CoSTAR Evolve: strengthening established UK creative technology companies
An intensive six-month CoSTAR Enterprise and Commercialisation (E&C) access programme available to 10 established scaling UK companies offering funding, resources and industry mentorship to help them grow and succeed.
Sign up for our webinar on Monday 6 October 11-12:00 GMT
Timeline
Opening date for applications:
Thursday 11 September, 12.00 BST
Closing date for applications:
Tuesday 28 October 2025, 12.00 GMT
Application outcome: You will be informed in writing of the outcome no later than six weeks after the closing date by Friday 12 December 2025.
Programme start and duration: The programme runs from Tuesday 13 January 2026 to June 2026.
Essential reading:
About CoSTAR Evolve
Many UK creative technology businesses face a shortage of resources and access to expertise for business, product, and commercialisation strategic planning. This gap threatens their long-term sustainability and financial viability.
As a result, the overall strength of the UK’s creative economy is at risk, particularly when promising creative technology enterprises cannot overcome key business challenges due to insufficient support.
CoSTAR Evolve is dedicated to strengthening the business development and commercial innovation capabilities of high-value UK creative technology companies.
This intensive six-month programme is designed to help 10 scaling enterprises address mission-critical business and market development needs, empowering them to achieve sustained growth and success.
CoSTAR Evolve enables:
- Routes to business development and commercial innovation support needed to maximise on new business opportunities, accelerate routes to market or meet business growth ‘spurts’ arising from market opportunities.
- A pathway to enable a rapid response to commercialisation opportunities, without which risks limiting or at worse, jeopardising a business’s commercial value, success and future growth.
- Personalised and flexible growth journey suited to the unique needs of each business.
How CoSTAR Evolve Can Help Your Business
- Over £15,000 in total support, including £10,000 of in-kind support and a £5,000 Enterprise Development Award.
- Comprehensive guidance for business development and building robust commercial innovation pipelines.
- Direct access to industry experts to address critical gaps and unique challenges—ranging from IP management and commercialisation strategies to product-to-market processes and becoming investment ready.
- Community-building across CoSTAR Labs and the national network, providing access to expertise, infrastructure and connecting you with peers and partners for ongoing collaboration.
- Opportunities to fast-track business growth and effectively navigate barriers to product innovation.
- Training and tailored mentorship in social impact, with a focus on EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) and sustainability.
- Exposure to investors, including pitch opportunities and actionable feedback from angels and investment networks
Who is CoSTAR Evolve for?
Participants will be companies who typically can demonstrate one or more of the following:
- Can identify clear opportunities for business growth through IP development, commercialisation, or distribution activities but lack access to support or expertise to action.
- Identified gaps in team knowledge or expertise that are limiting business momentum.
- A need for specialised support not currently addressed by existing business support mechanisms.
What is on offer?
CoSTAR Evolve provides:
Six months of dedicated business growth support for 10 UK creative technology enterprises.
40 hours of personalised 1-2-1 mentorship and guidance from a pool of carefully selected mentors, matched to the bespoke needs of each company, over a 6-month period.
£5,000 Enterprise Development Award for each selected company, tailored to advance the unique development goals of their business. Expert led masterclasses and workshops on crucial topics, including:
- Commercialisation and scaling strategies
- Expanding monetisation routes for IP and distribution
- Copyright, licensing, and legal frameworks
- AI, data, and ethics preparation
- Building inclusive and sustainable businesses
- Funding, finance, and investment readiness and pitching support.
- Meet-ups and networking opportunities with peers, mentors, and industry partners.
- Introductions, inductions and workshops with CoSTAR Network Labs to develop knowledge, skills and foster future collaborations. Support for travel included.
CoSTAR Evolve Schedule
2026
- 14 January: Cohort Induction
- 15 – 20 January: Company Diagnostics
- 21 January: Cohort and Mentor Meetup
- 28 January: Confirm mentor selection and mentorship begins
- February: CoSTAR Network Lab Introductions
- March: Cohort Meet Up / Mid Stage company reviews
- March/April: Social Impact Training
- May: Cohort Meet up
- June: Closing event & Programme ends
CoSTAR Evolve Programme Details
All are welcomed to take part regardless of age, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, socio-economic background, (dis)ability (visible or hidden, physical or mental), sexuality, religion or belief.
We strongly encourage applications from businesses led by those from diverse backgrounds and those currently under-represented in the creative technology sector.
Enterprise & Commercialisation programmes will monitor diversity across its range of participants, external experts and mentors we engage for delivery. The CoSTAR EDI framework measures our success against it’s annual EDI Action Plan.
Our goal is to deliver programmes within an infrastructure which is fit for a future creative industry that values diversity and inclusion for its commercial and societal value.
1. Mentorship
CoSTAR Evolve Mentors are active industry professionals with hands-on experience in growing and scaling businesses. Their expertise spans commercial innovation, IP, creative technologies, technical development, EDI (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion), data and ethics, sales, marketing, and distribution.
Meet our CoSTAR Evolve mentors
2. Enterprise Development Award
The Enterprise Development Award of £5,000 is available for each selected company to allocate resource to critical gaps and development opportunities that are unique to the business whilst on the programme.
3. Intellectual property
We will not acquire (and no Collaborator nor any third party participating in the CoSTAR Programme will acquire) any rights in your intellectual property (whether created before, during or separately to the CoSTAR Programme) by virtue of your participation of the CoSTAR Programme
4. Programme costs
There is no fee to participate in CoSTAR E&C. The programme is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The value of in-kind value of support to participants on the programme is estimated to be £10,000 per company.
5. Company Participation
Please ensure that one senior business development lead is identified within the company team. Applicants can identify up to 2 roles from within the company to put forward to take part in the programme as follows:
6. Programme Obligations
Participants must be willing to commit to the following key programme and attendance obligations:
7. Social Impact (EDI & Sustainability)
Environmental Sustainability and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) are central to our work at CoSTAR and all our Access Programmes.