Application deadline: 25 October 2024.
Pi Labs has announced the launch of its 13th Growth Programme, designed for early-stage companies redefining the built world.
2024 marked a special year for Pi Labs, as the venture capital firm celebrates its 10th anniversary. Based in London, Pi Labs has spent the past decade building a portfolio of innovative founders at the forefront of the industry, helping to shape a digital and sustainable future for the built world — one that works for everyone.
As Pi Labs celebrates this milestone, the firm is raising the bar and expanding its focus on diverse, high-growth companies that are pioneering change in the industry.
Applications for the 2025 Growth Programme have now opened for companies solving key sector challenges, showing impressive early growth, and ready to scale. The 12-week programme offers tools and support to help companies expand into the European market, fast-tracking their success through personalised guidance and a strong network. Pi Labs believes diverse leadership is crucial to innovation and remains committed to helping companies scale globally.
Pi Labs in Numbers
Over the first decade, Pi Labs has made more than 90 investments across 15 countries, raised three funds, and celebrated 13 successful exits. Through the Growth Programme, the firm has supported 56 companies and over 100 founders, collectively helping them raise more than $200 million. Pi Labs has championed female founders throughout this time, with 26% of cohort companies over the past decade having at least one female founder. Pi Labs remains dedicated to fostering even greater inclusion in the future.
Since the start of the 2022 programme, 90% of participating teams have successfully raised capital, collectively raising $19 million. To date, 51 companies have gone through the programme, benefiting from Pi Labs’ hands-on support and resources.
Why Apply?
Pi Labs distinguishes itself from traditional accelerators by offering targeted support for founders transforming the built environment. The Growth Programme includes workshops led by industry experts on essential skills such as managing sales pipelines, creating sustainable pricing models, and building effective teams. Participants will also benefit from mentorship from experienced leaders who can offer personalised guidance.
Pi Labs’ programme is built around three key pillars:
- Strategic Support: This overarching goal of the programme starts with hand-picking the most relevant mentors for each team, based on their industry, stage, and needs. Weekly workshops are tailored to the cohort’s needs, ensuring they are as relevant as possible.
- Access to Customers: Halfway through the programme, this crucial phase begins. Based on an initial target list from each company, Pi Labs taps into its ecosystem and those of its partners to individually introduce teams to relevant customers.
- Access to Investors: Similar to the customer exercise, this individual engagement matches teams with the best investors. Even if a company is not immediately looking to fundraise, Pi Labs introduces relevant investors who could participate in future rounds.
The combination of these factors enables Pi Labs to deliver on its mission: to help early-stage companies move from pilots to securing long-term, large-scale customers within just 12 weeks.
What Is Pi Labs Looking For?
This year, Pi Labs is intensifying its mission to digitalise and decarbonise the built world. The firm is committed to reviewing more companies than ever before while ensuring diversity remains a priority in its selection process. Pi Labs recognises that women-led companies are crucial to solving the industry’s biggest challenges and is committed to supporting those leading the charge.
Pi Labs is looking for companies that meet the following criteria:
- Stage: Pre-Seed.
- Type of Companies: High-growth technology companies shaping the physical world, with impressive metrics or clear opportunities for market growth. Companies should have the potential to scale globally and solve large sector-wide challenges. Importantly, companies that would benefit from Pi Labs’ support in exploring expansion into the European market are highly encouraged to apply.
- Geographies: While Europe is Pi Labs’ home, the firm is also actively investing in North America, Asia, and Israel, focusing on companies with global scalability potential.
- Structure: Pi Labs offers a programme structure with GBP 350,000 in funding.
- Ticket Size: The funding is structured as a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity).
- Theme: Pi Labs seeks to partner with companies creating a sustainable and digital built world. This broad definition invites companies that may not fit the traditional ‘proptech’ label but are still aligned with Pi Labs’ vertical expertise and vision.
Testimonials
“Incredible door-opening opportunities. Brilliant mentors that know what they are talking about. 33.3% of our seed funding has come through Pi Labs connections. Post Demo Day has also been great for making Series A connections.”
— Sarah Crawley, Co-Founder & COO, Symterra
“Pi Labs gave us everything that a starting business might need – from the initial steps of relocating to the UK, to the incredible amount of introductions and thoughtful mentorship.”
— Miroslav Miroslavov, Founder & CEO, OfficeR&D
“The mentors were highly relevant, lots of C-suite individuals in high-profile property companies. Our first UK customers found us through a Pi Labs affiliate.”
— Bogdan Nicoara, Founder & CEO, Bright Spaces
Ready to Take the Leap?
Founders looking to make a lasting impact on the built world and ready to scale their business are encouraged to apply to Pi Labs’ 13th Growth Programme.
