Leeds is a hotbed of innovation, so it’ll come as no surprise that the city is home to a host of successful startups.
From sustainable banking to game-changing virtual reality – these tech scaleups are making a name for themselves. They’ve seen exceptional growth at both a national and international level. This is your chance to discover the tech businesses that are proving Leeds is the place to build, nurture and grow your scaleup. What are you waiting for? Get reading!
Bidnamic
Bidnamic uses machine learning to transform Smart Shopping strategies for retailers. In a highly competitive and highly saturated market, this Leeds scaleup is overcoming challenges faced by brands by automatically bidding for ads based on customer search terms. Their expanding team of researchers and machine learning engineers have worked with retailers like Oh Polly, Chilly’s Bottles and Lounge, increasing their visibility on Google while maximising ROAS and conversions.
Glean
Rather than trying to decipher pages of illegible handwriting, Glean empowers students to take meaningful notes using a proven technique. The platform records lectures so you can listen back at your own pace and annotate them to create a comprehensive learning resource. This creates a structured, connected and simple way to revise. The Leeds-based scaleup is trusted by over 500 universities and colleges worldwide, including Ivy League research university Harvard.
Panintelligence
Panintelligence helps SaaS businesses embed analytics to improve data usability and decision-making. Their pi Solution offers self-service dashboards, interactive reporting and predictive analytics to give software businesses the tools they need to turn customer data into actionable insights. This impressive scaleup is taking on tech giants like Microsoft and Google, helping companies in education, healthcare, financial services and retail to analyse their data.
KwizzBit
Credit: Big Blue Whale Photography
Quizzers at the ready! Kwizzbit is an interactive trivia app that players can tune into from anywhere in the world. You can choose a ready made or personalised quiz and keep track of your score on the live leaderboard. Own a pub? You can host a multi-city quiz night to bring in new customers. Run a business? You can improve training courses by helping employees to engage with what they’ve learnt. Charity? You can educate audiences through interactivity. The possibilities are endless.
Tred
Tred has created a debit card that lets you track and offset your carbon emissions. From your morning coffee to your monthly gym membership, you can see the environmental footprint of your spending and find ways to reduce it. You invest in plans to help you offset your impact, and even if you don’t, every purchase you make helps to support reforestation projects around the world. Their app also offers monthly insights and helpful budgeting features to help you take control of your spending.
Meeow
Credit: Leeds Digital Festival
Meeow is an online video meeting platform that brings people together to share their passions. It was launched as part of Leeds Digital Festival to offer virtual attendees a way to network after the event – organisers set the topic, then invite the audience to share their opinion. But Meeows aren’t just for events – they can be used for anything. From bouncing ideas to geeking out over the latest Marvel movie, they bring groups of up to four people together to talk, collaborate and bounce ideas.
Lineup Ninja
Event planning is made easy with Lineup Ninja. Their speaker management software is an incredibly powerful tool designed to help exhibition and conference planners. It keeps you organised with agenda planning technology and flexible submission tools, leaving you with time to focus on delivering quality events. The results are impressive – the NHS Confederation used Lineup Ninja’s software for their 2022: NHS Confed Expo event and it saved them over 250 hours.
The Data Shed
The Data Shed is an industry-leading tech consultancy committed to demystifying the world of data. By unlocking its value, companies can understand their performance, make more informed decisions and reduce their overall risk. The Data Shed works to align your strategy and business objectives, so they can deliver a bespoke data management platform that provides valuable insight. Once that’s done, their data team will help you to maintain and manage your new system.
Answer Pay
In June 2020, Answer Pay became the first certified provider of Request to Pay services. This revolutionary messaging protocol allows you to bring together all your bills, all in one place, and creates a two-way digital dialogue between you and the payee. For businesses, this platform offers surety of payments, improved cash flow and easy integration into their existing tech stack. For customers, it offers more convenience and a secure network to make payments with no hidden charges.
XR Games
Development studio, XR Games specialises in AR and VR experiences. Headquartered in Leeds, this exciting scaleup is constantly expanding – they’re now 100 strong and passionate about creating immersive games. The team partnered with Sony Pictures to bring ‘Zombieland VR: Headshot Fever’ to life, where game players fight to survive ferocious zombies, but they’ve also created games for some of the world’s most iconic names, including Dreamworks, BBC and Lego.
