Wayra UK

Tucked away in a sleek office in central London, Wayra UK doesn’t look much like the gateway to one of the world’s largest telecom companies—but for over a decade, that’s exactly what it has been. As the UK outpost of Telefónica’s global innovation arm, Wayra UK has carved out a unique role in the startup ecosystem: part accelerator, part investor, and part corporate matchmaker.

Founded in 2011, Wayra UK sits at the intersection of early-stage innovation and enterprise ambition. Its pitch to startups is simple but powerful: if you’ve already got product-market fit, Wayra can help you land your first major corporate client—potentially Telefónica itself, whose reach spans 350 million customers across 11 countries. The organisation’s focus is on helping startups scale not just with capital, but with commercial traction, acting as a fast-track into enterprise environments that are notoriously hard to crack.

Unlike some accelerators, Wayra isn’t for the idea-stage hopeful. It looks for founders with working products and a clear use case that could resonate inside a giant like O₂ Innovation or beyond. It offers up to £250,000 in funding, typically as part of a broader round, and often co-invests alongside other VCs. But the real draw is access: Wayra’s team works closely with each portfolio company, setting up introductions, brokering pilot projects, and helping navigate the procurement labyrinths of corporate clients.

This strategy has paid off. Startups like queue management firm Qudini and AI-powered translation platform Unbabel both passed through Wayra UK on their way to scale. Qudini, for example, landed a rollout across O₂ stores before being acquired by Verint in 2023. Other alumni include Reedsy, WeFarm and Honest Mobile.

Founders speak positively of the experience. Maria Vircikova, CEO of holographic communication startup MATSUKO, recalls Wayra pushing through a Telefónica partnership over the Christmas break. “Wayra’s differentiator is the lengths they go to get the right people in the room and decisions across the line,” she says. Others echo this sentiment, praising the team’s ability to open doors that would otherwise remain firmly shut.

Wayra’s model is especially appealing for founders with solutions that could integrate into telecom infrastructure, enterprise software, or digital services. It’s also unusually hands-on: a tailored program replaces the traditional cohort structure, with mentoring, investor support, and business development baked in. The organisation also collaborates with partners like Novartis and GCHQ to run sector-specific programmes, from cybersecurity to health tech.

While Wayra doesn’t always lead funding rounds or guarantee follow-on capital, it offers something arguably more valuable: an insider track to enterprise clients, and a chance to scale in partnership with a Fortune 500 company.