Liverpool’s resilient tech sector sets out bright future in new Tech Climbers data
New data by Tech Climbers in the Liverpool City Region has revealed a resilient tech sector, with AI at the heart of innovation, a strong founder network and increasing demand for talent.
With 79% of businesses who entered this year seeking funding and more than 240 jobs projected, Liverpool’s tech ecosystem is primed for growth.
Tech Climbers is an annual regional list showcasing the rising stars of the region’s tech sector.
Now in its fifth year, 19 businesses made the Liverpool City Region Tech Climbers list this year, with 10 making the ones to watch list.
Tech Climbers 2025 winners
As 66% of entrants had already raised funding, angel investment remained the dominant funding source at 67% for Liverpool’s tech businesses, thanks to accelerators such as Baltic Ventures who are active in the region.
However, there was also a clear shift in funding dynamics, with 34% of entrants being bootstrapped, and showcasing their resilience, with 56% of bootstrapped businesses over three years old.
Seventy nine per cent of businesses in the Liverpool City Region are on the hunt for additional funding, and 70% are looking for angel investors or venture capitalists to raise this, setting out a clear call to action for more diverse funding streams.
AI was once again a stand out theme for this year’s Tech Climbers list, with 83% of entrants’ innovations powered by AI.
However, of those entrants not using AI, 50% cited it was due to a lack of in-house skills, showcasing a gap for the region to increase education offerings.
The strength of Liverpool’s maturing tech sector is displayed in the spate of recent positive news. The region was declared the fourth best city for start-ups by Capital Enterprise and has attracted various levels of public and private sector investment.
Yesterday, Kyndryl, one of the UK’s largest IT infrastructure providers officially opened its Liverpool office with plans to create up to 1,000 software and AI-related jobs in the region, aligning with the Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan.
Tech Climbers 2025 panel
Just recently, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority announced a new festival to showcase the investment opportunities in Liverpool’s innovation sector, Innovation Investment Fortnight (IIF). According to the CA, Liverpool City Region currently has £1bn of live innovation projects with a further £2bn of projects in the pipeline and seeking investment.
Health tech is also having a moment in the region, too. In March, Alder Hey secured more than£4m of innovation zone funding to support a Paediatric Open Innovation Zone and this year’s Tech Climbers list features several entrants in the health and social care sector, including Lyva Labs-backed MyCardium AI, digital health software provider Blum Health and Baltic Ventures’ maternal health graduate, DearBump.
Anna Heyes, founder of Tech Climbers and CEO of Active Profile, said: “We’ve now spent half a decade profiling Liverpool’s best and brightest product-led tech businesses, and as the sector matures, it’s just getting better.
“We’re seeing businesses in the region show how resilient they are. It’s no secret that the North has had to stand on its own shoulders to compete with the likes of London, and I’m so proud of where Liverpool is at today.”
She added: “And its testament to the resilience and talent of these businesses that we are starting to see more higher-scale investment in the region, through the likes of Kyndryl arriving from the US to set up a base here, and innovation zone funding being put into our universities and hospitals.”
Sonya Barlow, broadcaster, tech entrepreneur and host of the 2025 Liverpool Tech Climbers list reveal said: “From the moment I stepped into Liverpool, people were friendly and willing to help. That sentiment echoed in the tech businesses we were celebrating, solving real world problems and making Liverpool a rising hub for tech innovation.”
Jamie Wright, founder of Nest Box Live, said: “I’m proud to be a founder from the Liverpool City Region, I just think it’s something special to be building a business here.
“Initiatives like Tech Climbers help us connect with other founders to share learnings and profile our product to help us attract further funding from investors. “It’s great to make the list this year, it’s our first time entering, and I’m looking forward to using that to propel us forward for our next stage of growth.”
