The iPEPS start-up studio was designed to bridge the gap between research and entrepreneurship. Offering a unique environment to support neuroscience projects at an early stage, the studio start-up responds to the lack of technical and industrial expertise needed to support neuroscience projects until start-up. The aim is clear: to turn laboratory projects into viable start-ups, to attract investment and, eventually, to accelerate the development of revolutionary technologies for neurodegenerative diseases and mental health.
In 2024, iPEPS completed its offer with a new programme: the studio start-up. iPEPS now aims to become a real catalyst for the creation of companies, capable of transforming laboratory discoveries into concrete innovations accessible to patients by intervening earlier in the innovation process. To achieve this, iPEPS offers selected projects a 12- to 18-month support programme covering scientific, technical, medical, regulatory, business and financial aspects.
The start-up studio relies on the ecosystem of the Brain Institute and the know-how of a multidisciplinary team built around each project, as well as on NeurAL, a philanthropic fund created in 2022 thanks to financial support from patrons. NeurAL helps early and innovative promoters to implement the developments required for the project to reach sufficient maturity, which is necessary for a significant initial fundraising and the creation of a start-up. NeurAL was therefore designed to serve as a launching pad for innovative entrepreneurship projects in neuroscience, and to facilitate the emergence of innovative enterprises.
The start-ups created in this framework can then benefit from the iPEPS acceleration programme, a two-year accompaniment to support their development and maximise their chances of success.
