Innovate UK case study interview with CEO, Lia Li
Recently Innovate UK interviewed Lia to discuss the impact of their support and how it has helped Zero Point Motion grow. In the interview, Lia reflects on the value of community, coaching, strategic guidance and collaboration opportunities, and how these have helped us navigate the challenges of building an ambitious company that aims not just to improve sensor technology, but to fundamentally redefine what sensors can do.
See full article below.
Innovate UK support strengthens Zero Point Motion’s foundations for scale
Bristol-based Zero Point Motion is pioneering a new class of photonics‑based inertial sensors that deliver up to 100x better performance than today’s mainstream devices. The technology will unlock reliable navigation for robots, machinery, wearables and future XR systems.
“Anything that moves will want to know how it's moving,” says CEO Lia Li, summarising the vast opportunity in a global inertial‑sensing market worth $16 bn USD.
The company has grown quickly since its inception in 2020, moving from university cleanrooms into full commercial pre‑production, with a first product targeted for early next year. They are already engaging early adopters in construction, mining and agritech and preparing to double their 10‑person team as they transition into commercial operations.
Crucially, Zero Point Motion has been backed from an early stage by u‑blox, a Swiss navigation specialist, starting with a £2.58m seed round. The company is one of the world's highest‑revenue companies in positioning technology, giving the startup both deep market insight and immediate global reach.
“It’s so nice to have an investor that understands the technology and the market,” Lia explains.
Yet rapid technical progress brought equally rapid organisational challenges: the complexity of migrating academic IP into a commercial company, the need to build a scalable team culture, and the difficulty of forming meaningful collaborations with universities and industry. This is where Innovate UK Business Growth, delivered by Business West in the South West, became essential.
Women in Innovation: community, confidence and crucial early funding
One of the most significant turning points for the business came when Lia received the Women in Innovation Award. The funding was one of the first injections of cash into Zero Point Motion and preprepared the ground for seed investment, but equally important was the new sense of belonging.
Moving from London back to her hometown, Bristol, meant Lia was starting a company away from familiar networks. Suddenly being part of a cohort of around 40 women founders gave her a circle of people who understood the realities of building a business, from hiring challenges to taxes to the emotional demands of early entrepreneurship.
As she explains:
“That community was the most beneficial part – we talked openly about all the things that feel alien when you start running your own company.”The award also kick-started Lia’s work with Innovation and Growth Specialist, Natalie Collard, who helped develop a detailed growth plan focused on IP and team development.
IP Audit: establishing clarity, credibility and investor alignment
Natalie first helped Lia to apply for an IP Audit. The process helped Zero Point Motion navigate the complicated overlap between Lia’s academic research and the company’s emerging IP. It clarified ownership, identified what needed strengthening, and created a structure the company could build on as it grew.
It also proved critical for relations with their lead investor. With u‑blox holding over a hundred patents, Zero Point Motion needed to align with their expectations and speak the same technical and strategic language. The early IP Audit gave the company the confidence and clarity to do exactly that.
Lia reflects:
“I’m now pretty proud of our patent strategy. We don’t over‑patent – our patents are meaningful. But IP Audit gave us the structure to build from.”Team coaching: resolving culture clashes and building a fast, flexible way of working
As Zero Point Motion grew, Lia and Natalie recognised that the company needed a new way of working, one that could harness the full range of skills and perspectives within the expanding team.
Team members from academic backgrounds tended to favour perfect, carefully refined solutions, while others pushed to move fast, iterate and make decisions quickly. This difference in working styles created friction at times, but it also revealed the opportunity to build a culture that balanced rigour with agility.
Natalie introduced a team-building coach who helped the company leverage the different strengths in the team. The result was a working style that blended academic depth with the fast, iterative mindset required to deliver breakthrough hardware at speed.
As Lia puts it:
“Most people would be shocked by how fast we get things done; our changed working style made that possible.”This shift even influenced hiring. Lia began bringing in more interns – fresh minds unburdened by rigid habits, who asked fundamental questions that often unlocked surprisingly effective solutions.
Innovate UK grants: expanding networks, talent and visibility
Aside from the Women in Innovation Award, Zero Point Motion has seen significant success in Innovate UK grant competitions, which have unlocked a host of new opportunities. These include:
MyWorld initiative (immersive sensing research with UWE)
CCAV automotive grant (giving access to ASIN and major OEMs such as Caterpillar, Nissan and McLaren)
University of Bath simulation project (improving fabrication yield)
These grants enabled Zero Point Motion to work with universities despite being VC-funded, something that is normally challenging due to IP agreements. They also created direct pathways to hiring: two UWE interns joined the company through grant collaborations, with one now joining full‑time.
The impact of Innovate UK Business Growth
Together, the Women in Innovation community, the IP audit, coaching and ongoing specialist support have given Zero Point Motion the structural, cultural and strategic foundations needed to scale.
As Lia summarises:
“Innovate UK has been consistent, supportive and genuinely transformative. Funding is important, but it’s the community, the collaborations and hands-on support that truly accelerate a startup like ours.”