£3m at stake in the race to be tech’s next rising star

Tech Nation and OnetoWin have announced the launch of the 2025 Rising Stars competition, which will offer £3m in investment to support the most innovative early-stage technology companies in the UK.
This year’s competition benefits from a merger with the West Midlands pitch competition OnetoWin and the continued support of Rigby Group (including SCC), Haatch, Wealth Club, HSBC Innovation Banking, Amazon Web Services, and the British Business Bank.
It also receives backing from numerous industry organisations across the UK, including Manchester Digital, TechSPARK (Bristol), ScotlandIS, and Innovate Cambridge.
After nine weeks of regional heats, the top 10 finalists will pitch to a live audience of investors, ecosystem leaders and media during London Tech Week.
The grand finale will offer a chance to secure a share of the £3m investment pool.
Steve Rigby, co-CEO of Rigby Group said: “Talent can only thrive when it meets opportunity. That’s exactly what this revamped competition offers – with an incredible prize on offer for the UK’s best up-and-coming tech entrepreneurs.
“The UK has huge untapped potential, with tech talent spread far and wide throughout the country. By providing resources, mentorship and networking opportunities through a competitive pitch process, this year’s Rising Stars competition will unleash new, amazing ideas that can boost our economy and solve problems for customers in sectors ranging from AI to medtech.”
Applications are open from 21 January to 2 March 2025 for B2B and B2B2C tech founders across sectors such as agritech, edtech, medtech, AI, health, beauty tech and more.
The competition features two tracks: one for pre-seed and seed-stage companies, and another for pre-Series A to Series A and later-stage businesses.
Each track will see startups evaluated by a panel of founders, investors and ecosystem leaders, based on their team experience, traction, value proposition and future goals.
Regional finalists in the early-stage track will have the chance to win the Haatch regional investment prize of £335K, with over £2m in prizes available across the regional heats.
Finalists in the later-stage track will be invited to exhibit at London Tech Week, where they will compete for the £1m investment prize.
In the lead-up to the event, participants will also receive individualised mentoring to help refine their business propositions and pitch to the live audience.
Carolyn Dawson, CEO of Founders Forum Group which powers Tech Nation said: “Fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in the UK is crucial to the growth of our economy. In turn, it provides life-changing opportunities and skills to people from all communities and all regions. Now, with the help of our partners new and old and via our merger with OneToWin, Tech Nation’s Rising Stars can support the most exciting scaleups from across the nation and foster the UK’s tech ecosystem at scale with better resources and investment, enabling more people to make the jump into entrepreneurship.”