MSK Innovation Accelerator seeks next wave of musculoskeletal innovators

The UK’s only accelerator focused entirely on musculoskeletal innovation is back for a fourth round, and applications are now open for the 2026 cohort. The MSK Innovation Accelerator is built for people trying to turn ideas into tools that help prevent injury, improve surgery, speed rehabilitation and keep people active and independent for longer.

This year’s programme is sponsored by TIME Interconnect MedTech UK, supported by Orthopaedic Research UK and Joint Venture Academy, and powered by Imperial College London’s MedTech SuperConnector and Enterprise Lab. It runs for six months and is fully funded. Each participating venture gets more than £80,000 worth of specialist support, from entrepreneurship training and commercial guidance to mentorship, regulatory expertise and access to investors, clinicians and industry figures.

The call is broad. Researchers, clinicians, engineers and entrepreneurs can apply if they’re working in areas such as orthopaedic devices, digital health, AI, rehabilitation, diagnostics, mobility tech, advanced manufacturing, wearables or novel therapies. Participants will also be able to pitch for investment from ORUK.

There is already some track record behind the programme. Imperial College London’s MedTech SuperConnector says it has helped create 24 spinout companies and supported ventures that raised more than £26 million in combined grant and venture funding. Orthopaedic Research UK has also backed five alumni with pre-seed and seed investment, including three companies from last year’s cohort, as the programme tries to push promising work out of research and into the clinic.