Blog by:
Director of Marketing Communications at CPI
I’ve spent almost two decades working in innovation marketing—writing press releases, interviewing brilliant founders, and watching new technologies emerge. Some of those innovations went on to reshape entire industries. Others? They disappeared before they ever had a chance.
Why?
Because deep tech is hard.
It’s not like software, where you can iterate quickly and launch within months. Deep tech takes years—sometimes decades—of patient capital, advanced infrastructure, and the right industry partnerships. And many startups don’t survive the journey.
The Valley of Death: Where Deep Tech Dreams Stall
One of the biggest challenges in deep tech is the Valley of Death—the phase between prototype and market-readiness where funding dries up, technical hurdles emerge, and regulatory barriers slow everything down.
Scaling Risks – Moving from the lab to large-scale production is expensive, slow, and fraught with technical challenges.
Market Uncertainty – Investors hesitate to back deep tech due to long return timelines.
Regulatory Barriers – Complex approval processes slow down market entry.
Ecosystem Gaps – Many deep tech founders lack access to infrastructure, funding, and industry expertise.
Bridging the Gap: What Makes the Difference?
Having seen countless companies succeed or fail, I’ve noticed a pattern. The ones that make it don’t just have a great idea—they have the right support at the right time.
Access to scale-up facilities – You can’t commercialise deep tech in a university lab.
The right funding at the right time – Without patient capital, even the best ideas can die.
Collaboration – No one scales alone—industry partnerships make all the difference.
At CPI, we exist to bridge this gap, connecting innovators with the expertise, infrastructure, and investment they need to scale.
If deep tech is going to solve global challenges, we need a stronger innovation ecosystem—one that supports breakthrough ideas from lab to market.
Want to dive deeper? Read my full blog on how we can unlock deep tech’s potential: https://www.uk-cpi.com/blog/unlocking-the-potential-of-deep-tech-in-the-innovation-ecosystem
Let’s innovate together.
