Held as part of Leeds Digital mini-fest, the Ignition Event brought together health innovators, entrepreneurs, clinicians, researchers and industry leaders from across the region to showcase the growing strength of the Leeds and West Yorkshire health innovation ecosystem.
The new £2 million Health Innovation Leeds Incubator is led by Nexus at the University of Leeds in partnership with Leeds Beckett University and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, working closely with Leeds City Council.
The Incubator will support healthtech start-ups, SMEs and growing businesses across West Yorkshire by helping them overcome barriers to growth, access expertise and navigate areas such as NHS adoption, regulation, product development and investment readiness.
As one of the UK’s leading research-active NHS Trusts, Leeds Teaching Hospitals plays a central role in supporting innovation, research and collaboration across the region.
The event also highlighted the Trust’s ongoing commitment to innovation through initiatives such as the Innovation Pop Up — LTHT’s dedicated innovation space designed to connect clinicians, researchers, industry and entrepreneurs to help bring new ideas and technologies into healthcare more effectively.
The Innovation Pop Up continues to provide opportunities for collaboration, networking, demonstrations and real-world conversations around the future of healthcare innovation.
Opening the event, Richard Paxman OBE, CEO of Paxman Scalp Cooling and Chair of the West Yorkshire HealthTech Cluster, spoke about the momentum building across the region’s healthtech community.
He said: “Innovation takes grit. It takes belief when things get complex. And it takes a region willing to back bold ideas and the people behind them”.
One of the standout moments of the event came from Carly Walter, Founder and CEO of MAGI, who shared the personal experiences that inspired the creation of her digital tool designed to support neurodivergent women and girls.
Her reflections highlighted important themes around prevention, women’s health and the need for more inclusive approaches to healthcare innovation.
Reflecting on the event afterwards, Carly said the day “wasn’t just another innovation event. It actually felt like movement — with a growing sense that West Yorkshire is serious about doing health differently.”
Ed Whiting, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council, described Leeds as “large enough to matter, small enough to care” — a city where organisations can work collaboratively to drive meaningful change.
The Health Innovation Leeds Incubator will provide tailored support for more than 70 regional healthtech businesses, alongside workshops, networking opportunities and knowledge-sharing sessions focused on areas including AI in healthcare, regulation, scaling businesses and working with the NHS.
The launch event showcased not only the strength of collaboration across Leeds and West Yorkshire, but also the region’s growing ambition to shape the future of healthcare innovation nationally and internationally.