Digital Catapult has announced the return of its Black Founders Programme in partnership with Sony Music UK and Sony Music Publishing UK.
The third iteration of the project will partner with Channel 4 for the first, with applications open for the programme, which supports up to 15 emerging Black-founded deep tech companies.
The 14-week initiative is for companies focused on emerging ‘deep technologies’, encompassing areas such as spatial computing, advanced sensors, future networks, extended reality, blockchain and quantum technologies, AI and digital twins.
We’re thrilled to welcome a new group of entrepreneurs
Hari Ashurst-Venn, Sony Music UK
The Black Founders Programme was set up to redress the disparity in investment directed into Black-founded start-ups, and is open to early-stage start-ups and pre-seed companies whose product or service is solving a problem in the creative industries.
The scheme has so far supported 20 deep tech start-ups, with alumnus Flossy AI, having already secured pre-seed investment after completing the programme.
Jessica Rushworth, chief partnerships officer, Digital Catapult, said: “Our interventions lay important foundations for supporting early-stage deep tech start-ups, highlighting opportunities for investors in businesses they would not otherwise be aware of. Now in its third year, the Black Founders Programme has evolved in line with what entrepreneurs' need and value. We’re thrilled to partner with Sony Music UK, Sony Publishing UK, and Channel 4 to help create the right environment for these businesses to flourish.”
Hari Ashurst-Venn, senior director of digital & new tech, Sony Music UK, said: "We are proud to support the third edition of the Black Founders Programme. Building on the momentum of previous cohorts, with some securing investment and others partnering with Sony Music on innovative, high-impact projects, we’re thrilled to welcome a new group of entrepreneurs. We look forward to the fresh ideas and perspectives they will bring as we continue to champion diversity and drive innovation across the UK’s creative and technology industries."
Our interventions lay important foundations for supporting early-stage deep tech start-ups
Jessica Rushworth, Digital Catapult
James Bullock, operations manager, Sony Music Publishing UK, said: “Sony Music Publishing are excited to return for the third year of the Black Founders Programme, to partner with Digital Catapult, our sister company Sony Music UK and our new 2025 collaborators, Channel 4. We look forward to meeting the 2025 cohort, discovering their creative businesses, and supporting each founder with access to our network, resources, and executive expertise."
Wayne Charran, head of technology for data, architecture & technology strategy, and Marcia Williams, director of equity and inclusion at Channel 4, said: “We are proud to partner the Black Founders Programme as part of Channel 4’s continued commitment to championing Black entrepreneurial talent in the creative tech sector. The programme is designed to help unlock opportunity, amplify innovation, and build meaningful connections between founders and the industry. Together with Channel 4 initiatives like The Plug, Black in Business and Untapped, The Black Founders Programme forms part of a structured ecosystem of support for Black founders, championing innovation, nurturing growth and helping scale impact at every stage of the journey. These initiatives are born out of our 'Equity by Design" strategy, an ambitious framework that sets out how Channel 4 will create fair outcomes for everyone and accelerate change in our industry.”
Applications are open until midnight on October 5.
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