AI Investors in Leeds and Yorkshire (2026): Who Is Backing Early-Stage Startups

The main investors backing early-stage AI startups in Leeds and Yorkshire in 2026 include Northern Gritstone, Mercia Ventures and Yorkshire AI Labs, from university spinouts to AI companies built with industry experts.

Researched and written by Zeeshan Ali at Platvix. Updated October 2026.

TL;DR

• University of Leeds or Sheffield spinout? Northern Gritstone was set up by the universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield to back their spinouts.
• Growing tech company in Leeds or elsewhere in Yorkshire? Mercia Ventures manages the £100m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II equity fund for Yorkshire and the Humber.
• Building an AI-first company? Yorkshire AI Labs in Sheffield builds and backs AI companies, and works with the Oberon Yorkshire AI EIS Fund.

Early-stage AI investors in Leeds and Yorkshire

Northern Gritstone

An investment company set up by the universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield, which now partners with Liverpool as well, backing science and technology spinouts across the North.

• Invests in: deeptech and life sciences companies, with recent rounds from pre-seed (AmpliSi, March 2026) to a Series A extension (Optalysys, January 2026)
• AI startups backed: adsilico, a University of Leeds spinout using generative AI to create synthetic patient populations for medical device trials (£2m in a £3.5m seed round, February 2024), and Imperagen, an AI and quantum enzyme engineering spinout (May 2026)
• Recent Yorkshire deals: led the $10m (about £7.5m) round in MicroLub, a University of Leeds food science spinout (September 2026), and the £3m seed round in Silvia Bio, a University of Sheffield spinout (October 2026)
• Latest fund: no fixed fund. It invests from permanent capital of £382m, reached after a £20m close in April 2026
• Website: northern-gritstone.com

Mercia Ventures (NPIF II – Mercia Equity Finance)

The venture arm of Mercia, which manages the £100m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II equity fund for Yorkshire and the Humber.

• Invests in: businesses across West, South and North Yorkshire, Hull and the East Riding, in software, consumer, healthcare and deep tech
• Cheque size: up to £5m through NPIF II
• AI startups backed: 75Media, a Leeds roadside media company building an AI booking platform (March 2025), and Salesfire, which is adding AI to its e-commerce sales platform (November 2024)
• Recent Leeds deal: VisaDoc, a business visa platform setting up a team in Leeds after a six-figure investment (August 2026)
• Website: mercia.co.uk

Yorkshire AI Labs

A Sheffield-based venture firm led by WANdisco co-founder David Richards, which builds AI companies with industry experts using a mix of cash and sweat equity.

• Invests in: AI companies with deep domain knowledge and existing customers that want to build new software products
• AI startups backed: IntelliAM, an AI platform for food and drink manufacturers that was its first investment (January 2024) and has since listed through a £5m IPO, and LEXcelerate, a Sheffield AI law firm it launched in February 2026
• Latest fund: the Oberon Yorkshire AI EIS Fund, launched with Oberon in June 2025 to back AI companies across Northern England
• Website: yorkshire.ai

Also worth knowing

NorthInvest, a Leeds-based not-for-profit angel network, connects tech start-ups across the North with angel investors, and co-founded Fund Her North to back women founders. Finance Yorkshire's Seedcorn Fund also invests in early-stage Yorkshire companies, including Leeds-based Envoke alongside Mercia.

FAQ

Is there an AI-only investor in Yorkshire?

Yorkshire AI Labs and the Oberon Yorkshire AI EIS Fund focus only on AI companies. Across the Pennines, Manchester's EHE Ventures also backs AI-first startups from pre-seed to Series A.

I'm a University of Leeds spinout. Where should I start?

Northern Gritstone was set up by the universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield to back their spinouts, and has led recent Leeds rounds such as MicroLub.

How were these investors chosen?

We included investors based in or active in Leeds and Yorkshire that invest at an early stage, focus on AI or have backed AI startups, and have announced a fund or deal recently. Every fact links to the firm's own announcement or to business press.

How do I find which Yorkshire investors fit my startup?

Platvix is an investment intelligence platform for founders. It supports your fundraising journey by helping you refine your pitch deck and find the capital options most relevant to your startup, based on what each investor says it backs and what it has done recently.

Where to go from here

• AI investors in Manchester
• AI investors in London
• AI investors in the North East
• Browse our pre-seed investor list
• How to get warm investor introductions without a network
• What investors look for in AI startups

Find the Yorkshire investors most likely to back you

Leeds and Yorkshire have university funds, regional funds, angel networks and AI specialists, so the hard part is knowing which ones fit your startup. Platvix researches which investors are likely to back a company like yours, based on what each one says it invests in and what it has been doing lately.

• Investor research across each firm's stated thesis, recent deals and fund announcements, kept up to date
• A targeted investor list built against your startup's stage, sector and location
• Deck analysis that reads your pitch the way an investor would
• Claims verification that checks the numbers in your deck before an investor does

Run that research on your own startup before you start sending your deck.

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If you run one of these funds and something has changed, get in touch.