More than 500 founders, investors, policymakers and tech leaders are expected in Sheffield for a summit built around the idea that the North must collaborate to compete globally.
The North has no shortage of ambitious technology businesses, world-class universities or fast-growing innovation clusters. The challenge is turning those individual strengths into a connected ecosystem with the scale and confidence to compete on the global stage.
That is the proposition behind the 2026 Northern Tech Summit, which is expected to bring more than 500 entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and decision-makers to Sheffield on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 October.
Prolific North is supporting the two-day event, organised by TECH SY under the theme Collaborate to Compete. Across keynote speeches, panels, founder pitches, live demonstrations and networking, it will examine how Northern regions can work together to attract investment, commercialise research and support more high-growth companies.
The main summit will take place at Sheffield’s iconic Crucible Theatre, with the programme shifting to Trafalgar Warehouse for a fast-paced Northern Startup Showcase on the first evening. A three-day fringe programme delivered with Sheffield Innovation Spine will extend the event into innovation spaces across the city.
Here is everything you need to know:
Northern Tech Summit 2026 at a glance
- When: Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 October 2026
- Where: The Crucible Theatre and Trafalgar Warehouse, Sheffield
- Who it is for: Founders, scaleup leaders, investors, policymakers, researchers, civic leaders and organisations supporting the Northern technology economy
- Headline theme: Collaborate to compete
- Tickets: Two-day and single-day summit tickets are available. Tickets for the Northern Startup Showcase are sold separately and availability is limited
- Book: Northern Tech Summit tickets
Why is the summit happening now?
The summit is built around a frustration familiar across the Northern tech economy. We have strong individual city and regional ecosystems that do not automatically add up to a globally competitive whole.
TECH SY wants the event to strengthen the links between those ecosystems, creating more opportunities for founders to meet investors, for research to reach the market and for regions to make a collective case for investment.
Figures published by Dealroom underline the scale of the opportunity. The technology ecosystem across the North is estimated to be worth £82bn, while South Yorkshire’s ecosystem was valued at a record £4.3bn after growing fourfold since 2019. Businesses in the region secured more than £52m in early-stage investment during 2025.
Sheffield and South Yorkshire was also named the UK’s number one “Rising Star” in Dealroom’s Global Tech Ecosystem Index, which tracks more than 325 cities across 77 countries.
Yoram Wijngaarde, founder and CEO of Dealroom, said: “It’s fitting that the Northern Tech Summit will take place in Sheffield, especially as the region was recently ranked the number one rising star in the UK in our Global Tech Ecosystem Index. This reflects the strength and determination of business owners in the region to succeed, as well as the strong support base that can be found in the area. However, what is clear is that future success will not come from individual cities competing in isolation, but from building a more connected, collaborative ecosystem that can operate and compete on a global scale.”
What is happening on day one?
Wednesday begins with a Women in Tech and Investment Breakfast from 8.30am to 10am, ahead of the main programme at the Crucible.
Doors open at 9.30am, with TECH SY project director Tracey Johnson hosting the day. Johnson and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard will formally welcome delegates.
The opening regional ecosystem panel will be hosted by David Dunn of Sunderland Software City. He will be joined by Matt Snowden of TECH SY, Katie Gallagher of Manchester Digital, Deb Hetherington of Leeds Digital and Aoife Morrin of Dealroom.
A fireside chat will bring together South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority chief executive Katharine Hammond and West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, while a founders’ panel will explore the experience of building startups in the North.
Tom Adeyoola, chair of Innovate UK, will deliver the day’s keynote before the Crucible programme closes at 3pm.
Delegates who have booked in advance will then be able to join guided tours of Sheffield Innovation Spine, the 190-acre urban innovation district stretching across five mixed-use neighbourhoods in the city centre.
A change of venue – and pace – for the startup showcase
The programme moves to Trafalgar Warehouse from 3pm for the Northern Startup Showcase, opening with welcome drinks and networking.
Sheffield City Council chief executive Kate Josephs will welcome attendees before eight startups from across the North each deliver a rapid three-minute pitch. Live technology and innovation demonstrations will also take place around the venue.
The emphasis then shifts towards food, drinks, music and making connections, creating a markedly different atmosphere from the daytime theatre programme. The showcase is expected to finish between 8pm and 9pm.
Tickets for this part of the event are sold separately and places are limited.
What is happening on day two?
Thursday begins at 7am with Run the Spine, an informal 5km networking run through Sheffield city centre, before the main summit resumes at the Crucible at 9am.
Dealroom CEO Yoram Wijngaarde will open the business programme by launching a report into the technology landscape across the North. Wijngaarde founded the data intelligence platform in 2013 after a career in investment banking in London and New York. Dealroom, which tracks startups, high-growth businesses and venture capital ecosystems around the world, raised $7m earlier in 2026 to support its growth plans.
Ana Avaliani, director of enterprise at the Royal Academy of Engineering, will then address what the North’s ecosystem must do next.
The programme will also ask how the UK can make better use of Northern research, before turning to the capital required to start and scale more businesses.
The Raising the North panel will be hosted by Stuart Leslie, director of Local Authority Advisory and Lending at the National Wealth Fund. Speakers include Joanne Hosker, head of NG Innovation Services at Northern Gritstone; Joséphine Kant of Sovereign AI; Mark Sterritt, managing director at the British Business Bank; and Estella Nouri, direct origination manager at Hypha.
Sue Douglas, co-founder of Veer Technologies, will deliver the closing keynote before the summit ends at 3pm.
Who are the headline speakers?
The programme brings together founders, investors, national innovation leaders and senior political and civic figures. Confirmed headline contributors include:
- Yoram Wijngaarde, founder and CEO of Dealroom
- Tom Adeyoola, chair of Innovate UK
- Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
- Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire
- Katharine Hammond, chief executive of South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
- Ana Avaliani, director of enterprise at the Royal Academy of Engineering
- Sue Douglas, co-founder of Veer Technologies
What is the Northern Tech Summit Fringe?
The main summit sits within a wider three-day programme organised with official fringe partner Sheffield Innovation Spine.
The Spine brings together South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield City Council, the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Technology Parks. Its fringe activity is intended to connect delegates and local communities with the people, places and businesses that make up Sheffield’s innovation ecosystem.
Tracey Johnson said: “The Northern Tech Summit is a unique opportunity to collide founders, policymakers, investors and others at the iconic Crucible Theatre in the heart of Sheffield. All the best events have inspiring fringe activity, so TECH SY is excited to be working with Sheffield Innovation Spine to help bring to life the city’s innovation ecosystem through three days of engaging activities.”
Tuesday 20 October: Open Doors Innovation Festival
The free, public Open Doors Innovation Festival will invite people who live, work or study in Sheffield to explore the city’s innovation district between 9.30am and 4.30pm.
Using content hosted on the Spine Guide mobile app, visitors can follow a self-guided route, enter specialist laboratories and coworking spaces, meet local innovators and collect leaderboard points.
Participating locations include Electric Works, Pennine Five, Sheffield Technology Parks, the Innovation Centre and facilities across the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University campuses.
The full route is expected to take around two hours, although visitors can choose one or two venues for a shorter visit. People can register their interest in Open Doors and receive details of the app.
Wednesday 21 October: Innovation district tours
One-hour guided walking tours will run during the break between the Crucible programme and the startup showcase. Taking place between 3pm and 4.30pm, the tours will give invited summit delegates a curated introduction to Sheffield’s urban innovation district.
Places must be booked in advance.
Thursday 22 October: Run the Spine
The fringe concludes with an all-abilities 5km group run led by Sheffield Business Runners founder Hannah Duraid.
The social-paced run will begin at 7am and finish no later than 8am, giving summit delegates and members of the local innovation community an active way to network before the Crucible programme restarts.
Runners can register their interest and receive route details.
Why Sheffield?
The choice of Sheffield is intended to demonstrate the summit’s argument in practice. The city combines two universities, a growing population of startups and scaleups, specialist workspaces and an innovation district designed to make collaboration easier.
It also sits within a wider South Yorkshire ecosystem that includes Barnsley’s development as the UK’s first Tech Town.
Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, said: “Two years ago, at the South Yorkshire Tech Summit, we made the case that if the North is going to compete globally, we need to collaborate more closely across our regions. The Northern Tech Summit is about turning our ambition into action.
“South Yorkshire is leading from a position of strength. Sheffield has been recognised as the UK’s number one rising-star tech ecosystem, our digital and ICT sector has grown faster than any other Northern region over the past decade, and the University of Sheffield is helping create some of the UK’s most exciting new businesses.
“From Barnsley’s emergence as the UK’s first Tech Town to the startups and scaleups driving innovation across our communities, South Yorkshire is proving what’s possible.
“But our ambition doesn’t stop at our boundaries. By bringing together partners from across the North, we can build stronger connections, attract more investment, support more high-growth businesses and make the case for the North as a globally competitive tech powerhouse, so all of us can stay near and go far.”
How to attend the Northern Tech Summit
The Northern Tech Summit takes place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 October 2026, with the Northern Startup Showcase at Trafalgar Warehouse on Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Two-day and single-day tickets are available. The Northern Startup Showcase is ticketed separately and has limited availability.
Book Northern Tech Summit tickets or visit the Northern Tech Summit website for more information.
