StandardX, a London startup building particle accelerators to produce rare isotopes, launched with a £10m (about $13.3m) seed round on 23 September 2026. Vsquared Ventures and East X Ventures co-led the round.
Firstminute capital, the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), Brevan Howard Macro Venture and Geometry also invested. The company did not disclose a valuation. The seed round is the first funding StandardX has announced.
The company plans to make isotopes for cancer diagnosis and treatment first, and later tritium for fusion energy.
“Isotopes underpin the next era of innovation across several key sectors, but all share the same constraints around supply.”Richard Pearson, CEO, StandardX
What StandardX does
StandardX was founded in 2025 by chief executive Richard Pearson and chief technology officer Ross Allen, both nuclear engineers who have previously helped scale startups. It is designing a proprietary accelerator system that works as an isotope refinery and fits on a standard industrial site.
The idea is to produce a wide range of isotopes at commercial scale and to place production close to where the materials are used, rather than relying on a small number of large facilities. Its first targets are medical isotopes, including materials for targeted alpha therapies, according to Tech.eu.
The company said it has signed agreements with fusion developers, which it did not name, for future tritium supply. It cited estimates that only about 25kg of tritium exists worldwide, while a single fusion plant would need tens of kilograms a year.
"Isotopes underpin the next era of innovation across several key sectors, but all share the same constraints around supply," Pearson said.
The team and investors
StandardX has 15 scientists, engineers and operators. The company said they have worked at SpaceX, The London Clinic, Oxford and Cambridge universities, Fermilab and the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
Lise Rechsteiner, a general partner at Vsquared Ventures, said radiopharmaceuticals were nearing a turning point but that isotope supply had not kept up. Theodore Mollinger, a general partner at East X Ventures, pointed to the small global stock of tritium compared with what commercial fusion would eventually need.
UKI2S is run by Future Planet Capital, according to the company's announcement.
What the money is for
StandardX said the seed funding would pay to grow the team, secure its first industrial site in London and advance the design and construction of its first accelerator-based refinery, where it will run pilot production and distribution.
The company is targeting pilot production in 2027, when it plans to supply its first isotopes to a medical research partner, and industrial-scale production from 2029. Allen said the raise would move the company from concept to engineering and from physics to hardware.
The company framed the medical case around rising demand. It cited projections that new cancer cases will rise 67% by 2050 and NHS figures showing 69.6% of urgent cancer referrals were treated within 62 days in May 2026, below the 85% target.
Company website: standardx.tech