Inside the standout moments from LCR Innovation Investment Fortnight Pitch Day 2026

On 3 June, as part of Innovation Investment Fortnight, Pitch Day 2026 brought together founders, investors and innovation leaders for a high-energy day designed to spark meaningful connections and accelerate opportunity.

Hosted at Pembroke House in Liverpool, the day created a fantastic opportunity for ambitious ideas to meet active capital, and where some of the region’s most exciting businesses stepped forward to showcase their next phase of growth.

You could feel the momentum from the start. Founders delivered confident, engaging pitches to a room full of investors, ecosystem leaders and fellow entrepreneurs, sparking conversations that quickly moved beyond introductions. The numbers underline the momentum: 33 investors from 19 funds were in attendance, with over 60% travelling from outside the Liverpool City Region - a clear signal of growing external interest in the region’s innovation pipeline.

Early feedback already points to tangible impact. Half of the pitching companies have reported at least eight new investor connections, alongside two existing relationships reactivated and progressing. With many conversations still ongoing, these early indicators suggest even greater investment and commercial outcomes are still to come.

Lorna Green, LYVA Labs CEO, said: “This year’s LCR Pitch Day was a powerful reminder of the depth of talent and innovation we have across Liverpool City Region.”

Reflecting on the day, Natalie Niven, LYVA Labs Project Manager, noted: “It was incredibly rewarding to see Pitch Day come together and to watch the connections being formed between founders, investors and partners. It was also a pleasure to work collaboratively with our partners to create an event that we all care deeply about and are committed to making a success.”

A Stage for Ambition and Innovation

Away from the event itself, that momentum points to something bigger. Pitch Day is part of LYVA Labs’ wider mission to drive economic growth through innovation across the Liverpool City Region. Through early-stage investment, incubators and accelerators, innovation consultancy, R&D funding and large-scale consortia building, we back the ideas, people and projects shaping the region’s future.

Powered by partnership

Behind that success was a strong partnership effort. We were proud to deliver the event with leading regional and national organisations playing a vital role in supporting innovation and investment across the region. Together, they helped identify high-potential companies, bring investors from across the UK into the room, and create new pathways to investment for both businesses and backers.

Delivered in partnership with AXM Venture Capital (Liverpool City Region Seed Fund), Barclays Eagle Labs, British Business Bank, Gateway Angels, iiCON (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine), Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Sci-Tech Daresbury and Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Where ambition met opportunity

The energy in the room was driven by exceptional founders building solutions with real-world potential across health tech, advanced manufacturing, digital and climate innovation.

One of the day’s most compelling examples was Haptiv8, a Liverpool City Region business developing a vibrating insole with sensory feedback to support autistic children who tiptoe walk.  Founder and former paediatric physiotherapist Nicki Allen tested the prototype with children and parents at the specialist autism school where she worked, grounding the innovation in lived experience and practical need. 

Nicki received early support through the LYVA Labs Incubator Programme, including a £25,000 investment and bespoke consultancy support, which helped her begin her commercialisation journey. LYVA Labs' Demo Day in February 2025 connected Nicki with Deepbridge Capital, resulting in significant investment that accelerated the development of Haptic8's sensory-driven solution.

Haptiv8 has continued to work closely with LYVA Labs through its grant support mechanisms. This month, she secured a place on the LYVA Labs Accelerate Programme, which supports ambitious businesses in achieving their commercialisation goals and bringing innovative solutions to market.

Nicki said: “What a privilege it was to be a part of the LCR IIF Pitch Day at Pembroke House, and to be asked to pitch! It was a great event with lots of engaged investors in the room. As a result of attending this event we have had interest from angel investors, made contacts at Barclays Eagle Labs and been invited to an NHS Momentum accelerator.”

Another strong example of Pitch Day’s impact was Spotlight Pathology, a LYVA Labs portfolio company whose pitch started three exciting new investor conversations. The company is developing AI-powered software to help clinicians diagnose complex blood cancers, including lymphoma and leukaemia, faster and with greater confidence. As shortages of specialist expertise continue to strain healthcare systems, Spotlight’s technology is designed to speed up diagnosis and support better clinical decisions through digital pathology workflows.

Samantha Perona, Spotlight Pathology CEO said, “LYVA Labs' Pitch Day was a great opportunity to kick-start our next fundraising round. We received valuable feedback on our pitch and genuine interest from investors in joining our journey. Since the event, conversations with three investors have progressed rapidly, demonstrating the impact and quality of the connections made through the programme.".

LYVA Labs first invested in Spotlight Pathology in 2024, followed by further investment in March 2026 as part of a £1.4m seed round. Alongside Liverpool Seed Fund, Deepbridge Capital, River Capital, UKI2S and EHE Startup Factory, this brought LYVA Labs’ total investment to £250k. This funding has supported commercialisation of Spotlight’s AI tools for blood cancer diagnosis and has created six new jobs in the Liverpool City Region.

Pitch Day Companies

The conversations continued beyond the stage. Following the event, investors and partners came together for a dinner at Hope Street Hotel, kindly sponsored by British Business Bank, Barclays Eagle Labs and Gateway Angels. It offered space to reflect on the day’s strongest pitches while exploring the deals, collaborations and introductions that could grow from them.

Pitch Day captured the ambition and momentum driving innovation investment across the Liverpool City Region. More importantly, it created the kinds of conversations that will have real long-term impact for companies and those backing innovations.

Stay in the loop with LYVA Labs events and the businesses shaping what comes next

This event was a part of the Liverpool City Region (LCR) Innovation Investment Fortnight, an annual Combined Authority-led showcase of the distinctive world-leading assets, partnership-driven approaches, and £2b investment opportunities that put the LCR at the forefront of UK place-based innovation. #LCRinnovation