The Prolific North Tech Start-ups to Watch 2025
Sponsored by Beyond Echo PR, the fourth edition of this hugely popular list and event continues to shine a spotlight on some of the region’s most promising start-ups making an impact. It builds on the success of a new Scale-Ups to Watch edition, launched earlier in 2025, which celebrated ambitious, high-growth tech businesses emerging across the North.
The Tech Start-ups to Watch list for 2025 was exclusively revealed on 14 October at Bruntwood SciTech‘s No. 1 Circle Square in Manchester, where attendees came together to connect with the next breakout tech success stories and hear insights from leading industry experts.
Compiled through a mixture of submissions, nominations, in-depth editorial research, and input from independent industry observers, this year’s list highlights 14 rising start-ups from across the North of England. The list is not ranked and is instead decided by a mix of factors such as ingenuity of idea, evidence of market uptake and funding success.
From solutions designed to counter the growing threat of cyber attacks to groundbreaking innovations transforming how human organs are preserved, this year’s list features an exciting mix of companies spanning numerous industries.
Prolific North’s Tech Start-ups to Watch 2025
Sponsored by Beyond Echo PR
Periphery
Founded: 2022 | HQ: Leeds
Founded by former engineers from NATO and BAE Systems, Periphery is developing advanced cybersecurity solutions to protect critical technologies — including drones, autonomous vehicles, industrial sensors, and battlefield systems. The company’s AI-powered software agents are designed to embed directly onto devices, offering what its experts describe as a significant advantage in environments where networks are isolated or disconnected. This year, Periphery donated its software to Ukraine, helping to secure drones and other critical systems from cyber attacks. The firm says it has already achieved a 600% growth in its ARR and is on track to hit $1m ARR in the next year, demonstrating a clear path from humanitarian impact to commercial success.
STEM on Track
Founded: 2021 | HQ: Manchester
STEM on Track is redefining education with a hands-on, motorsport-themed programme that transforms STEM learning. Co-founders James Foster Le-Grys and Adam Sirett, who blend classroom and F1 engineering experience, have already demonstrated traction by growing the programme to 100 schools, generating over £500,000 in revenue, and achieving a 90%+ retention rate. As a profitable and bootstrapped business with a three-year national partnership with Alpine F1 Team, Stem on Track is proving its model for scalable edtech that is both commercially successful and socially impactful.
Veridox
Founded: 2023 | HQ: Manchester
Veridox is tackling the global issue of insurance fraud with its AI-powered detection platform. Founded by Dan Sandler, a former lawyer and repeat entrepreneur, the firm has already secured pilot programs with major tier 1 insurers. With a “pay-per-upload” business model and a recent £1m pre-seed round, Veridox has been demonstrating its ability to deliver tangible financial impact from day one, positioning it for ‘rapid’ and well-funded expansion.
Literal Labs
Founded: 2023 | HQ: Newcastle
This deep-tech spin-out from Newcastle University is led by a team of world-class academics and former Arm and AstraZeneca executives. With an ambition to create fast, efficient, and explainable AI, Literal Labs is challenging the status quo with its proprietary architecture that claims to be 52x more energy-efficient and 54x faster than current models. Backed by a substantial £4.6m pre-seed round, Literal Labs is positioning itself as a start-up to watch. With pilot projects already underway in highly regulated industries and a defined strategy for commercialising its technology, the company is quickly gaining momentum.
PneuMonitor
Founded: 2023 | HQ: Cumbria
Pneumonitor is an innovative agricultural technology that is tackling one of the costliest calf diseases: pneumonia. Developed by Isaac Orr and Clyne Albertelli, with support from the Digital Dairy Chain initiative, this smart, in-pen sensor monitors environmental data (temperature, humidity, air pressure) at calf height in real-time. By spotting risky conditions and sending immediate smartphone alerts, the device allows farmers to intervene before calves become unwell, significantly reducing health risks, lost performance, and the need for broad-spectrum antibiotics. The system’s success demonstrates the transformative potential of specialised sensor technology in improving sustainability and productivity in the UK dairy sector.
JECO
Founded: 2023 | HQ: Bingley
JECO is an AI-driven company that is set to transform how software is built by automatically detecting and fixing performance issues. Led by Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur Emily Bailey and gaming and technology veteran Simon Barratt, who previously worked on Fortnite, the company has already secured paid case studies with major games studios. With a recent £960,000 pre-seed round led by Games Angels and British Business Bank, and a clear, multi-product growth strategy, JECO is a high-potential business that is already gaining momentum in the global software market.
Birl
Founded: 2022 | HQ: Liverpool
Birl is a B2B tech start-up that is transforming the fashion and sports industries with a scalable, plug-and-play solution for resale. The company’s innovative platform allows brands to embed a simple “trade-in” button on their online stores, enabling customers to exchange old items for instant credit, all whilst Birl manages the complex end-to-end logistics. As a certified B Corp, claiming a 100% success rate in securing Innovate UK Disruptive Tech grants, Birl has already demonstrated strong commercial and social impact. In less than a year, the company has gone live with 10 premium brands and secured pilots with major players like Fanatics and West Ham United.
Chapter 2 Dating
Founded: 2022 | HQ: Manchester
Founded by Nicky Wake, a Northern entrepreneur who turned personal adversity into purpose-driven innovation, the company’s portfolio includes the ‘world’s first’ dating apps for widows and widowers (Chapter2Dating.app) and the sober community (SoberLove.app). With traction, including a 19.4% conversion rate and over £100k ARR in 2024, Chapter 2 Dating is working to prove that technology can deliver both measurable financial growth and life-changing human impact. The company is poised for international expansion, with a focus on scaling its unique model globally.
ScubaTx
Founded: 2020 | HQ: Manchester
ScubaTx is a pioneering medtech spin-out from Newcastle University with a groundbreaking solution for organ preservation. The company’s device, which extends organ viability from hours to over 24, addresses a multi-billion-dollar problem in transplantation. With a leading team of medical and commercial experts, successful prototype deployments in the US and UK, and a clear path to FDA approval, ScubaTx is a company with immense potential to improve patient outcomes. The firm raised £1.4m last year and opened an additional office at Manchester Science Park to continue scaling its solution.
Petproov
Founded: 2023 | HQ: Chorley
This start-up, co-founded by Garry Clarke and Kate Margolis, is tackling illegal and unethical practices within the pet sector by using government-grade ID and biometric checks to combat fraud. With a viable revenue model, early traction with over 1,000 downloads, and active pilot programs with three government-backed initiatives, PetProov is building a trusted, compliance-driven ecosystem that is poised for rapid and impactful growth. The company closed a six-figure angel investment round earlier this year through Lancashire’s new Fhunded Angels programme.
Voxelo
Founded: 2024 | HQ: Manchester
Voxelo.ai is making 3D accessible to ecommerce companies of all sizes by using AI to turn simple product videos into high-quality, interactive 3D models. The company is led by a highly experienced founding team, with two co-founders having exited previous companies and a third with deep agency and marketing expertise. With a scalable SaaS model and a vision to become the standard for 3D ecommerce data, Voxelo.ai is addressing a major market need with a high-growth and scalable solution. The firm recently revealed Innovate UK had stepped in with a “significant” grant to help make its 3D product visualisation accessible to sellers everywhere.
Arcube
Founded: 2022 | HQ: Manchester
Arcube is already taking flight with a bold vision to transform the airline industry, thanks to its AI-powered platform that turns untapped passenger data into real-time revenue opportunities for airline providers. Founded by University of Manchester graduates Prithveesh Reddy and Harvey Lowe, the company is already gaining serious altitude after demonstrating how it generated $1.6m in incremental revenue for Etihad Airways. After bootstrapping to $625,000 in revenue, the start-up secured a £1.2m ($1.5m) funding round earlier this year.
NeuWave
Founded: 2024 | HQ: Manchester
NeuWave is a pioneering ocean intelligence company, working to de-risk offshore renewable energy by optimising vessel operations. Spun out of the University of Manchester, the company’s high-resolution forecasting platform says it provides 20× greater accuracy than industry standards, saving operators up to £2m per day in vessel downtime. Led by a team of experts in oceanography and quantum engineering, NeuWave has already secured three pilot trials with operational UK wind farms and is in advanced talks with a global construction firm active on 97% of the world’s wind farms. With £670,000 raised in strategic pre-seed funding, NeuWave is positioning itself to become the industry standard for offshore risk management.
Future Greens
Founded: 2022 | HQ: Sheffield
Future Greens is a Yorkshire-based climate tech start-up that has pivoted to tackle energy inefficiency in the food system. The company has developed technology that enables food and drink manufacturers to convert their organic waste directly into on-site electricity and heat. This solution addresses a critical sustainability and cost challenge for manufacturers. Founded in 2022 by co-founders who met at the University of Sheffield, the company has already secured a six-figure investment and an Innovate UK grant, and recently revealed plans to deploy a pilot site at a regional beer brewery.
