open.
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SP27
Spring 2027
March to May
Possible first cohort
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SU27
Summer 2027
June to August
Possible first cohort
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AU27
Autumn 2027
September to November
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WI27
Winter 2027
December to February
Each cohort is named by its season and the year it starts, so WI27 runs from December 2027 into February 2028. Exact dates within each season are to be confirmed.
How each cohort will run
Every cohort follows the same shape. We'll confirm exact dates and length before applications open. To be confirmed
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Kick-off
Meet your cohort and the team. Agree your goals and the numbers you'll track.
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Build
Weekly check-ins, one-to-one office hours and honest reviews from the rest of the cohort.
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Prepare to raise
Sharpen your story, your metrics and your investor list so you're ready when it counts.
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Showcase To be confirmed
A closing event where fellows present their companies. We'll share the format once it's set.
What fellows get
Hands-on help from people who have built companies in the UK. Anything we haven't confirmed yet is marked clearly.
Planned for every fellow
- Regular one-to-one time with the Ferreira Fellows team
- Office hours with founders and operators who have scaled UK companies
- A small peer cohort you'll build alongside
- Help preparing to raise: your story, metrics and investor list
- Introductions to customers, hires and investors where we can make them
Still being finalised
We'll publish these here once they're confirmed. None of them are promised yet.
- Investment and terms To be confirmed
- SEIS and EIS advance assurance support To be confirmed
- Workspace To be confirmed
- Demo day To be confirmed
How selection will work
Applications aren't open yet. Join the waiting list and you'll hear first when they are.
Join the waiting list-
Join the waiting list
Your name, email address and where in the UK you're based. It takes a minute.
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Apply
When applications open, we'll email everyone on the waiting list first.
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Intro call
A conversation with the team about your company and what you need next.
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Final conversation
A deeper session on your plans. We may ask to see the product working.
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Decision
We'll tell you the outcome either way, with feedback where we can give it.
Questions
Something we haven't covered? We'll be in touch once you've joined the waiting list, so you can ask us then.
Are applications open?
Not yet. Join the waiting list and we'll email you when applications for the first cohort open.
When does the first cohort start?
In spring 2027 (SP27, March to May) or summer 2027 (SU27, June to August). We'll confirm which, along with the exact dates and location, before applications open. To be confirmed
What do SP27 and SU27 mean?
We run four cohorts a year, each named by its season and the year it starts: SP for spring (March to May), SU for summer (June to August), AU for autumn (September to November) and WI for winter (December to February). SU27 is summer 2027.
Who is it for?
Early-stage founders from the UK who want to build here, anywhere from a strong idea to first revenue. Any sector.
I'm not from the UK. Can I join?
Not yet. For our first three years we're focused on UK founders. We plan to open up to founders from abroad after that.
Can I join on my own?
Yes. Solo founders are welcome, and so are teams.
Does Ferreira Fellows invest?
Investment and terms are still being finalised. We'll publish them here before applications open. To be confirmed
Does it cost anything?
No. Joining the waiting list is free.
Build it here.
If you're thinking about moving to San Francisco to start your company, talk to us first.
Join the waiting list