The finalists for this year's Wales StartUp Awards have been unveiled.
Created by the team behind the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, the Wales StartUp Awards is part of the UK StartUp Awards series.
The series is designed to recognise the booming start-up scene across ten nations and regions of the UK which has accelerated over the last few years, with 846,000 new businesses founded in 2024.
In 2025, more than 750 businesses have been shortlisted in the ten nations and regions for the UK StartUp Awards. The shortlisted firms – all of which were started in the last three years – have between them created more than 4,600 new jobs and generated annual sales of £200 million.
In Wales, 93 firms will be competing for the Wales StartUp of the Year award at the finals which will be taking part in Cardiff in June.
Organisers said that this year’s finalists show strong representation in categories representing important sectors of the economy including AI StartUp of the Year, Consumer Products StartUp of the Year, Global StartUp of the Year and Innovative StartUp of the Year.
The most popular category across all regions was StartUp for Good.
Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, the creator of the UK StartUp Awards, said:
“New businesses are the driving force behind any thriving economy, generating employment, pioneering innovation, and contributing to prosperity to every part of the UK. Yet again, every finalist at the Wales StartUp Awards embodies the very best of entrepreneurial spirit – spotting opportunities and, through dedication, skill, and resilience, turning them into thriving ventures that are making a tangible difference in their industries and communities.”
Supported by Airwallex, Big Ideas Wales, Coffi Lab, Ideas Fest, Join Talent, Mentera, MSparc V Rum and Welsh Government, the awards celebrate the achievements of individuals who have turned an idea into an opportunity and taken the risk to launch a new product or service. The cohort of finalists will be considered for the regional prizes by a panel of experienced judges with experience founding or supporting entrepreneurial ventures.
The winners from each region will then be invited to the 2025 UK final taking place at Ideas Fest – the Glastonbury for Business – in Hertfordshire on 12th September 2025. Last year, a number of businesses from Wales were chosen as UK champions in their categories including Goggleminds, LovetoVisit, Remoo Mortgages and Wellspring Homes.
This year’s regional UK StartUp Awards finalists can be found online at https://startupawards.uk/
