Q3 Investment Trends in South Yorkshire's Tech Scene

Uncovering the Latest Funding Activity

We've been tracking deal flow in the region using Dealroom and Beauhurst data platforms. This summer, we're uncovering exciting investment activity for tech companies. Fundraising reached £17 million this quarter, which is twice as much as Q2 in 2025. It's also similar to Q1, which was higher than the previous two quarters of 2024, where we saw £20.9 million. This year’s Series A funding is already the highest since 2021.

Quarterly funding rounds in South Yorkshire startup companies excluding grants

Major Funding Highlights

The largest funding rounds this quarter include a Series B extension round for Buy Now Pay Later vehicle fintech Bumper. They raised an additional £8 million in equity funding, bringing the total Series B investment to £20 million. This impressive round was backed by leading automotive investors, including Autotech Ventures, Suzuki Global Ventures, Porsche Ventures, JLR’s InMotion Ventures, and Shell Ventures.

Another notable investment comes from Sheffield-based clean energy company MOPO. They secured a £5 million growth equity investment from Norfund, Norway’s development finance institution. This funding strengthens MOPO’s push to scale its solar-powered battery rental service across Sub-Saharan Africa, bringing its VC funding this year to over £10 million.

Tickets for Good is a leading platform providing free and discounted event tickets to healthcare staff, teachers, and charity workers. The Sheffield startup recently announced the launch of its Belgian business and a new funding round of £3 million from Leansquare. They have already distributed over a million tickets in the UK, Europe, and the USA.

In Rotherham, AI manufacturing spinout Productive Machines and hyper-personalised gaming platform Immersely both received seed funding rounds from deeptech innovation agency Digital Catapult. Additionally, Barnsley's cybersecurity startup Optimise Cyber Solutions received early VC funding from Copier Systems.

New Spinouts and Startups

New spinouts from the University of Sheffield were announced. SilVia Bio focuses on deconstructing and analysing cell factories for biomanufacturing, while RNA Forge bridges the critical gap in mRNA drug development. New and growing startups are moving into workspaces along the Sheffield Innovation Spine, such as Pennine Five and Sheffield Technology Parks.

At TECH SY, we've been deploying our Idea Validation Grants into early-stage tech companies with groundbreaking ideas. These grants help them validate their market potential. The experienced team at Trove Ventures has been supporting some of the founders with their MVP programme, helping them develop their vision into a solid business plan. We’ll be sharing more about their progress in the months ahead.

We launched our Scaleup Dashboard at Climb25 in July. This tool integrates Beauhurst and Dealroom datasets to showcase startups with 10–20% growth. Our goal is to help investors and stakeholders identify high-potential businesses across South Yorkshire. By interpreting data, we can predict future trends and opportunities.

Join the Growth Movement

Are you looking to be part of the growth story? Join the South Yorkshire Equity Platform for investor visibility. Keep your Dealroom profile up to date. You can also use shipshape.vc, a free investment search engine. Don't forget to share your scale-up news with us so we can amplify your message.

VC Industry Funding Heatmap in South Yorkshire