The Discourse AI and Mixd Reality are among five UK winners receiving eight patents, with businesses providing an equity stake in return
Deepak Pathak speaking at the IPHatch UK launch event at STEAMhouse, Birmingham, in May 2025. Photo: IPHatch team.
The Discourse AI and Mixd Reality have secured rights to three Panasonic patents through IPHatch UK 2026, gaining access to existing corporate technology for their education businesses.
Suffolk-based The Discourse AI, an education technology and AI company, received two Panasonic patents. Staffordshire-based Mixd Reality, which works in augmented reality and education technology, received one.
They are among five winners selected from 21 finalists in the fourth annual UK competition. Together, the winners received eight patents originating from Panasonic, Nokia, NEC and DENSO.
The patents are provided in exchange for an equity stake.
Five winners from a college-hosted competition
The finalists took part in a pitch day at City of Glasgow College, which hosts IPHatch UK in partnership with the Scottish Institute of Innovation & Knowledge Exchange.
Alongside the two edtech companies, West Midlands enterprise software business CALMS International received an NEC patent. Aberdeen cybersecurity company Cyber Nandhini received a Nokia patent.
RS9 Technologies, a West Midlands cybersecurity and AI business, received three DENSO patents.
The competition connects startups with technologies already developed and patented by multinational corporations. Its model is intended to put underused intellectual property into commercial use through smaller businesses.
Corporate research in exchange for equity
IPHatch is operated by Piece Future, a Singapore-based intellectual property investment bank founded in 2016.
The program positions existing patents as a way for startups to build on corporate research and development, potentially reducing the time and cost of developing technology. Organizers also say winners gain a direct relationship with the corporations behind the patents.
Those relationships are presented as potential routes to future collaboration, investment and international markets. The announcement does not identify specific follow-on investments or commercial agreements.
Deepak Pathak, European Ambassador for Piece Future/IPHatch, says: “That's what we're doing through IPHatch. We're opening doors that would ordinarily be closed to smaller businesses, giving them valuable technology, stronger protection against competition and opportunities for future partnerships with global giants.”
His ambitions extend to connections between businesses and universities: “My ambition is to bring more of these international opportunities to Britain, connecting major corporations with our entrepreneurs, universities and investors.”
An international route to commercialization
IPHatch says it has commercialized more than 350 patents and welcomed more than 100 startups through 14 competitions across 12 markets.
The UK winners also include a business that established a presence in Britain through an international entrepreneurship program. CALMS International originated in Malaysia and set up its UK presence through the Department for Business and Trade’s Global Entrepreneur Programme.
Pathak joined Piece Future in summer 2026 from Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, where he supported high-growth businesses. His current remit includes expanding IPHatch across Europe.
The program’s stated ambition is to increase the number of UK businesses receiving patents. Pathak says: “I want to see dozens of UK companies winning patents next year, and hundreds over the next few years, building UK success stories that become global brands.”
ETIH Innovation Awards 2027 open for entries
The ETIH Innovation Awards 2027 are now open for entries, with 26 categories recognising companies, institutions, projects and individuals making a measurable impact across education technology. The global awards span AI in education, digital learning, higher education, skills and workforce, inclusion, education operations, evidence and impact, with entries managed through ETIH’s new online awards platform.
Entries are open worldwide, with the early-bird deadline on Friday 18 December 2026 and the final entry deadline on Friday 26 February 2027 at 23:59 UK time.
Explore the 2027 categories and judging criteria, read the How to Enter guide or start an entry through the ETIH Innovation Awards 2027 platform.
