Manchester tech companies raised a record £532m of funding in 2022 – a 50 per cent increase on 2021’s figures.
The new data came during a visit to Manchester by Tech Minister and co-chair of the Digital Skills Council Paul Scully for the Digital Skills Festival.
Digital Economy Minister Paul Scully said: “Manchester’s thriving tech start-up scene is packed with innovation, fuelled by record levels of funding from 2022 and is outperforming much larger cities on the continent.
“There are huge opportunities in this city to forge a high-skilled, high-paid career in tech, and my discussions with the region’s business leaders will inform our work to grow the talent pipeline so these industries of the future continue to shine on the global stage.”
Manchester has emerged as one of the dominant tech hubs in the UK in recent years. There are now over 1,600 startups and scaleups in the city which are employing an estimated 60,000 people according to Dealroom.
Collectively these companies have raised over £1.8bn in venture capital funding in the past five years and last year tech companies in the city raised more than European capital cities including Lisbon, Rome, Brussels and Warsaw.
From energy to security, transportation to FinTech, Manchester’s tech scene is widespread and varied.
Electric vehicle charging company BE.EV raised a record £110m in October 2022 to expand its public EV charging infrastructure across the country and make it easier for people to switch to electric cars and vans.
The Modern Milkman, a startup that delivers plastic-free fresh milk and groceries to people’s doors, also raised £50m including £2.25m from Praetura Ventures, the Manchester-based venture capital investor.
Whilst Freedom Fibre raised £84m in May to power its rollout of high-speed broadband, with an aim to connect two million businesses to affordable full-fibre internet, in partnership with Salford-based TalkTalk.
These are just some of the businesses in Manchester that have been named as futurecorns – fast-growing tech companies that are expected to be worth over $1bn in the future.
Manchester has now produced eight futurecorns and six unicorns (private companies worth over $1bn) including connected car data platform Wejo, FinTech Interactive Investor and data centre provider TelecityGroup.
There are over 50 startups and scaleups in Manchester focusing on EdTech and skills training, to upskill and reskill the workforce for the expanding sector.
Northcoders was founded in 2015 to train people for careers in software development and data engineering. Over 1,500 people have graduated from its courses, with companies such as The Co-Op Bank and Footasylum recruiting graduates.
Digital skills companies also provide training in the soft tech skills companies of all sizes need. Arctic Shores, which recently raised £5.75m, aims to become the market leader in hiring for potential and soft skills to help organisations open up their hiring pools and build diverse, successful workforces. It counts companies such as Siemens and Airbus among its clients.