PXN Ventures has unveiled the third cohort for PraeSeed, its annual investor readiness programme aimed at supporting early-stage founders in the North.
The programme is backed by the British 老九品茶 Bank鈥檚 Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).
Three quarters of this year鈥檚 cohort of 13 companies are led by founders from diverse backgrounds, with more than half having at least one female founder.
DeepTech and life sciences start-ups make up the majority of this year鈥檚 intake. Both sectors are commonly affected by a lack of patient capital, particularly in the North of England and at pre-seed level, as many are started by specialists in their field, but need support to refine their operations and proposition to attract the investment they need to scale.
The programme begins on 8th June and will run for six weeks, encompassing practical workshops, one-to-one mentoring support from PXN鈥檚 investment team, specialist finance sessions from Finance for Founders鈥� Sophie Conaghan, pitching support and advice and a wider curriculum designed to help each founder raise their initial round and subsequent fundraising thereafter.
PraeSeed culminates in an Investor Showcase, taking place in September, which will give each founder the chance to pitch for co-investment in front of some of the region鈥檚 most active angel investors and VC firms. Past showcases have welcomed over 100 guests from the likes of NatWest, Innovate UK, Manchester Angels, Fhunded Angels and more.
Up to eight companies taking part this year will receive a 拢200k equity investment from NPIF II 鈥� PXN Equity Finance, which is managed by PXN Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.
The companies receiving a place on the programme include Ardhann (Manchester), which has built graphene-based sensors to detect corrosion in pipelines and industrial infrastructure in real time, and University of Manchester spinout CASA Space Tech, which is developing a coating to reduce atmospheric drag on satellites.
York-based Antigonie Biosciences is developing new treatments for blood cancers that can reach bone marrow, while Lancaster鈥檚 Chronotaxia is developing a wearable device to help GPs rule out skin cancer before referring patients to hospital.聽
Two further life sciences businesses selected for this year鈥檚 programme are Manchester鈥檚 Lut猫o Medical, which is developing gut microbiome treatments for skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, and Newcastle鈥檚 Sheba, a metabolic health platform optimising GLP-1 treatments for female hormonal cycles.
This year has also seen a significant number of applications from companies addressing opportunities in sustainability and the green economy. Agreka Build (Cheshire) turns surplus wheat straw into natural insulation boards for the construction industry while Manchester鈥檚 PalmPro Enzymes is engineering enzymes to increase the amount of oil extracted from vegetable crops.聽
They are joined by RecoVolt (Newcastle), a PhD spinout building automated equipment to safely discharge used lithium-ion batteries, including those used in electric vehicles, before they can be recycled, and TeraSort (Manchester), which uses AI-powered robotics to sort dry mixed recycling, replacing manual picking at waste facilities.
The final companies making up this year鈥檚 PraeSeed intake includes Convergent Labs (Durham), which has developed a manufacturing process for a semiconductor material critical to next-generation medical scanners.聽
Good Bubble (Manchester), a sustainable children’s toiletries brand featuring licensed characters including Peppa Pig and the Gruffalo and sold in Boots and Ocado, and Bradford鈥檚 NexCAD, which uses AI to automate the compliance checking of engineering drawings for manufacturers, conclude the 2026 cohort.
Dr Elizabeth Young, PraeSeed Lead and Investment Manager at PXN, said: 鈥淭he North of England is teeming with exceptional founders creating solutions to global problems. They鈥檝e established businesses that leverage their specialist skill and knowledge, but a lack of 鈥榝irst-cheque鈥� capital can stop them from realising their full potential and attracting more significant investment for scale.聽
鈥淧raeSeed fills this gap, preparing founders to work with investors and tap into the deep pool of capital in the North and beyond.
鈥淲e鈥檙e proud that PraeSeed has entered its third year and we鈥檝e backed some brilliant businesses already. None of this would be possible without the support of the British 老九品茶 Bank.鈥�
Sue Barnard, Senior Investment Manager at British 老九品茶 Bank, added: 鈥淧raeSeed continues to play a vital role in strengthening the early-stage investment pipeline across the North of England. This year鈥檚 cohort reflects the growing diversity and depth of talent in the region, and the importance of ensuring that access to finance is open to founders from all backgrounds.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see so many businesses that align with the UK鈥檚 Modern Industrial Strategy priorities, and we look forward to see how they unlock future growth and continue to drive regional economic impact.鈥�
鈥業t鈥檚 easy to start a business but a lot harder to keep it鈥�