West Midlands tech showdown as final four compete for £1m prize

The One To Win competition, a West Midlands initiative dedicated to investing in innovative businesses, has announced its final four contenders, with two based in Coventry and two from Birmingham.

Changemaker3D, OneUp Sales, Skyfarer, and InicioAI have been announced as the final four contenders.

These businesses will pitch for the chance to win £1m in investment during Tech WM on October 23rd.

Launched by TechWM and supported by investors, stakeholders, and tech leaders, the competition highlights the Midlands’ dynamic tech sector on a national platform.

Judges for the pitch event include Yiannis Maos MBE, CEO of Tech WM; Steve Rigby, Co-CEO of Rigby Group (which includes IT services company SCC); Tony Stott, CEO of Midven (West Midlands Co-Investment Fund); and Fred Soneya, Co-Founder of Haatch Ventures.

Among the finalists, two businesses hail from Birmingham. Changemaker3D is a sustainable technology brand disrupting industries by enhancing efficiency and sustainability.

Starting in the construction sector—one of the largest carbon polluters—the company employs state-of-the-art robots to 3D concrete print infrastructure across waterways, railways, and nuclear facilities.

Their “Printfrastructure” technology reduces carbon emissions by 20%, cuts costs by 20%, and saves time by 50%, adapting to any size or shape.

The second Birmingham contender, OneUp Sales, offers a sales performance management platform that combines analytics, gamification, and visualization to develop high-performing sales teams.

Recognising that recruitment agencies often struggle with data management, OneUp enhances its technology stack by providing real-time data, flexible dashboards, and an integrated report builder.

The two Coventry-based businesses in the final four are Skyfarer and InicioAI. Skyfarer is a drone and aerial technology company focused on revolutionizing industries through aerial logistics.

By licensing their proprietary software, Skyfarer enables the efficient deployment of multiple drones for commercial logistics, inspections, and emergency surveillance operations, all managed from a centralized location.

InicioAI is a fintech start-up that streamlines the complex task of capturing detailed income and expenditure information.

Utilising AI, their solution guides users through a self-service affordability assessment, integrating with technologies like Open Banking to make the process less daunting for consumers and more efficient for businesses.

The four companies are set to showcase their ideas at Tech WM, aiming to secure significant investment to further their growth and impact.

Yiannis Maos MBE, CEO of TechWM said: “One to Win is going to be one of the highlights of Birmingham Tech Week and the four businesses shortlisted are a testament to the great tech landscape we have here in the West Midlands. The £1 million invested in this competition’s prize pot will now be going to a business that we can only see do groundbreaking innovation with and we are excited to see whoever wins what they can utilise with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Steve Rigby, Co-CEO of Rigby Group said:  “The West Midlands is a region that has an impressive tech sector and a thriving small business landscape – put those together and places like Birmingham and Coventry become hubs of innovation and creativity.

“SCC, my family’s cornerstone technology business, is a global business but it remains headquartered in the West Midlands. We’ve never forgotten our roots and we are proud supporters of everything the One To Win competition and TechWM are looking to achieve for our home region.”