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September 2023
A programming platform for creating AI models without coding experience| HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £50,000/1.25m | Founded: 2022
Smart energy management platform for homes | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £560,000 | Founded: 2022
Digital veterinary care service that supports video consultations for pet owners and triage service for vets | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £500,000 | Founded: 2020
Platform for teacher recruitment and education career management | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: $660,000 | Founded: 2017
Food tech startup that develops takeaway brands through cloud kitchens | HQ: Daresbury | Funding: £150,000 | Founded: 2022.
Virtual hospital startup that supports video consultations with doctors for remote treatment | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £50,000 | Founded: 2021
Digital tracking system for waste management and recycling operations | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £2m | Founded: 2018
Develops accessible, scalable and inclusive virtual and mixed reality learning solutions | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £150,000 | Founded: 2020
Sustainable precision agriculture application technology and data analysis | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £380,000 | Founded: 2021
Health tech startup that has developed a pain relief apparatus and accompanying app | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £1.3m| Founded: 2021
Integrates web3 payments and reward schemes for companies | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £750,000 | Founded: 2020
Developer of cloud-based solutions for eye care diagnostics | HQ: Liverpool | Funding: £250,000 | Founded: 2021
Inovus Medical is a scaleup that designs and manufactures specialised training technology for surgeons. Founded in 2012, Inovus has developed a hands-on education tool that simulates surgical procedures, offering real-time performance metrics to track the progress of students.
The St Helens-based company offers augmented reality simulations that combine real surgical instruments with an immersive digital environment. Training sessions are recorded as a basis for tailored feedback from the student’s mentor.
Inovus was founded by CEO Elliot Street, who comes from a medical background having worked as a doctor and clinical entrepreneur with the NHS, and CTO Jordan Van Flute, who provided the engineering background to the founding team.
The company launched its first simulator in 2012. After a few years of sales picking up, the co-founders left their roles elsewhere in 2016 to focus on Inovus full-time.
Inovus has since grown its team to 65 and has gone on to pick up £8m in funding, coming from both grants from the likes of Innovate UK and NHS England, as well as a $7m (£5.5m) VC investment from Mercia Asset Management and Norgine Ventures in May 2022. The company was crowned KPMG’s UK Tech Innovator 2023
Street said the Liverpool region is “increasing its reputation as a tech hub”, which is “attracting a critical mass of engineering talent”.
He added the region had a “pro-business culture” that is a “value add to anyone looking to do business in the region”. Despite this, the CEO noted connectivity was an issue holding back the region, “especially when looking to grow international business”.
https://inovus.org/
Inovus Medical is a scaleup that designs and manufactures specialised training technology for surgeons. Founded in 2012, Inovus has developed a hands-on education tool that simulates surgical procedures, offering real-time performance metrics to track the progress of students.
The St Helens-based company offers augmented reality simulations that combine real surgical instruments with an immersive digital environment. Training sessions are recorded as a basis for tailored feedback from the student’s mentor.
Inovus was founded by CEO Elliot Street, who comes from a medical background having worked as a doctor and clinical entrepreneur with the NHS, and CTO Jordan Van Flute, who provided the engineering background to the founding team.
The company launched its first simulator in 2012. After a few years of sales picking up, the co-founders left their roles elsewhere in 2016 to focus on Inovus full-time.
Inovus has since grown its team to 65 and has gone on to pick up £8m in funding, coming from both grants from the likes of Innovate UK and NHS England, as well as a $7m (£5.5m) VC investment from Mercia Asset Management and Norgine Ventures in May 2022. The company was crowned KPMG’s UK Tech Innovator 2023
Street said the Liverpool region is “increasing its reputation as a tech hub”, which is “attracting a critical mass of engineering talent”.
He added the region had a “pro-business culture” that is a “value add to anyone looking to do business in the region”. Despite this, the CEO noted connectivity was an issue holding back the region, “especially when looking to grow international business”.
https://inovus.org/
Launched in 2013 by games industry veteran Martin Kenwright, vTime is a virtual and augmented reality software development company based on Parliament Street in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. It has created a free app for social interaction in VR for both consumer and business applications..
To enter one of vTime’s virtual settings, users need only a smartphone and a VR headset that can accommodate it, such as a £15 Google Cardboard. Its first product was an AR and VR social network service called vTime XR. According to the business, its digital social network has amassed over 1.3m downloads from 190 countries since publishing in 2015. In 2020, vTime launched a “3D avatar messaging app” named vTag.
In August this year, vTime revealed that it was entering game development for extended reality, PC and gaming consoles with its new games division. Border Bots VR is the first game to come out from vTime Games. During this time, vTime promoted its COO Steven Craft to the chief executive role.
“There are a huge number of advantages to founding a business in Liverpool, with cost-effective rents, a globally recognised heritage, and great quality of life for staff who live in or around the region,” said Craft.
In October 2020, vTime added $4.1m to its Series A funding pot, which followed on from an opening $7.2m round in 2018 led by Deepbridge Capital.
“Liverpool has been a hub of gaming innovation for years, spawning globally renowned studios and generating titles that have captivated gamers across the world,” added Craft.
Craft believes that the city is still “overlooked on the global stage” despite its contributions and initiatives like the Northern Powerhouse. Before creating vTime, which now has 47 employees, Kenwright established Evolution Studios, the games studio behind titles such as MotorStorm, WRC and DriveClub.
https://vtime.net/
Launched in 2013 by games industry veteran Martin Kenwright, vTime is a virtual and augmented reality software development company based on Parliament Street in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. It has created a free app for social interaction in VR for both consumer and business applications.
To enter one of vTime’s virtual settings, users need only a smartphone and a VR headset that can accommodate it, such as a £15 Google Cardboard. Its first product was an AR and VR social network service called vTime XR. According to the business, its digital social network has amassed over 1.3m downloads from 190 countries since publishing in 2015. In 2020, vTime launched a “3D avatar messaging app” named vTag.
In August this year, vTime revealed that it was entering game development for extended reality, PC and gaming consoles with its new games division. Border Bots VR is the first game to come out from vTime Games. During this time, vTime promoted its COO Steven Craft to the chief executive role.
“There are a huge number of advantages to founding a business in Liverpool, with cost-effective rents, a globally recognised heritage, and great quality of life for staff who live in or around the region,” said Craft.
In October 2020, vTime added $4.1m to its Series A funding pot, which followed on from an opening $7.2m round in 2018 led by Deepbridge Capital.
“Liverpool has been a hub of gaming innovation for years, spawning globally renowned studios and generating titles that have captivated gamers across the world,” added Craft.
Craft believes that the city is still “overlooked on the global stage” despite its contributions and initiatives like the Northern Powerhouse. Before creating vTime, which now has 47 employees, Kenwright established Evolution Studios, the games studio behind titles such as MotorStorm, WRC and DriveClub.
https://vtime.net/
Founded in 2016, Aquarate is a smart cup designed to track and monitor fluid intake and avoid dehydration, a problem that causes more than 40,000 deaths annually. The idea behind Aquarate’s smart cup was inspired by founder and chief executive Rebecca Taylor’s family’s struggle to make sure her grandma was eating and drinking enough.
Taylor, a design engineering student at Liverpool John Moores University, developed the mug to pair with a unique wristband that detects when patients drink fluids. This means mugs, which also have a spill detection feature, will not log fluid consumption by another person. Data on fluid consumption can be viewed by caregivers or family members through Aquarate’s online platform. The mug is designed for the healthcare industry and Aquarate provides it to care homes, hospitals and at-home care.
The company has grown to a team of 10 based in the Baltic Triangle, and Taylor says this location has played an important role in its growth. “For our business to thrive, we chose a location where we knew we’d have great opportunities to collaborate, share knowledge and access incredible people,” Taylor said.
Aquarate has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from local investors Deepbridge Capital and Nova Growth Capital.
“Launching a startup in Liverpool brings innovation and community spirit, but being outside of London means there are relatively limited funding opportunities compared with the capital,” Taylor said. “But that doesn't mean they don't exist and there are great opportunities out there for businesses.”
https://www.aquarate.com/
Founded in 2016, Aquarate is a smart cup designed to track and monitor fluid intake and avoid dehydration, a problem that causes more than 40,000 deaths annually. The idea behind Aquarate’s smart cup was inspired by founder and chief executive Rebecca Taylor’s family’s struggle to make sure her grandma was eating and drinking enough.
Taylor, a design engineering student at Liverpool John Moores University, developed the mug to pair with a unique wristband that detects when patients drink fluids. This means mugs, which also have a spill detection feature, will not log fluid consumption by another person. Data on fluid consumption can be viewed by caregivers or family members through Aquarate’s online platform. The mug is designed for the healthcare industry and Aquarate provides it to care homes, hospitals and at-home care.
The company has grown to a team of 10 based in the Baltic Triangle, and Taylor says this location has played an important role in its growth. “For our business to thrive, we chose a location where we knew we’d have great opportunities to collaborate, share knowledge and access incredible people,” Taylor said.
Aquarate has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from local investors Deepbridge Capital and Nova Growth Capital.
“Launching a startup in Liverpool brings innovation and community spirit, but being outside of London means there are relatively limited funding opportunities compared with the capital,” Taylor said. “But that doesn't mean they don't exist and there are great opportunities out there for businesses.”
https://www.aquarate.com/
Betmate is a startup that has designed a new way to engage with sports betting to reduce the risks associated with traditional gambling services. Betmate’s primary product is a version of the classic format of fantasy football, wherein players build a team of real Premier League athletes and earn points based on their performances.
The startup has simplified the rules, removing budget restrictions for buying footballers and reducing the team size to seven-a-side. Betmate offers two fantasy football game types: private games where players compete against their friends for an agreed-upon prize, and public games where players compete against the app’s community for a guaranteed fixed prize pool.
The app also contains other betting modes with the goal of disrupting the traditional gambling format that can cause significant harm to some individuals. Betmate’s betting modes are peer-to-peer, meaning users compete with each other, rather than a bookie, with a guaranteed winner from the community in every bet.
Founded in 2020, Betmate was granted its UK gambling license the following year. The company has since picked up just over £1.2m in funding across a couple of early-stage rounds from Haatch as well as a successful crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs.
"Liverpool might not quite be London... yet, but things are definitely picking up. Since we started Betmate, I've seen more events, more networks, and more support,” said Betmate co-founder Ryan Lawrence.
“We've been part of events like Startup Grind Liverpool, gained investment through the LCR Angel Investment network, and even been named as one of the LCR Tech Climbers. Plus, having angel investors from here who genuinely rally around us makes a massive difference. And when we need to, Manchester and London are just a train journey away!"
https://www.betmate.app/
Betmate is a startup that has designed a new way to engage with sports betting to reduce the risks associated with traditional gambling services. Betmate’s primary product is a version of the classic format of fantasy football, wherein players build a team of real Premier League athletes and earn points based on their performances.
The startup has simplified the rules, removing budget restrictions for buying footballers and reducing the team size to seven-a-side. Betmate offers two fantasy football game types: private games where players compete against their friends for an agreed-upon prize, and public games where players compete against the app’s community for a guaranteed fixed prize pool.
The app also contains other betting modes with the goal of disrupting the traditional gambling format that can cause significant harm to some individuals. Betmate’s betting modes are peer-to-peer, meaning users compete with each other, rather than a bookie, with a guaranteed winner from the community in every bet.
Founded in 2020, Betmate was granted its UK gambling license the following year. The company has since picked up just over £1.2m in funding across a couple of early-stage rounds from Haatch as well as a successful crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs.
"Liverpool might not quite be London... yet, but things are definitely picking up. Since we started Betmate, I've seen more events, more networks, and more support,” said Betmate co-founder Ryan Lawrence.
“We've been part of events like Startup Grind Liverpool, gained investment through the LCR Angel Investment network, and even been named as one of the LCR Tech Climbers. Plus, having angel investors from here who genuinely rally around us makes a massive difference. And when we need to, Manchester and London are just a train journey away!"
https://www.betmate.app/
Claire Lewis
CEO, Baltic Ventures
Liverpool’s tech scene is having a moment right now: with the city selected to host the UK’s first Slush’D event this week, it’s a testament to the energy that is building here. Liverpool’s tech prowess has always been something of a best-kept secret – but that hasn’t stopped it from attracting the likes of Sony PlayStation, which acquired a number of the city’s gaming companies over the years and has an HQ in the city. Or The Times listing the Baltic Triangle as one of the coolest places to live and work in the UK.
Alongside Slush’D, Baltic Ventures is kicking off its inaugural accelerator cohort this week. Nine insanely talented founding teams, who have been selected and invested in by our syndicate of angel investors (each company joining our accelerator receives a £50,000 SEIS or EIS investment), are joining the programme that’s based at our Baltic Creative CIC studio in the Baltic Triangle.
Cubode is a platform that aims to make coding more accessible than current no-code and generative AI solutions by enabling users to accurately fine-tune code through a combination of no-code, AI, and data analytics. Cubode was highlighted as one of the UK’s hottest early-stage AI startups recently in the AI Supremacy newsletter and co- founder Rebeca Garcia has ambitious plans for growth, eyeing unicorn status in the years to come.
AI has a strong sector focus in this year’s cohort and Cubode is joined by Hexis, a personalised nutrition AI healthtech app built by LJMU phD graduates; cleantech data startup Heatio; February, a platform that uses AI to read and understand tickets in a product development backlog and convert them into coded features that are deployed and Yuty, an AI-powered platform, which is also backed by Ada Ventures, and gives brands and retailers the ability to offer customers hyper-personalised product recommendations that drive engagement, conversions and build customer loyalty.
Many of the North West’s unicorns are ecommerce giants including The Hut Group (THG), AO.com and BooHoo. Liverpool-based Very Group has a turnover of over £2bn and 4.4million customers and have partnered with Baltic Ventures to provide proof of concept opportunities to early-stage companies. This depth of sector expertise and talent in the region has been reflected in the quality of applications to this year’s Baltic Ventures accelerator cohort from ecommerce startups. Co-founded by industry pros Cam McGimpsey and Peter Lydon, Birl’s Liverpool-based platform aims to tackle the environmental impact of the fashion industry by allowing customers to trade in used clothing for credit on their favourite brand’s websites – in turn reducing waste and promoting a circular economy.
River Capital is a fund management firm operating under the Merseyside Special Investment Fund. Initially set up in 1994, the investment firm supplies venture capital, private equity capital and debt funding. Typical cheque sizes for the firm range between £500,000 up to £2m for equity, while debt products provide £25,000 to £1m.
Rebranding from Alliance Fund Manager last year, River Capital manages a range of funds including the North West Business Growth Loans Fund, North West Private Equity Fund and Merseyside Small Loans for Business Fund. From January 2002 up to September 2021, River Capital has issued £195m of capital across equity and debt products to more than 2,300 SME businesses.
Tech investments in its portfolio include care software company Carebeans (£350,000), along with Liverpool supply teacher platform SupplyWell (£500,000) and edtech Springpod (£550,000). In 2022 it relocated its 18 staff to new offices in the Plaza on Old Hall Street in Liverpool’s city centre. The investment firm manages £131m and financing for River Capital comes from a range of sources, such as the British Business Bank and Mersey Pension Fund.
Located in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, Baltic Ventures is primarily a not-for-profit accelerator but also invests through its angel syndicate. Baltic Ventures’ accelerator programme is open to pre-seed digital tech companies, which if selected receive a £50,000 equity investment. Tech firms chosen for the programme will benefit from masterclasses, coaching, talent programme access, tech platform extras, office use and networking. The first accelerator will start in September this year and applications go live in the spring for the next one. In addition, this autumn Baltic Ventures will launch its talent programme to provide placements into startups for emerging talent in the city region. Alongside this, it will launch the "Tuesday sessions", a series of workshops delivered by experts on topics from financial modelling to developing an IP strategy, and a six-month Launchpad programme to support earlier-stage companies to develop an investable value proposition.
Baltic Ventures was set up this year by chief executive Claire Lewis, who previously launched Tech North, which went on to become part of Tech Nation. The accelerator and investor was also established by Startup Grind’s Liverpool director Jonny Clark and non-executive directors Carl Wong and Mark Rathbone. So far, the early-stage tech accelerator has raised a total of £4.55m, with most of that coming from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
LYVA Labs is not a fund manager, but it has been given £10.7m by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to help the area’s businesses over the next five years. Out of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority funds, £5m has been earmarked for health and life science startups, £1m for deeptech, £0.5m in grants for SMEs and the remaining £4.5m for costs. Health and life investments go as high as £250,000 and £100,000 for deeptech, while grants top out at £500,000.
Investments from LYVA Labs include £250,000 into Daresbury Proteins located in Halton, which makes proteins for research purposes. It also backed IVF startup Myma Medical with £106,000. LYVA Labs is managed by a team of 12 people from its offices at The Spine in Paddington Village and The Innovation Centre at Sci-Tech Daresbury. LYVA Labs is led by chief executive Lorna Green and chairman Steve Stuart.
Launched in 2018, the LCR Angel Network is partly administered by the Merseyside Special Investment Fund and was separated from River Capital last year. It was started by the Merseyside Special Investment Fund, Brabners, and Grant Thornton.
It has invested in a slew of Liverpool-based startups. Energy management platform Heatio is a recent tech startup to get support from the angel group when it raised £560,000 earlier this year. Liverpool-based Heatio’s platform uses a combination of sources such as building modeling, machine learning, and sensors to help reduce the energy costs of a building. Betting startup Betmate and personal safety app Busby have also received LCR Angel Network backing.
In 2022, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority gave the not-for-profit organization £500,000 in capital, matched by another £500,000 from the Merseyside Special Investment Fund. LCR Angel Network appointed its first network director Katie Nicholson in May. Nicholson is a steering committee member of Fund Her North and set up the Isle of Man-based Bridge Angel Network.
Operating from Newton-le-Willows, Seneca Partners has an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) portfolio fund, AIM EIS fund and growth capital venture capital trust. It also offers debt funding and property investment. Its EIS portfolio fund invests around £500,000 in any sector and looks to achieve an exit in three to five years.
Tech investments made by investment and advisory firm include graphene maker Directa Plus, medtech company Feedback Medical, Clean Power Hydrogen and University of Oxford spinout Fuel 3D Technologies.
Starting in 2010, it has issued more than £130m in equity funding to more than 100 SMEs. For debt financing, Seneca has provided over £300m for over 500 SMEs. According to Seneca Partners, it has more than 2,000 investors. It has approximately £150m of property assets with an annual rent roll of £9m+.
Launched in 2018, the LCR Angel Network is partly administrated by the Merseyside Special Investment Fund and was separated from River Capital last year. It was started by the Merseyside Special Investment Fund, Brabners, and Grant Thornton.
It has invested in a slew of Liverpool-based startups. Energy management platform Heatio is a recent tech startup to get support from the angel group when it raised £560,000 earlier this year. Liverpool-based Heatio’s platform uses a combination of sources such as building modeling, machine learning, and sensors to help reduce the energy costs of a building. Betting startup Betmate and personal safety app Busby have also received LCR Angel Network backing.
In 2022, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority gave the not-for-profit organization £500,000 in capital, matched by another £500,000 from the Merseyside Special Investment Fund. LCR Angel Network appointed its first network director Katie Nicholson in May. Nicholson is a steering committee member of Fund Her North and set up the Isle of Man-based Bridge Angel Network.
Operating from Newton-le-Willows, Seneca Partners has an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) portfolio fund, AIM EIS fund, and growth capital venture capital trust. It also offers debt funding and property investment. Its EIS portfolio fund invests around £500,000 in any sector and looks to achieve an exit in three to five years.
Tech investments made by the investment and advisory firm include graphene maker Directa Plus, medtech company Feedback Medical, Clean Power Hydrogen, and University of Oxford spinout Fuel 3D Technologies.
Starting in 2010, it has issued more than £130m in equity funding to more than 100 SMEs. For debt financing, Seneca has provided over £300m for over 500 SMEs. According to Seneca Partners, it has more than 2,000 investors. It has approximately £150m of property assets with an annual rent roll of £9m+.
