We are excited to announce that Body Rocket has been awarded the coveted Innovate Funding from the UK Government scheme dedicated to supporting up and coming startups.
Body Rocket’s patented aero system directly measures drag force on the bike in real-time, allowing cyclists to get faster and enhance individual performance potential.
Part of the UK Smart Grant, the £470k funding will enable us to hire for two new key roles in the technology and product development team, propelling innovation and advancement of the product roadmap.
“We are truly honoured to receive this funding”, said Eric DeGolier, Body Rocket Founder. “It’s notoriously competitive with so many inspirational UK startups on the scene, so the fact that we have been awarded this is really encouraging and also validates the strength of our intellectual property and business plan.
“Real-time aerodynamic drag measurement isn’t currently available to cyclists in a day-to-day situation, yet this kind of metric is critical to performance. It isn’t something that should be limited to the professional or the elite either – in a way we want to normalise access to aerodynamics so that cyclists and triathletes everywhere can tap into another level of performance.”
The fiercely competitive grant assesses startups for their suitability in the innovation, technology and design space. Body Rocket received consistently positive feedback from assessors during the application process: “This is innovative Industrial Research R&D which can be rapidly commercialised to a large and increasing global performance orientated cycling market. It will be unique in accuracy and availability to both professionals and amateurs.”
With cycling gaining continued prestige as a fast-growing sport for both amateur and elite cyclists, the market opportunity for real-time aerodynamic drag is substantial, as one of the Fund’s assessors highlighted: “Aerodynamic drag measurement has been the preserve of specialists for many years and new technology liberating this from the wind tunnel and bringing it to the wider market is to be welcomed.”
With plans in the pipeline to hire for roles in Data Analytics and Mechatronic Engineering, the Body Rocket team is excited to enter the next phase of development with the rollout of the prototype, and expanding services in the industry over the coming months.