Investment in Northern tech companies is starting to pick up again this year, but last year showed the region both its potential and the challenges it still faces.
So, we reckon it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on 2025. UK tech companies raised a total of $15.3bn (£11.7bn) in funding in 2025, down 9% year-on-year, according to data intelligence platform Tracxn.
Across the country, 450 acquisitions and 5 new unicorns were recorded, yet London-based tech businesses continued to claim the lion’s share, securing 78% of all funding.
READ MORE: UK government unveils new AI “growth zone” backed by £8bn private investment
While the investment gap remains, the North was far from quiet, with a number of start-ups closing substantial seed and Series A rounds.
To highlight some of the North’s most interesting deals from 2025 for a bit of a snapshot, we turned to PXN Group, the newly formed venture firm following the merger of Praetura Ventures and Par Equity.
Here, Davies delves a bit deeper into five Northern deals that stood out last year and what PXN is looking forward to for the year ahead.
Mojo-CX
Mojo-CX, founded by CEO Jimmy Hosang in 2018, is a Manchester-based AI platform helping organisations understand and improve customer experience at scale.
The business raised £2.25m investment in a round led by PXN Ventures and has seen strong commercial growth since investment, driven by demand from large enterprises looking to turn customer data into action.
“It’s a good example of how AI in the North is being applied pragmatically, solving real problems for real customers rather than chasing novelty. It’s a reminder that some of the most scalable AI companies in the UK are being built outside of the South East.”
CareLoop
After launching in 2021, CareLoop is tackling one of the hardest areas in healthcare: supporting people with severe mental illness in a way that works for clinicians on the frontline, as well as patients.
“This is a serious, outcomes-driven business built with deep clinical input. It reflects a broader strength we’re seeing across the North in life sciences and HealthTech, where teams are combining technical capability with real-world delivery.
“It was great to see our GMC Life Sciences Fund and NPIF II – PXN Equity Finance fund both collaborate on this to maximise the support offered to the business as they closed a £1.8m round.”
Outmin
Outmin, an intelligent bookkeeping start-up headquartered in Dublin, raised £3.3m to accelerate its growth across the North of England. The company helps businesses automate bookkeeping tasks and helps eliminate time-consuming manual data entry.
“Outmin choosing to expand into the North West echoes the success of the region and the recognition it’s gaining on the world stage. This is a fast-growing AI-enabled FinTech company that could have gone anywhere, but saw the North as a place to build its next phase of growth.
“That says a lot about the depth of talent, ambition and infrastructure now available here. We’re seeing more businesses relocate or expand North because it offers unrivalled access to people and commercial opportunities. We expect this FinTech to build something substantial in the years to come.”
Audiebant
This Lancashire-based business raised a ‘seven-figure’ investment last year and provides a range of solutions to make sure critical communications and messages reach the public.
“It shows how Northern companies are building globally relevant products, and beyond just Manchester and Liverpool.
“Since being supported by the NPIFII fund, the Audiebant team has now expanded into healthcare, education, and other corporate sectors across the UK, Europe and the US.”
Peak:AIO
PEAK:AIO is a Manchester-based company solving a problem most AI businesses are about to run into: infrastructure and energy production can’t keep up.
The team is building ‘ultra-fast’ storage software designed specifically for AI workloads, delivering ‘higher performance’ while using less energy and physical space than traditional systems.
“We backed the business through NPIF II as part of a £5m round alongside a Silicon Valley investor, with Pembroke VCT leading. With revenue and partner networks quadrupling over the past year and customers including the NHS and Los Alamos National Laboratory, PEAK:AIO shows the North’s growing strength in deep, globally relevant AI infrastructure — not just applications.”
Looking forward to 2026
PXN has already pledged to unlock £1bn in funding for high-growth Northern companies and to increase investment into promising businesses in the region by 50% by 2030.
“The formation of PXN means we can support founders across the North West, Yorkshire and Scotland with a joined-up approach, from pre-seed through to Series B,” says Ben Davies, marketing director of PXN Group.
“We’ve doubled down on the North’s potential, we believe this region is one of the best opportunities in European venture today.”
Davies also says PraeSeed, a six-week cohort-based programme delivered for NPIF II, will be open again for applications in March for a fresh cohort of 12 pre-seed businesses. Eight lots of £200,000 investments will be on the table for the ‘best’ Northern companies.
“We’ve now invested in over 15 pre-seed businesses across the North, writing £200,000 cheques into each company and offering capital with hands-on support around go-to-market, fundraising and scaling.
“Last year, eight businesses received investment spanning AI, fintech, medtech, climate and deep tech, from Lancaster and Liverpool through to Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle. This year, we expect this PraeSeed cohort to progress into seed and series A rounds, like Scrubmarine or Robotized did last year!”
