Wilbe

Wilbe is a London-based platform that backs scientist and engineer founders building deep tech and life sciences companies from day zero. The thesis: most science-led ventures fail not for lack of ideas but for lack of operational infrastructure, capital and peer support during the earliest, riskiest months of company-building.

The company combines three offerings. A founder education and community programme — Become a Science Founder, with around 200 fellows across more than ten cohorts — provides hands-on commercialisation training. A first-cheque investment vehicle deploys $100K–$500K into companies graduating out of the community. WilbeLAB, opened in 2026 in White City, London, provides flexible wet-lab space, equipment and managed lab operations for teams from pre-seed through Series B.

Founded in 2019 by Ale Maiano and Devika Thapar, Wilbe has trained over 1,400 scientists, backed 22 companies and reports more than $1.3 billion in portfolio value. Notable portfolio companies include Proxima Fusion, Apoha, and ExpressionEdits.