TEES TECH AWARDS 2026

SPONSORED BY OUTRANK

Surghive trio Deena Harji, Rachael Coates and Christi Anderson with Max Lyne, CTO of category sponsor Outrank.

WINNER

A passionate pitch saw a medical game-changer emerge with the Tech Start-

Up prize. Surghive is a VR platform set to transform the world of robotic surgery. It was one of three finalists chosen at a pre-awards“ pitching” event at Flok in

Middlesbrough. The finalists then had to pitch again, only this time to the 250 guests attending the Tees Tech Awards at Teesside University’ s Digital Life building.

And it was Surghive – founded as Robohive in 2022“ with a vision to revolutionise surgical training” but recently rebranded – that gained the most votes after a pitch from one of its driving forces, robotic colorectal surgeon Dr Rachael Coates.

In her pitch, Rachael – who also has an MBA in artificial intelligence- explained how when she trained in robotics, she had to go into hospital at night, alone, to do her simulation training because the robot was already in use during the day.

She added:“ It cost almost £ 1m to train me – and there are 14,000 of me waiting in a queue in the UK to be trained. That’ s where Surghive comes in.

“ We are platform agnostic – we know we can train surgeons on any platform. And we’ re accessible on mobile phone right through to virtual reality headsets. That means we are carbon, cost and time efficient.

“ We can also digitally twin your operating room and can have the whole team trained up in robotic surgery before you’ ve even had the delivery of physical hardware.”

After receiving the award, Rachael revealed that a national Surghive pilot is set to start in August, with more than 100 surgeons already committed, followed by a commercial product hopefully available by 2027.

Praising the“ world-class team” behind Surghive, including fellow awards attendees Professor Deena Harji and Christi Anderson, she admitted pitching to such a big audience had been“ nerve-wracking” – but familiar territory too.

She explained:“ I’ ve kind of got used to it! I’ ve taken a sabbatical from clinical practice to commercialise this product, so we’ re doing a fundraising round which means I feel like I’ m pitching all the time – I’ m slightly sick of the sound of my own voice!

“ But I believe it’ s going to be game-changing, not just in the training of surgeons but also the long-term safety for surgery.”

FINALISTS

ACE EDUCATION TRAINING

Ace Education is building the future of intelligent learning with a flagship platform designed by educators and powered by advanced AI technology.

A unique hybrid 360 transformation engine delivers five high-value capabilities in one seamless platform: assessment, marking and diagnostic feedback, personalised learning pathways, bespoke teacher training, smart lesson planning and real-time data analytics.

It means schools save time, raise attainment and unlock data-driven improvement without increasing cost or workload.

Founded by experienced leader Rosie Hussain, Ace Education is strategically positioned to lead a global shift towards AI‐powered school improvement, with a clear strategic plan focused on intent, implementation and scalable impact.

RIVISIO

Rivisio began in March 2025 with a clear mission: to make enterprise-grade environmental, health and safety management accessible to the UK SMEs who need it most, but have historically been priced out of it.

Built on a highly experienced founding team, Rivisio has moved from concept to production platform in under 12 months.

The platform, an AI-native EHS management system with RAG-powered risk intelligence, built on a modern Next. js and Supabase stack, completed its first production release in March 2026 and is live with an initial pilot cohort, with early traction“ meaningful”.

Rivisio is now actively preparing for investment, with a seed round underway targeting £ 500,000 to accelerate product development.

SPONSOR’ S MESSAGE

Outrank web development manager, Charles Little, said:“ Innovation sits at the core of everything we do at Outrank. Technology drives growth, creates opportunity and shapes the future of modern business.

“ Supporting these awards allows us to celebrate the talent, ambition and forward-thinking companies pushing our region’ s tech sector ahead.

“ The Tech Awards represent more than recognition; they showcase the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that power sustainable growth. We’ re proud to support an event that highlights the businesses and individuals building the future of our industry.”

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