Leeds based technology firm, Auditsu, which is a business-to-business enterprise that aims to automate accessibility audits for mobile applications, assisting firms with compliance risks, has been named as one of eight Northern start-ups to receive a share of £1.6M from the PraeSeed early-stage funding programme.

Eight North of England start-ups have become the latest companies to receive investment from PraeSeed, a six-week cohort-based investment programme for early-stage businesses from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) and PXN Ventures. The fund launched following the merger between Praetura Ventures and Par Equity.

Auditsu’s CEO and Founder, Jason Crispin, said: “Accessibility regulation has moved faster than most companies expected, and the European Accessibility Act has made compliance a priority rather than an option. AUDITSU is building the infrastructure that helps businesses keep pace. This investment gives us the momentum to support the organisations that have already signed up with us, and to scale the platform they’ll depend on going forward.”

Now in its second year, PraeSeed has invested £200,000 in each of the eight businesses. This latest round of investment takes the total amount invested by PraeSeed to date to £3M, with seven businesses receiving investment last year to assist their growth.

Jess Jackson, PraeSeed lead, said: “PraeSeed is all about finding ambitious Northern businesses seeking to solve big problems, and Auditsu’s founder Jason brought to life a huge and largely unseen issue when it comes to accessibility in tech. Websites and apps that we use every day and rely on to perform essential tasks from banking to travel often aren’t suitable for those with accessibility needs. Auditsu’s tool could give brands the ability to quickly identify and address issues before deployment, and given recent EU regulation in this domain, we’re excited for Auditsu to enter the market and start to drive these changes.”

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