Rapid Innovation Group

What Rapid Innovation Group does

Rapid Innovation Group (RIG) is a London-headquartered, FCA-regulated boutique commercialisation firm that partners with emerging, IP-rich sustainable technology companies to navigate the journey from laboratory validation through initial adoption to early commercial scale. Founded in 2003 and operating from Procter Street in central London, the firm focuses specifically on the high-risk TRL 4-9 stage where most investors and consultancies decline to engage, applying stage-specific methodologies including the Vanguard Model, Ideal Customer Profile creation, and the Technology-Push Lead User Concept (T-PLUC) framework. RIG's client base spans at least eight verticals — Energy Transition and Materials, Healthcare, Waste to Product, Agbio, Circular Energy and Advanced Fuels, Industrial Biotechnology, AgriFood, and Industrial Decarbonisation — with a small portfolio of named clients including Arbiom, Agricarbon, ClearLeaf, Akribion Therapeutics, Fixed Phage, Carbon8, C-Capture, Liberation Labs, SolasCure, MDF Recovery, and Diageo.

RIG delivers no software product or platform; its core offering is human-delivered strategic advisory and commercial execution support, deploying as a "vanguard" execution team embedded with clients ahead of their internal commercial build-out. The firm's revenue model is a hybrid of monthly retainer fees plus performance-linked upside that is proportional to the equity value RIG engineers for each client, structured bespoke per engagement to align incentives — RIG explicitly measures success in terms of equity value creation rather than hours billed. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales targeting founders and CEOs of growth-stage sustainable tech companies in the UK and Europe, supported by thought leadership content marketing across the firm's blog and news channels.

The firm is closely held and founder-led, with Shields Russell as Founder and Director and Ffion Rolph as Managing Partner; no external institutional investors, parent companies, or subsidiaries are identified. The team of approximately 15 named professionals combines backgrounds from bp's clean-tech startup, Wefarm, Aston Martin, Imperial College London, the University of Oxford, and Edinburgh University, supporting the firm's claim of deep sector specialisation. RIG is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority — an unusual regulatory positioning for a commercialisation consultancy — and operates from a single London office serving an international client base drawn predominantly from the UK and Europe.

Name

Rapid Innovation Group

Legal name

Rapid Innovation Group Ltd

Website

https://rapidinnovation.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rapid Innovation Group is a London-based, FCA-regulated boutique commercialisation firm that helps IP-rich emerging sustainable technology companies (TRL 4-9) navigate from lab to early commercial scale across energy, healthcare, agri-food, and industrial biotech, using a hybrid monthly retainer plus equity-upside model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Commercialisation Consulting

akta.pro primary industry

Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory (BPAHADAI)

Keywords

• Technology commercialisation services
• Sustainable tech advisory
• IP commercialisation consulting
• Cleantech commercialisation support
• Innovation commercialisation services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Commercialisation Services: RIG operates a hybrid model comprising a monthly fee component plus upside elements that are linked to the activities they are engaged in and proportional to the value they engineer for clients. There is no standard upside arrangement - each engagement is structured as a win-win for both RIG and the client. RIG measures success in terms of creating equity value for clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rapid Innovation Group (RIG) is a London-based commercialisation firm that partners with emerging, IP-rich sustainable technology companies to navigate the journey from the laboratory through initial adoption and growth to early scale. Operating at Technology Readiness Levels 4-9, RIG deploys as a vanguard execution team alongside client leadership, delivering strategic commercialisation services across eight practice areas: Energy Transition and Materials, Healthcare, Waste to Product, Agbio, Circular Energy and Advanced Fuels, Industrial Biotechnology, AgriFood, and Industrial Decarbonisation. Engagements are structured on a hybrid monthly fee plus upside model aligned with client equity value creation.

Product overview

Rapid Innovation Group (RIG) is a commercialisation firm focused on enabling the adoption of high impact, IP-rich technologies with global application in the sustainable technology ecosystem. Rather than offering a software product or platform, RIG provides strategic consulting and commercial execution services to emerging technology companies, operating through practice areas including Energy Transition and Materials, Healthcare, Waste to Product, AgriFood, Circular Energy and Advanced Fuels, Industrial Biotechnology, and Industrial Decarbonisation. Their engagement model combines a monthly fee with upside arrangements linked to client success, and they deploy as a vanguard execution team working alongside commercial teams to pioneer early-stage technology commercialisation from TRL 4-9.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sustainable Technology Commercialisation Services Strategic commercialisation advisory and execution services delivered to emerging, IP-rich sustainable technology companies operating at Technology Readiness Levels 4-9. Services span market prioritisation, product-market fit validation, crafting commercial strategies, creating revenue-generative deals, fundraising support, and identification of specific skillset requirements to minimise recruitment risk. Engagements deploy RIG as a vanguard execution team working alongside client leadership over extended periods until the company reaches an accelerating revenue path.
• Energy Transition and Materials Commercialisation Commercialisation advisory services focused on energy transition technologies and advanced materials for emerging sustainable technology companies. RIG supports clients developing materials and energy innovations in navigating market entry, customer development, and commercial scaling.
• Healthcare Commercialisation Services Commercialisation advisory services for healthcare and biotechnology ventures, including wound healing technologies, CRISPR-based oncology therapeutics, and bacteriophage therapy developers. RIG supports these clients in clinical trial progression, licensing agreements, and commercial market entry.
• Waste to Product Commercialisation Commercialisation advisory services for waste-to-product and circular economy ventures. Supports clients developing novel recycling and waste valorisation technologies in market entry, partnership formation, and commercial scaling.
• Agbio Commercialisation Services Commercialisation advisory services for agricultural biotechnology ventures, including non-toxic crop protection products and sustainable agriculture technologies. RIG supports clients in distribution partnerships, market development, and commercial scaling across international markets.
• Circular Energy and Advanced Fuels Commercialisation Commercialisation advisory services for carbon capture, utilisation, and advanced fuels ventures. Supports clients developing circular energy and industrial decarbonisation technologies in securing strategic investments, forming corporate partnerships, and achieving commercial scale.
• Industrial Biotechnology Commercialisation Commercialisation advisory services for industrial biotechnology ventures, including precision fermentation and biomanufacturing companies. RIG supports clients in facility development, customer acquisition, and commercial production ramp-up.
• AgriFood Commercialisation Services Commercialisation advisory services for agrifood ventures, including soil carbon measurement, alternative protein, and regenerative agriculture technologies. RIG supports clients in enterprise partnerships with major consumer goods companies, fundraising, and international market expansion.
• Industrial Decarbonisation Commercialisation Commercialisation advisory services for industrial decarbonisation ventures, including carbon capture, utilisation, and storage technology developers. RIG supports clients in securing strategic investments from energy and industrial corporates and achieving commercial scale.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple client companies have achieved significant funding rounds and strategic partnerships
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BRAIN Biotech AGcoreTechnology or Integration · 31 October 2024BRAIN Biotech AG and Akribion Therapeutics GmbH (RIG client) signed exclusive pharma licensing agreement for G-dase E CRISPR-Cas technology. Akribion is progressing development of CRISPR-Cas9 technology with initial applications in oncology.
• Summit Agro InternationalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 14 August 2024After nearly three years of joint testing with RIG client ClearLeaf, Summit Agro International acquired exclusive rights for market development and distribution of ClearLeaf's flagship product GotaBlanca in Japan and South Korea. This provides ClearLeaf access to a vast distribution network and market expertise.
• DiageocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2023Agricarbon (RIG client) partnered with Diageo to deliver regenerative agriculture programmes across Scotch whiskey and tequila brands. Programmes focused on reducing carbon emissions of farming barley, wheat, and agave while driving additional benefits for farmers. Agricarbon builds baselines of current soil carbon and tracks changes over time.
• NHS ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023NHS Scotland approved bacteriophage laboratory being trialled at NHS Tayside to manage patients with difficult-to-treat bacterial infections. This approval represents significant step toward commercialisation of phage therapy for RIG client Fixed Phage.
• BarvecueminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2022Alternative protein innovator Arbiom (RIG client) announced strategic partnership with plant-based BBQ brand Barvecue to improve taste, texture, and nutritional profile of clean-label plant-based meats.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cleantech Group: Research and advisory firm serving the global cleantech innovation ecosystem, including corporates, investors, and emerging clean technology companies. Comparable to RIG in facilitating commercial partnerships and connecting sustainable technology startups with strategic partners and capital.
• South Pole: Global climate consultancy helping corporates and investors develop decarbonisation strategies and source carbon credits. Comparable in delivering sustainability-focused advisory work to corporates and emerging climate solution providers, though more carbon-market focused than RIG.
• Anthesis Group: Global sustainability advisory firm headquartered in the UK, working with corporates and innovators on strategy, transformation, and commercialisation of sustainable solutions. Closely comparable to RIG in client base (sustainability-focused corporates and startups) and cross-sector practice-area structure.
• Systemiq: Systems-change advisory firm focused on sustainable economic transformation, working with corporates, investors, and policymakers. Comparable to RIG in cross-sector sustainable technology focus and partnership-driven commercialisation approach.
• Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL): Investment and advisory firm focused on sustainable infrastructure and clean energy projects. Comparable to RIG in its cross-sector sustainable technology focus and deal-making role connecting investors with clean technology opportunities.
• Carbon Trust: UK-based advisory firm helping businesses and governments accelerate the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Highly comparable to RIG in terms of UK focus, sustainable tech orientation, and advisory-led business model serving emerging technology commercialisation.
• EcoAct (Schneider Electric): Climate strategy and sustainability advisory firm, now part of Schneider Electric, supporting organisations on net-zero strategy and climate transition. Comparable to RIG's advisory model serving climate-tech clients and corporates pursuing sustainability outcomes.
• Element Energy (ERM Group): UK-based energy and climate consultancy specialising in low-carbon technology commercialisation and energy system modelling. Directly comparable to RIG's Energy Transition and Industrial Decarbonisation practices and its focus on helping emerging clean technologies reach market.
• Pollination: Global climate advisory and investment firm focused on decarbonisation strategy, capital deployment, and policy advisory. Comparable to RIG in advising on commercial deals, partnerships, and capital raising for sustainable technology ventures.

Broad incumbents

• Environmental Resources Management (ERM): Largest global pure-play sustainability consultancy, offering environmental, health, safety, and sustainability advisory across all major sectors. Comparable in serving sustainability-focused clients but operates at a vastly larger scale with broader service portfolio than RIG's boutique model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rapidinnovation
• Facebookfacebook.com/rapidinnovationgroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rapid-innovation-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rapid Innovation Group