Physics-first technical due diligence for deep-tech investments

We tell investors whether a venture's core technology can work, how far it can go, and what is most likely to stop it, before the commercial case is built on it.

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Three questions we answer

Every engagement starts from the physics. Market arguments come after the technology has passed these tests.

Will it work?

Do the claims respect physical limits: conservation laws, diffraction, noise floors, thermal and material bounds?

How far can it go?

Where is the performance ceiling, and how far is the team from it today?

What kills it?

Which technical, manufacturing or supply-chain risk dominates, and what is the cheapest experiment that would expose it?

Services

Fixed fees, quoted after a short scope call. All work under NDA.

Service	What it covers	Typical turnaround
Red-flag check	Key claims tested against physical limits; top three technical risks; a clear go, dig deeper or walk away.	2 working days
Full technical due diligence	Claims-evidence review, performance ceiling, prior art and competition, technology and manufacturing readiness, scale-up and supply chain, team technical depth, kill-test experiments, questions for founders.	5–10 working days
Post-investment oversight	Milestone verification, technical board advice, second opinions on pivots.	Retainer
Expert calls and expert witness	Focused technical consultations; independent expert opinion in patent or technology disputes.	On request

Sectors we assess

Technologies where a physics error can sink an investment, and where we have hands-on research and fabrication experience.

Photonics and flat optics

Metasurfaces, metalenses, integrated and silicon photonics, optical imaging and sensing modules.

Quantum and precision sensing

Quantum sensors, levitated optomechanics, gravimetry, inertial and navigation sensing.

MEMS and microsystems

MEMS and NEMS sensors and actuators, resonators, energy harvesting, wafer-level fabrication and packaging.

Space and free-space optics

Optical communication terminals, retroreflectors, beam pointing, space-qualified optical components.

Photonic AI hardware

Optical computing, optical interconnects and photonic accelerators: architecture claims versus physical limits.

Fibre and infrastructure sensing

Distributed fibre-optic sensing, structural and infrastructure monitoring, wireless sensor networks.

What you receive

A one-page verdict on the three questions, with a confidence level for each
A claims-evidence table: each claim, the evidence offered, whether it holds and under what conditions
Performance limits, with the derivation or source behind each one

A risk register ranked by impact, each risk paired with the cheapest test that would confirm or kill it
Questions to put to the founders before signing
Every number traceable to a calculation, a measurement or a cited source

Who leads the work

Assessments are led by Prof. Jize Yan, Professor at the University of Southampton (BEng Tsinghua, PhD Cambridge), who combines research leadership with first-hand venture building.

30+ventures assessed on investment and innovation panels

3spin-outs co-founded (8power, Wisen, Traco)

100+peer-reviewed papers; 10+ patents

£30M+research funding as PI and Co-I

Hands-on fabrication: leads a 20+ person group running cleanroom metasurface and MEMS/NEMS fabrication and multi-project-wafer services, so manufacturing claims are checked against practice.
Technology transfer: licensing and spin-out activity generating over £20M.
Peer review: Associate Editor of five international journals; member of the UKRI Talent Review College and the EPSRC Peer Review College.

How we work

Scope call (30 minutes): the decision you face, the claims that matter most, the deadline.
Physics first: each key claim is checked against fundamental limits and the established literature before market arguments are considered.
Independent checks: critical numbers are re-derived or re-simulated, not taken from the data room.
Traceable analysis: a fully documented workflow keeps turnaround short and every conclusion traceable to its source.
Confidentiality: all work is under NDA; client and target information is never reused.
Trusted research and export control: each engagement is screened for export-control and national-security sensitivities before work starts.

We support cross-border investments and work in English and Mandarin Chinese.