Representing every region of the UK, this year’s cohort demonstrates how each UK region is home to flourishing tech ecosystems with distinct strengths. Bristol, for example, has emerged as a deeptech powerhouse, Birmingham is leading in advanced manufacturing, and Leeds and Edinburgh are becoming unique centres for fintech.

Despite the UK’s longstanding excellence at startup creation, founders outside London and the South East continue to face significant challenges in securing investment, building networks, and scaling their businesses. In 2024, founders outside London raised seven times less funding than their counterparts in the capital, leaving significant potential to boost the entire UK economy untapped.

To help address this challenge, Rising Stars provides startups nationwide enhanced visibility and direct access to investors and funding. The finalists now head to London Tech Week where they will take to the stage and share their ideas on a national platform. Cutting-edge AI startups, edtech businesses, and pioneering climatetech companies are amongst the top eight competing for the grand prize: £1 million in investment. 

To date, Rising Stars alumni have collectively reached a total valuation of $2.3 billion and employ over 4,500 people. Rising Stars is led by Founders Forum Group and supported by – and in partnership with – Rigby Group (SCC), Haatch, Wealth Club, HSBC Innovation Banking, Amazon Web Services and British Business Bank.

Carolyn Dawson OBE, CEO of Founders Forum Group, said: "Every corner of the UK brims with entrepreneurial talent. Rising Stars exists to ensure that groundbreaking ideas from across the UK get the visibility, funding and mentorship they need to scale globally. We’re backing the next generation of tech leaders and calling on the whole ecosystem – investors, government, and industry – to help turn these bold ideas into global successes.”

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, said: “These Rising Stars are testament to the fact that innovation spans the length and breadth of the country. The startups on this list give us so much to be proud of. And initiatives like Tech Nation’s Rising Stars offer them the platform they deserve. Government must, and will, be the partner that meets our entrepreneurs at the table – so that people across Britain can benefit from the ideas they offer.”

Chantelle Young, Head of Early Stage Programmes at Tech Nation, commented: “We are proud to spotlight these founders and to play a part in connecting the dots between innovation, investment and opportunity. Supporting startups at this stage is not only about celebration. It is about building a more inclusive, competitive and representative future for UK tech. We hope this report inspires you to champion early-stage founders, wherever they are based, and to recognise the value they bring to our shared future.”

Steve Rigby, Co-CEO of Rigby Group, commented: “The UK is home to some of the best and brightest entrepreneurs in the world. Although London often takes the spotlight, these Rising Stars prove that there is incredible talent flourishing all over the nation. This year I am delighted that One to Win, the £1 million pitch to win competition Rigby Group and SCC  helped launch last year in the West Midlands, has been extended joining forces with Tech Nation’s Rising Stars.”

The Rising Stars Finalists include:

• Data Wollet, the first consumer centric data wallet to make sharing data as easy as paying with Apple Pay
• sAInaptic, an AI model to automate the marking of free-text responses, helping teachers save time while ensuring students receive accurate and consistent feedback
• Volunteero, a platform to save time managing volunteers whilst improving volunteer engagement and retention
• Inploi, a platform to enable world-class candidate experiences while enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of talent and recruitment teams
• Uhubs, data and intelligence platform to help B2B companies better, ramp faster, and develop and optimise their sales teams
• QuestPrehab, AI-enabled patient optimisation platform that addresses the problem of spiralling cost of providing healthcare to an ageing population
• Stamp Free, AI patented tech to allow postal customers to send parcels, letters, and returns just by using their phone – stamp or label free
• JurnyOn, a blockchain-based and AI-driven ticketing company, leveraging its own proprietary LLM to optimise pricing, demand forecasting, and customer experience

• For more startup news, check out the other articles on the website, and subscribe to the magazine for free. Listen to The Cereal Entrepreneur podcast for more interviews with entrepreneurs and big-hitters in the startup ecosystem.