West Yorkshire’s ambition to rival the capital as a technology powerhouse has taken a significant step forward with the launch of Tech West Yorkshire, a new umbrella organisation backed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and championed by Mayor Tracy Brabin.

The body will operate across all five of the region’s districts, Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees, drawing together technology businesses, universities, investors, entrepreneurs and skills providers under a single regional banner for the first time.

Its mission is deliberately simple: connect people and companies across the region more effectively, and in doing so build a more resilient tech ecosystem capable of driving economic growth across West Yorkshire.

The launch lands at a moment of conspicuous momentum for the region’s digital economy. Combined Authority figures show some 9,700 digital, tech and AI businesses now operate across West Yorkshire, employing more than 50,000 people, and the region boasts more technology scaleups than anywhere in the UK outside London and the South East, a pattern echoed in research showing high-growth businesses booming well beyond the capital.

Leeds has emerged as one of the country’s fastest-growing digital centres. The city is home to more than 3,500 digital and tech firms and holds the third-largest concentration of high-growth businesses in the UK outside London. According to the Combined Authority, the city’s tech sector is expanding 125 per cent faster than the national average, comfortably outstripping even the UK’s digital industries, which are themselves growing 32 per cent faster than the wider economy, with software development and cyber security among the strongest performers.

The region has also been recognised through the Government’s High Potential Opportunities programme as a leading UK location for data and artificial intelligence.

‘A leading digital, tech and AI powerhouse’

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “From our Northern Square Mile of FinTech firms to our multimillion-pound HealthTech Investment Zone, our great region is building its reputation as a leading digital, tech and AI powerhouse.

“By bringing together our world-class talent, ambitious businesses and innovative universities, we will help companies across West Yorkshire to flourish, supporting the creation of good, skilled jobs.

“With our Local Growth Plan backing our fastest growing sectors to grow even faster, and our Business Growth Hub supporting all of our local businesses to succeed, we’re building a stronger, better off West Yorkshire powered by the jobs and businesses of the future.”

The mayor’s reference to the region’s £160 million HealthTech and Digital Tech Investment Zone underlines the scale of public money already flowing into the sector, with the zone expected to leverage more than £220 million of combined investment and create over 2,500 skilled jobs.

Crucially, Tech West Yorkshire is not designed to replace the region’s existing networks and groups, but to strengthen the links between them and give the sector a more joined-up regional presence.

Plans include supporting and promoting tech events across all five districts, helping firms access finance and export opportunities, improving connections between businesses and universities, and encouraging more people into digital careers. Particular attention will fall on artificial intelligence, fintech, cyber security, healthtech and digital infrastructure.

The initiative builds on the success of the Leeds Digital Festival, which over the past decade has grown into one of the UK’s largest open-platform technology events.

Deb Hetherington, director of Leeds Digital, said the new organisation reflected the scale and maturity of the region’s digital sector.

“There is already a huge amount of good work happening across West Yorkshire, but too often businesses and communities have operated separately from one another,” she said. “The opportunity now is to build stronger connections across the region and make it easier for people to collaborate, share ideas and create opportunities together.

“We want businesses in Bradford to feel connected to businesses in Leeds, Wakefield or Calderdale. We want startups to have better access to investors and universities, and we want people entering the sector to feel there is a strong regional community around them. If we can create those connections consistently over time, the whole region benefits.”

West Yorkshire’s seven universities are expected to play a major role in the initiative’s development. The region produces more data science graduates than anywhere else in the UK, with more than 43,000 students graduating each year.

Supporters argue that the combination of deep talent, lower operating costs and an established business base hands West Yorkshire a genuine competitive advantage over rival UK tech hubs, a timely claim given evidence that British firms remain strong on innovation but continue to struggle to scale.

Alongside events and networking, Tech West Yorkshire is expected to launch a regional brand and marketing platform to promote the area’s technology sector to investors, businesses and international audiences. Organisers hope the body will become financially self-sustaining through sponsorship and private-sector backing once the initial public funding period ends.

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