Sponsored by Neptune North

Bulien x Zenith Finance Automation

Bulien worked with Zenith, the UK’s largest independent fleet management business, to move its finance function off Excel. AI reads PDF documents into structured data; deterministic, auditable logic handles the reconciliation, billing checks and matching. First-year results: around 25,000 hours unlocked, one reconciliation cut from 35 hours to six minutes, a 60% improvement in bank matching, and a finance team that now owns and extends the processes itself.

OnlyCat – Prey Detection Cat Door

OnlyCat created the world’s first microchip cat flap with real-time AI prey detection, using computer vision to identify when cats are carrying prey and stop entry before it reaches the home. With more than 12,000 orders, £4.2m in sales, 99.7% prey detection accuracy, and over 575,000 prey-delivery attempts blocked, OnlyCat demonstrates AI delivering measurable real-world impact at scale. In 2026, the business received three offers on Dragons’ Den before accepting investment from Steven Bartlett.

Redbridge Digital

Engineering project requirements arrive scattered across meetings, emails and documents. Redbridge Digital uses AI to capture that information at source and structure it as a linked knowledge graph of plain-text files, rather than searching through the mass of project documents. Specifications now take four days instead of two weeks, quotes an hour instead of half a day, 30% more development tickets are completed, and no client data leaves our infrastructure.

Scrumconnect & HM Courts & Tribunals Service

Scrumconnect and HMCTS built and deployed an AI tool for the UK court system that reads case documents and answers judges’ questions instantly, citing its source every time. Believed to be the first of its kind in the criminal justice sector anywhere in Europe, it moved from proof of concept to national deployment in nine months, was demonstrated to former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and is a key driver in shaping HMCTS’s wider AI strategy.

Stock Hunter

Stock Hunter transforms high-value property portal data, into actionable auction opportunities. Every night it screens around 590,000 active listings against more than 100 indicators, helping 239 Auction Specialists look across 2,656 branches, and focus in on the right properties. Built by a five-person team, it has generated 2,320 attributable leads, 293 sales, and £2.37m net revenue, in ten months, demonstrating how exceptional data engineering can directly transform commercial performance.

Sponsored by Opencast

Diversity by Design: Creating an Inclusive Data Function

Hays Travel Data and Analytics is building a more inclusive function by removing barriers to entry, championing diverse talent and creating equitable routes into data careers. Through inclusive recruitment, meaningful development opportunities and wider digital skills initiatives, we have increased representation, broadened participation in technology and demonstrated that diverse teams drive stronger business outcomes.

Education Partnership North East and Northumbria Police : Hate2Riot

Hate2Riot is an innovative immersive learning programme developed by Education Partnership North East and Northumbria Police to tackle misinformation, prejudice, radicalisation and social division. Rooted in EPNE’s College of Sanctuary values, the project uses virtual reality, digital storytelling and interactive experiences to develop critical thinking, empathy and digital literacy. Engaging more than 2,000 young people aged 14-18 each year, Hate2Riot empowers learners to challenge harmful online narratives and build stronger, more inclusive communities.

Inclusive solutions and inclusive careers

Founded in Gateshead following CEO Ross Linnett’s lived experience of dyslexia, Recite Me has turned a personal experience of digital exclusion into technology supporting more than 8.6 million people annually. Its accessibility platform helps organisations remove barriers across websites, documents and digital services, while disabled and neurodivergent voices continue to influence product development. Recite Me demonstrates that inclusive technology can deliver meaningful impact and commercial growth.

TechUP Programme

TechUP, delivered by Durham University, removes barriers for women from underserved communities to enter technology, data and AI careers. Over seven years, it has supported more than 680 learners through fully funded training, mentoring and employer engagement. In 2026, TechUP expanded into inclusive AI education and responsible AI adoption, helping individuals and organisations build confidence, capability and opportunity in emerging technologies.

Sponsored by LDC

atom technology solutions limited

Atom is one of the North East’s fastest-growing  businesses. From £1.2m turnover in FY24 to forecast exceeding £5m.  Through local talent,  investing in people, building lasting client relationships and continually expanding our capabilities.As our services and team evolve through collaberation, apprenticeships, internal promotions and a people-first culture, Atom continues to create opportunities, develop talent and demonstrate how a North East technology business can successfully compete on a national stage.

LM Global

LM Global has experienced exceptional growth since launching in 2020, evolving from a regional telecoms provider into a full-service technology partner. Through innovation, international expansion, investment in AI and app development, and a strong customer-first approach, the business now supports organisations across the UK and beyond. This growth, combined with job creation and a commitment to developing the North East’s technology sector, makes LM Global a standout Growth Explosion Award nominee.

Opencast

Opencast is a Newcastle-headquartered technology consultancy proving that a purpose-led business can scale nationally here. Over the last three years, Opencast has grown its revenue from £46.6m in 2024 to a forecast £78.9m in 2026, while total headcount has reached 818 people. Achieved through a challenging technology market, this growth reflects stronger governance, commercial discipline, regional partnerships and purpose-driven values, creating high-quality jobs, supporting major public services and showing that purpose and performance work together.

Serios Group

Seriös Group is a Newcastle-founded data solutions business delivering record technology-led growth. Since FY23, revenue has more than doubled from £2.53m to £5.36m. In FY26, revenue increased 50%, EBITDA grew 151%, the client base grew 14% and headcount rose 39%. Powered by Seriös ONE, its proprietary Data and AI Operating System, Seriös Group is creating high-value North East jobs while building a scalable business for continued UK, international and global growth.

Sponsored by Newcastle College

Lee Gilmore – Leighton

Lee Gilmore is an AWS Serverless Hero, Principal Solutions Architect and AWS Practice Lead at Leighton, with more than 20 years’ technology experience. He has successfully delivered customer outcomes while building Leighton’s AWS capability. A prolific technical educator, open-source contributor and international speaker, Lee is author of Serverless Advocate, founder of Study From Experts and organiser of AWS North. He excels at turning technical expertise into better technology, stronger people and a thriving regional community.

Roan Pilsworth – Bulien LLP

Roan Pilsworth is a Technical Data Consultant at Bulien LLP, Newcastle. In three years he has won the 2026 Alteryx Grand Prix, been named 2025 Community Top Contributor of the Year, opened Alteryx Inspire 2026, and led technical delivery of a finance automation programme at Zenith that unlocked 25,000 hours in a year. He teaches constantly: 60 episodes of Euleryx, Bulien’s internal training, and one-to-one help across the community.

Ross Dargan – Waterstons

For over 22 years, Ross Dargan’s technical architecture has delivered high-impact software, and excellent results. He created a tool that now monitors more than 300 vessels, and an AI-driven legal research platform. As architect of Police CyberAlarm, he built a secure, scalable national cyber-monitoring service with more than 10,000 users. Plus so much more. Ross champions transparent, open-source security, responsible AI-assisted delivery and NCSC-aligned quality. He also dedicates time to mentoring emerging North East technologists.

Ruth Harrison – Encore

Ruth Harrison is Founder and CEO of Encore iQ and a technology leader with more than 40 years’ experience. Through AIRA, Generation Northeast, Newcastle College Group skills programmes and the Limitless network, she has championed responsible AI adoption, digital inclusion, social mobility and opportunities for women in technology. Her work has helped create jobs, develop future talent and strengthen the Northeast technology ecosystem.

Sponsored by AWS

Neptune North

Founded in Newcastle in 2024, Neptune North was built to be international from Day One, expanding into the US, Spain and Lithuania within two years and with teams across Australia and New Zealand. International revenue has grown from 0% to 40% of the business, while the company has remained profitable every month since launch. Crucially, international growth is strengthening it’s North East base, creating high-value careers, investing in local talent and raising Newcastle’s profile internationally

ZeroLight: Going Global with AI Content Creation

ZeroLight’s revenue is 90% international and has been repeatedly so for over a decade, making ZeroLight not just an international dynamite this year but a regional showcase that a global technology leader can be built and run from the North East. 

Sponsored by Greggs

AWS North Community Conference – delivering a regional platform for the tech community

Leighton launched AWS North Community Conference from scratch in six months, building a brand-new regional tech event brand without a pre-existing audience. An integrated campaign spanning PR, partner amplification, speaker advocacy, paid/organic social and targeted email delivered 1.19m+ combined reach, a sold-out 155-attendee inaugural event, 100% attendee satisfaction, and secured its spot in the calendar for 2026. It is an example of a marketing-led launch, creating lasting regional impact from a modest £9.2k net investment.

MySalesCoach

Bec and Tom have made MySalesCoach a household name in sales tech, growing to 10,000+ company LinkedIn followers, 2.7m impressions this year on the company page, thought leaders internally with over 210,000 followers and contributing to over 20 new business meetings with sales leaders every single month. They have established the stand-out humour that drives eyeballs, with the seriousness of thought leadership that drives credibility, that have helped us grow from 0-£2m inside 3 years.

Unifying Bricks & Clicks

Visualsoft’s nomination highlights its “Unifying Bricks & Clicks” GTM Campaign, positioning the Stockton-headquartered agency as Shopify’s premier UK partner for unified commerce. Grounded in 27 years of North East retail heritage, the campaign addresses retail fragmentation by seamlessly connecting online and physical POS data. Combining national consumer research with high-touch events, from private C-level dining to national expos, it targets mid-market and enterprise retailers, driving significant pipeline growth and new unified POS rollouts.

Sponsored by Gateshead College

Layers Studio

Layers Studio turned 10 in January and is now an 11 person, SHINE-accredited digital studio with big-company care: a genuine right to disconnect, protected holidays, weekly team walks and lunches, monthly self-directed learning days, and named written policies covering menopause, neuroinclusion, domestic abuse and terminal illness. In our own September 2026 staff survey (near-complete team coverage), 100% said Layers is a great place to work where they feel empowered to be themselves.

NHSBSA: Where People Belong, Develop and Thrive

DDaT has embedded inclusion, wellbeing and opportunity into everyday working life through a strategy shaped by colleague voice. Over the last year, initiatives including the Shadow People Board, Work Experience Programme, DDaT Taster Week, Women in Tech events, neurodiversity training, volunteering programmes and a pioneering Social Impact Plan have reduced turnover (from 9.49% two years ago to 6.3% today), improved workforce diversity, narrowed progression gaps and created a more inclusive workplace where colleagues can thrive.

Opencast

Opencast has built a people-first workplace where wellbeing, inclusion and belonging are part of everyday working life. Through dedicated support, meaningful development opportunities, a strong employee voice and a culture that celebrates diversity, we create an environment where people can thrive. Whilst doubling in size in just 12 months, we’ve shown that putting people first is not a barrier to growth, it’s the foundation of it.

Seriös Group

Seriös Group is demonstrating that rapid commercial growth and an exceptional employee experience can go hand in hand. Through SG Voice, wellbeing support, leadership development and structured career pathways, it has built an inclusive culture where employees have a genuine voice, opportunities to progress and the support to thrive. Employees share directly in the company’s success through profit share and EMI share options, while investment in future talent ensures growth creates opportunities for people.

Sponsored by Bulien

Auction Pack Automation

Auction Pack Automation is an AI-enabled, automation-first platform, developed by a North East-led iamproperty team, to assist in transforming how property legal packs are produced. Built in just 8 sprints, by a team of 8 – including just two engineers – it automates data standardisation, title ordering, AI-assisted complexity assessment, searches and legal workflows. Designed with emerging Open Property Data Trust Framework principles in mind, it creates immediate operational value and a foundation for wider market change.

Newcastle’s City-wide Secure and Seamless WiFi

Newcastle City Council and Purple have built a public WiFi model combining digital inclusion, seamless connectivity, security and real-time city insight. It has delivered 2.34 million logins, an 88% authentication rate against a 71% industry average, and 650,000 seamless connections, while extending free connectivity into Housing Plus schemes and providing £120,000 of WiFi technology to 1,000 local SMEs. The result is a scalable model for connecting communities, supporting business and enabling evidence-led cities.

Project Merlin: Transforming knowledge into better customer outcomes

Project Merlin and EvieAI have transformed how Everflow’s colleagues access knowledge, make decisions and support customers. Combining AI, operational data and trusted knowledge into a single platform has improved employee confidence, reduced customer response times and strengthened service quality. With a clear roadmap for AI-powered coaching, customer self-service and multi-utility integration, Project Merlin continues to demonstrate how technology can deliver lasting operational and customer benefits.

Scrumconnect & HM Courts & Tribunals Service

Scrumconnect and HMCTS turned a rapid 12-user AI proof of concept into national infrastructure within nine months, building directly into a live justice system. Believed to be the first AI deployment of its kind in a European court system, the tool is slashing case preparation time, was demonstrated to former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and has become a blueprint for HMCTS’s wider AI roadmap across the UK courts system.

Sponsored by Scrumconnect

Innovation Engine

Northumbrian Water has developed one of the UK’s most effective technology-enabled innovation engines that has transformed how a regulated utility develops, funds, scales and embeds innovation. By creating a repeatable system, they have generated £45m+ of external innovation funding, delivered £23m in value through industry-leading AI, robotics and environmental technologies and innovation, and become the first utility in the world to achieve the BSI ISO 56001 Kitemark accreditation for innovation.

MyGearTag: Tackling Ghost Gear and Ocean Plastic at Scale

Succorfish has transformed pioneering North East research into MyGearTag – market-ready acoustic technology enabling fishers to locate and recover lost fishing gear before it becomes destructive “ghost gear”. Developed with Newcastle University through the pan-European NETTAG+ programme, validated across European fisheries and recognised by the European Commission, MyGearTag demonstrates how just 11 people in North Shields can create globally exportable technology with the potential to protect marine life, support fishing communities and transform our oceans.

OKKULO Limited

OKKULO has developed a patented, peer reviewed light based training system that improves human visual perception and reaction speed, the split second edge that separates elite performance from average. Trusted by teams including the Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Apex Motor Racing Team, and featured in Forbes, OKKULO is a four person North East business proving that world class sports innovation can start in the North East, not just Silicon Valley.

OnlyCat – Prey Detection Cat Door

OnlyCat created the world’s first microchip cat flap with real-time AI prey detection, combining embedded computer vision, RFID, electronics and electromechanical control. Following 291 AI model iterations and 29 mechanical design iterations, the system achieves 99.7% prey-detection accuracy. With 12,000+ orders, approximately £4.2m in sales and over 575,000 prey-delivery attempts blocked, OnlyCat has taken advanced edge AI from R&D to global commercial deployment.

Seriös Group

Seriös Group has developed Seriös ONE from a proven eight-week data platform delivery into a proprietary Data & AI Operating System built around one goal: getting businesses to impact faster.  Throughout, customers keep control of their data and infrastructure, within their own environment and without vendor lock-in. Seriös ONE can deliver up to 80% faster delivery, 3x throughput, 60% fewer defects, 80% less engineering effort and 70% lower cost.

Sponsored by Scott Logic

Aiden Forrest – Nebula Labs

Aiden Forrest is an iOS Developer and Level 6 apprentice at Nebula Labs, studying at Newcastle College. In under three years, he has contributed to high-impact North East products including Virtual Memory Box, HAF Plus and the Nexus Pop App, while independently building the award-winning CPR-training app Heartbeat Hero. His work combines advanced mobile engineering with genuine social value, making him an outstanding Rising Star.

Alice Morton – Hays Travel

Alice Morton joined Hays Travel’s Data & Analytics team in October 2025 and has already made an exceptional impact. As a Junior Data Analyst, she has delivered board-level reporting, influenced business decisions, implemented AI-powered solutions supporting 3,000 colleagues, and led training and Datathons to improve data literacy across the organisation. Combining technical ability, commercial awareness and a passion for helping others, Alice is rapidly establishing herself as a future leader in data and technology.

Charlotte Hamilton-Clay – Apexon

Charlotte joined Apexon as a Graduate Software Engineer in March 2025 and has already delivered exceptional impact through technical leadership, innovation, and mentoring. Working within a four-person Sunderland engineering team, she has led security and performance improvements, supported global client delivery, won Apexon’s Budding Star Award, and been selected for the University of Sunderland’s 5 Step Process Improvement Programme. Charlotte is an outstanding young technologist and a future technology leader for the North East.

Tungamirayi Makombe – Beacon Labs

NHS Diagnostic Radiographer by day, health technology founder by night. Tungamirayi founded Beacon Labs after spending years imaging the injuries that follow unwitnessed falls in dementia care. In under 12 months he filed a UK patent, secured institutional investment, confirmed a Newcastle pilot site, and opened a US distribution conversation with one of America’s largest senior care companies. Built in Newcastle. Going global.

Sponsored by CGI

Apexon

Apexon has created a globally recognised talent ecosystem that develops North East talent from education into technology careers and future leadership roles. Through industry partnerships, AI-focused learning and structured career pathways, we provide opportunities for T-Level students, apprentices, graduates and experienced professionals to thrive. By building and retaining highly skilled digital talent, Apexon is strengthening the North East’s technology workforce, supporting social mobility and driving sustainable economic growth.

Digital Up North at Gateshead College

Digital Up North turns employer need into life-changing progression by connecting employers, educators and learners around shared workforce priorities. It is delivering measurable impact; helping long-term unemployed people into work, supporting employers to develop future talent, embedding AI in the workplace and building cyber resilience among learners. Digital Up North brings the right partners together, aligns expertise and turns individual initiatives into a coordinated regional skills model delivering inclusion, social mobility, employment and workforce transformation.

Layers Studio

Now 10 years old, Layers Studio takes a holistic, collaborative approach to skills development – funding Tech Connect bursaries that led directly to student placements, setting live projects for 40 Newcastle College students, joining the “One Door, Many Opportunities” sprint tackling regional NEET levels, delivering bootcamps for NEETs, and running free Design Talks and Layers Academy. Highly Commended at Dynamites 2024 and 2025, and now a Regional finalist in the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2026.

NHSBSA: Building a Sustainable Digital Workforce Beyond Apprenticeships

The NHSBSA DDaT Apprenticeship Academy is transforming digital talent recruitment, development and retention across the Northeast. By creating sustainable talent pipelines into hard-to-fill technology professions, the Academy combines academic excellence with mentoring, innovation projects, community support and practical experience. With 100% progression of its latest cohort into permanent roles and a strong focus on inclusion, social mobility and lifelong learning, the Academy is developing the next generation of digital professionals while strengthening regional skills capacity.

University of Sunderland

The University of Sunderland’s Digital Technology Solutions Professional Degree Apprenticeship is strengthening the North-East through employer collaboration, widening participation and community impact. By connecting employers, education, charities and communities, the programme helps organisations attract and retain passionate, curious talent while developing exceptional digital professionals who tackle real-world challenges. Apprentices graduate as ethical digital leaders who strengthen businesses, support communities and inspire future generations.

Sponsored by Sage

AttiFin AI

AttiFin is one of the North East’s most exciting AI startups. Founded in 2025, its mission has been to build the UK’s first legal AI assistant trained specifically on UK and devolved law, not adapted from US models as an afterthought. In just a year the company has raised £5 million, relocated to Newcastle, launched at London Tech Week, and moved into pilots with eight law firms across the UK.

HomeHub – asset data accuracy; a thing of the past

HomeHub is a North East PropTech start-up helping social housing landlords manage assets while helping residents reduce their energy bills.  It turns residents into a data network via in-app surveys and rewards, closing digital exclusion gaps through smartphone gifting and outreach. With real-world pilots showing strong uptake, lower energy bills, and landlords receiving praise over complaints, proving genuine impact, built by people who understand the problem firsthand.

Surghive

Founded by an all-female team and clinician-led, Surghive is a Middlesbrough company transforming robotic surgery training through platform-agnostic multi-user VR, mobile learning and Robometrics performance analytics. Operational since July 2024, it has built and piloted its first product, raised £320k, secured a £40k Tees Valley grant, and won Tees Tech Start-up of the Year and the Barclays CLIMB UK26 Innovation Award. Its roadmap extends from training into surgical safety and the World Surgical Games.

Ubrix

Ubrix gives housebuilders one record per plot, running from reservation through construction to the end of the defects period, so nothing is stranded in a silo. Defect lists arriving by email triage themselves, jobs route to the right contractor, SLA breaches escalate to a director and compliance evidence builds as the work happens. Three native apps serve buyers, contractors and site teams. Built in Gateshead by two founders, backed by Innovate UK.

Sponsored by Accenture

Andrea Bowyer – Norton Rose Fulbright

For more than a decade, Andrea Bowyer has championed legal technology through voluntary leadership, knowledge sharing and community-building. She grew the Document Excellence Group from 400 to over 1,000 members, led a major international conference on innovation, automation and AI, co-founded ILTA Connect: Women in Legal Technology Northern England, and conceived a TechNExt fringe event. Andrea connects people, creates inclusive opportunities and amplifies the North East’s voice across the wider technology profession.

Kathryn Wharton – KLW Marketing

Kathryn Wharton retrained from an eleven-year museum career into tech marketing in 2020, won Rising Star of the Year within eighteen months, and co-founded Women in Tech North East in 2022 while still in full-time employment. Four years on, it is a 1,000-plus-member Community Interest Company with major regional sponsors. Alongside running KLW Marketing, she has spent that time building infrastructure for others rather than just her own career.

Klaus-Michael Vogelberg – Sage

From building a software start-up in Basel to leading Sage’s Product and Technology function as Group CTO, Klaus-Michael Vogelberg has significantly impacted the transformation of Sage from a £152m revenue business into a FTSE 100 company generating more than £2.5bn and employing over 11,000 people worldwide, with close to 2,000 colleagues at its Newcastle headquarters. Now Chief Architect and Technology Advisor, he remains invaluable to Sage’s leadership and a committed North East advocate.

Pete Cheyne – Rightbrain

From Shetland crofts to three Newcastle-built tech companies, always headquartered here even as they went global. Pete Cheyne co-founded Partnerize, sold Bottlepay to NYDIG, and now leads Rightbrain, pulling over £100m into the North East. He remains one of the region’s most visible and active tech community figures, and will continue to delight the community with his all weather flip flops and shorts, his enthusiasm and passion, and his up to date expertise.

Sponsored by tombola

Boundless by XR Therapeutics

XR Therapeutics is changing lives by using immersive technology to help people overcome debilitating anxiety and phobias. Boundless is helping children who cannot attend school, families who cannot travel together, and people whose fears prevent them from accessing essential medical treatment. By bringing these real-world challenges safely into therapy, we help people take back control, regain independence and do things they once thought impossible. This is technology for good with a genuinely human impact.

Education Partnership North East & Northumbria Police – Youth Trainee Detective Programme

Youth Trainee Detective Programme (YTDP) is an innovative partnership between Education Partnership North East, Northumbria Police and community partners that uses immersive digital technology to tackle knife crime and serious youth violence. Through virtual reality, 360° crime scene experiences and real-life case investigations, vulnerable young people gain life-changing insights, skills and confidence. The programme has delivered measurable improvements in behaviour, attendance and aspirations, demonstrating how technology can drive meaningful social impact and create safer communities.

Lived experience then, lived experience now

Recite Me began with Ross Linnett’s lived experience of dyslexia and a belief that organisations should remove digital barriers. Seventeen years later, it uses technology and AI to make accessibility possible at scale while remaining people-first. From disabled students at The Orpheus Centre inspiring Focus Audio to deaf North East illustrator Paul Miller bringing accessibility research to life, lived experience continues to shape its work. Recite Me supports more than 12,500 organisations and websites globally.

MELVA: a digital wellbeing programme for primary schools

MELVA is our creative, digital programme, using engaging storytelling, fun characters, and practical activities to improve children’s knowledge and understanding of mental health and wellbeing whilst teaching effective self-management techniques. Our interactive platform provides a user-friendly, early intervention and prevention approach, across more than 100 of the region’s primary schools. MELVA is for all children, not just those who are struggling; teaching them the basic skills and understanding they need to keep themselves well.