Europe’s first National Security VC firm, MD One Ventures and Randox, a global diagnostics and healthcare company from the UK and Ireland, today announce the launch of Randox for Builders, a security and biotech incubator and accelerator.
Randox for Builders gives early-stage companies the funding and hands-on support they need to grow faster. At its core, Randox for Builders is about strengthening national resilience by developing technologies that will shape the future security and health of the UK and its allies.
By fast-tracking solutions with real-world impact, the incubator aims to ensure that the next generation of breakthrough capabilities is built, tested and deployed far earlier than traditional systems allow.
Selected founders and their startups will gain access to Randox’s global leadership in diagnostics and biotechnology, leveraging resources rarely accessible to early-stage ventures, including:
- Access to advanced laboratories & manufacturing facilities
- Clinical trials and validation
- Commercial partnerships
- Distribution channels
- Regulatory framework advice and support
- World-leading resources for IP and Research
- Deeply established routes to market – B2B and B2C
Alongside investment, founders get instant access to a ready-made network of world-class scientific experts, R&D, and commercial resources.
The MD One Ventures team includes Co-founder Will McManners, who spent 10 years in the British Army, and served as an officer in a Specialist Military Unit, Commando and JTAC, before working at BlackRock, Investbridge Capital and Palantir.
Alongside McManners, providing strategic oversight is Cecilia Fortugno, PhD, who serves as both Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Randox Biosciences and the Senior Technical Advisor for the new accelerator.
Wil McManners, Co-founder of MD One Ventures, commented:
“This is not a traditional accelerator, it’s a strategic partnership designed to de-risk and accelerate companies that solve national security and public health challenges.
The access our founders receive to Randox’s infrastructure is literally a money can’t buy opportunity.
We are looking to support world-class founding teams that can deliver solutions to fundamental issues affecting our National Infrastructure, Health and ultimately, Security”.
Dr Cecilia Fortugno, Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Randox Biosciences and the Senior Technical Advisor for Randox for Builders, said:
“For forty years, Randox has invested deeply in R&D to drive diagnostic and preventative healthcare. This program with MD Ones is a natural extension of that mission.
By opening our technical infrastructure to the next generation of innovators, we are ensuring that the solutions to future health and security challenges are being built and scaled rapidly right now.”
The incubator has already started investing, with initial companies including Untap Health, which delivers automated wastewater-based diagnostics and Airfinity, which provides a health intelligence and bio risk forecasting platform, integrating AI-driven simulations.