Navigating a new era of discovery

Global venture capital (VC) saw investment surge to $368 billion last year, sparking cautious optimism about a long-awaited global VC recovery – with the tech sector lighting the match. As one of Europe’s fastest-growing tech cities, Manchester is at the heart of this tech renaissance.

While more recently, US tariffs have triggered turbulence in worldwide markets, investment in start-ups is nonetheless being led by AI and technology. The Financial Times recently reported an “AI frenzy” is causing the “biggest splurge in three years” from US VC investors. Across the pond, Pitchbook found VC investment in Europe saw “soaring valuations and deal sizes” last year, and BCVA reported the UK venture capital market – Europe’s top and the world’s third-largest – is set for “significant growth” in 2025. Meanwhile, Pitchbook also highlighted particular investor interest in startups at the intersection of AI and robotics, with EY analysis revealing AI represented over 60% of Q4 investments in 2024.

Focusing on Manchester, in a recent article on how Manchester’s life sciences cluster is flourishing, the Financial Times painted a picture of how “the city’s ecosystem of universities, commerce and research is attracting investors and start-ups.” Likewise, analysis from Deloitte underscored how the city is: “embracing a technology-driven economic transformation, establishing itself as a leading UK hub for growth and investment.”

While Manchester’s legacy of innovation is often spoken about in the past tense – sparked by its leading role in the Industrial Revolution – it’s clear the city’s story as a global innovation leader is only just beginning. Built on yesterday’s scientific breakthroughs, academic excellence, and collaboration, Manchester’s thriving tech ecosystem is home to world-leading research, global tech businesses, bold unicorns, and thousands of tech start-ups and SMEs shaping tomorrow.

A new era of discovery is unfolding in Manchester – and Sister was created as a global innovation hub to catalyse it. However, to unlock the full potential of this next chapter in Manchester and beyond, it’s crucial to understand what opportunities and challenges lie on the path ahead. What better way to do this than hand the microphone to the entrepreneurs facing them on a daily basis?

That’s exactly what our “Going for Growth: Unleashing the UK’s Start-up Potential” does: capturing the first-hand insights and lived experiences of the entrepreneurs and innovators developing the cutting-edge innovations that will shape the future.

Featuring a diverse range of industry-leading voices from across Manchester and the UK’s innovation ecosystem, this report takes a temperature check of the current state of play in the UK start-up landscape. It offers vital insight to help define a prosperous path ahead, asking the experts some key questions: 

• How can we unlock the full potential of UK start-ups?

• What opportunities and challenges do they currently face?

• What can we learn from other global centres of innovation?

• What does the future hold for UK innovation?

To lift this conversation off the page and into an open forum for discussion, we hosted two launch events in Manchester and London where a diverse group of experts dove deeper into the report’s compelling findings. At our latest launch event in East London last month, we asked these leading voices to share their unique perspectives. 

Here’s a snapshot of some of their key insights.

In a recent TechRound article, Aline Miller, Academic Innovation Lead at Sister highlighted that “as startups seek to scale – whether by tapping into new facilities or emerging technologies like AI – business-first ecosystems will provide the support needed to turn ideas into successful ventures and boost wider economic growth.” At our London launch event, Irene Graham, CEO of the ScaleUp Institute, also touched on how ecosystems that incorporate the public, private, and academic worlds can support promising startups.

Space is an important component of the growth journey for scaling companies. As touched upon in the recent “Spotlight on Spinouts 2025” report, Sister provides UK spinouts with access to affordable and high-quality space to scale. This is something Priya Guha MBE, Venture Partner at Merian Ventures, echoed at our launch event, emphasising how Sister brings the essential elements for a thriving ecosystem together in one place.

While AI is said to make entrepreneurship more accessible, creating a tangible shared space for people to connect can help open pathways too. David Houghton, Founder and Social Mobility Ventures and Partner at Antler, touched on the accessibility of entrepreneurship at our launch event, drawing parallels between Manchester and Berlin’s tech ecosystems.

At Sister, we believe it takes a community to raise an idea. That ideas flourish when people come together. That’s why our campus is designed as a focal point for entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, creatives and locals to connect and collaborate. Speaking at our launch event, Tom Adeyoola, Co-founder at Extend Ventures, highlighted how innovation districts like Sister offer an important entry point into communities.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the vibrant discussions at our London launch event. We hope these insights bring much-needed attention to where the UK startup landscape is thriving and where there is more work to be done – helping to push the needle in Manchester’s growing ecosystem, across the UK, and beyond.