Tangerine celebrates Manchester’s leading tech innovators

The tech community gathered at the Cloud 23 cocktail bar in the heart of Manchester’s city centre as journalist Peter Stojanovic unveiled the 11 companies that made the official list and the 10 up-and-coming businesses that were listed as ‘Ones to Watch’.  

Businesses were either nominated or self-entered to be assessed by an expert panel of judges, which evaluated the strongest examples of impact, innovation, and investment across Greater Manchester.  

The list was announced by journalist Peter Stojanovic, Editor of HotTopics, to a room of founders, investors, and previous leading businesses on the list.   

Alongside the businesses who made the list, this year’s Greater Manchester Tech Climbers also told the story of the collective, relentless attitudes towards growth, capturing data from companies who entered, including how 75% of entrants are actively seeking funding and 36% plan to expand internationally, with the US and EMEA as key regions.  

The event was not only a celebration of innovative and growing businesses, but also a chance for the tech community to reflect on Manchester’s tech landscape and discuss the investment, jobs, talent, and funding trends shaping it today. Through panel discussions, it highlighted what’s needed to drive local startups forward in line with the ambitious goals of the Greater Manchester Strategy 2025–2035.  

Businesses discussed how pioneering companies are bringing investment into the region, creating quality jobs not just in the city centre but across Greater Manchester’s surrounding areas.  

This year saw an influx of new tech entrants across a range of industries, with 16% notably health-focused. 11 businesses were announced on the Official List, and 10 made the Ones to Watch List, showcasing the up-and-coming businesses packed with growth potential.  

Two of the Climbers – Jyrney, a mobility integration platform for ground transport, and React XR, a VR training company for emergency services – have made the move from last year’s Ones to Watch list to this year’s Main List after a year of rapid growth, highlighting how Manchester provides the conditions needed to nurture ambitious tech companies.  

The official list had an array of brand-new names, such as hospitality tech platform Hotal. They scored the highest under the investment criteria and as a result, were awarded as this year’s Relentless Raiser for demonstrating remarkable business ideas that were on track to secure investment.  

 This year’s Impressive Innovator award went to Deploi, an AI-powered background and onboarding platform. Finally, the business that demonstrated cutting-edge, ground-breaking technologies & digital advancements, in the eyes of the judges, was Vivify Venues, a community venue booking platform. They accepted their Innovating with Impact award. Each business that made the list gains national recognition and joins a network of advisors and investors.  

 Uncover all the fast-growing businesses innovating with impact by reading this year’s finalised list.    

The event concluded with a special mention of the headline, ecosystem, national and event partners that make Tech Climbers possible. Powered by Tangerine Communications, the campaign was supported by a host of headline partners, including Corpay, Marks & Clerk, Rathbones, CG Professional, and National Partners UKTN, techuk, Hubspot, data city, innovate <her>. Each of the businesses has the opportunity to kindly gift discounted or free support packages to list winners to help accelerate their growth journey.   
 
With a mission to profile fast-growing tech businesses in scaling tech ecosystems across the UK, Tech Climbers offers plenty of opportunities to support tech scaleups. Reach out to the team if you’d like to extend your support in a region near you.