These 8 companies are looking to optimize manufacturing in North America

Startups in the intensive Made Smarter Innovation cohort specialize in digitally enabled manufacturing solutions.

For manufacturers contending with labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, as well as environmental, social and governance expectations, digitally enabled technologies can give them a critical edge. Innovations in 3D printing, augmented reality, AI and machine learning can help strengthen supply chains, provide real-time insights and create digital factories that can help companies test before they build.

To help speed up the adoption of these solutions, MaRS has partnered with Innovate UK, an economic development agency, to support eight U.K.-based companies that are developing products and services to make it easier to manufacture. Called Made Smarter Innovation, the six-month program will provide these startups with tailored workshops, networking opportunities and access to the extensive MaRS ecosystem to help them expand into the North American market.

From bold ideas to real-world impact, here are the eight U.K. startups that are redefining what’s possible in manufacturing.

Bloc Digital helps companies engage customers with immersive tools

Keith Cox and Chris Hotham met as illustrators at Rolls Royce, designing 3D engines for the iconic British company. In 2000, they branched out and founded Bloc Graphics, a company focused on digital assets and illustrations. The company, renamed Bloc Digital in 2011, has since grown into a full-scale digital marketing and interactive technology agency.

How it can help: The company uses 3D modelling, computer-generated imagery (CGI) and motion graphics to create engineering visuals that help companies modernize their operations. It also creates virtual reality training programs, offers web and app development and uses AI to help companies monitor machines for maintenance and machine learning. With its bespoke digital twins — a 3D visualization — the Bloc Digital helps companies assess productivity, test for faults and check efficiency issues.

Company milestones: Growing from a five-person startup to a team of more than 70, the Derby, U.K.-based company has expanded its presence in the defence and manufacturing industries and has opened offices in Ohio and Kansas.

Connective AI keeps supply chains running

After watching manufacturers from all sectors pivot to produce healthcare equipment during COVID-19, Connective AI founder Nishant Raj was inspired to find a way to connect suppliers, manufacturers and companies based on need and capability. The Warrington, U.K. company developed MyCluster, a digital platform that connects companies across industries to solve common supply chain gaps and inefficiencies. “In simple terms, we help manufacturing organizations see, connect and grow together — instead of working in silos,” says Raj.

How it can help: MyCluster uses AI-driven data mapping to gather and analyze information from company websites, certificates and public data to build capability profiles on manufacturers. The smart platform, which launched earlier this year, identifies connections, gaps and opportunities for companies to collaborate across a region, enabling members to search, filter and engage with one another in real time.

Company milestones: More than 600 manufacturing organizations and five trade associations, including one from the Canadian hydrogen sector, are active on its platform.

Deep.Meta drives sustainability in steel manufacturing

Working for a major steel producer while completing his PhD, Deep.Meta founder Osas Omoigiade saw how the rising costs of energy and carbon were affecting the European steel industry. He realized the sector needed a way to quickly optimize production without a heavy investment of capital. Deep.Meta’s machine learning tools and advanced analytics help steel manufacturers improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and production costs while also improving quality.

How it can help: The global steel industry is one of the most carbon-intensive industries, accounting for roughly 8 percent of global energy emissions. Deep.Meta’s solution incorporates machine learning to predict slab conditions inside the furnace during the reheating process (one of the most energy-intestive processes in steel manufacturing) and adjust in real time.

Company milestones: Founded in 2020 in London, Omoigiade says the company has raised more than £1.2 million through venture funding and competitive research grants. And in the past three months, the company has increased its processing capacity from 200,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes of steel. Its commercial products are currently in use across Europe, Africa and North America.

Holdson’s enhances metal parts for manufacturers

Aaron Holt and Neil Dickinson were working for a North American engine manufacturer when they first came up with the idea for Holdson. Responsible for polishing and smoothing the internal components of turbochargers to improve automotive gas flow, they started investigating a better method of polishing complex metal parts without altering their geometry. The result was electroform polishing, a patented process for smoothing metal 3D parts.

How it can help: Used in the aerospace, automotive, medical and industrial sectors, metal additive manufacturing (AM) parts is a relatively new technology. “The problem is that metal AM parts are too rough to be used from printing,” says Dickinson. With electroform polishing, the founders built a solution that can enhance metal components, including 3D-printed parts, refine surfaces and remove imperfections. The solution was used to cut 350 metric tonnes of carbon emissions in the diesel business and is currently being implemented in the defence sector and in developing nuclear fusion reactors.

Company milestones: The Yorkshire-based company raised $1.5 million in seed funding in 2023, and raised an additional £1.5 million, in September. Dickinson says the company has successfully secured supply status with manufacturers in the aerospace and defence sectors.

J-Wadel Solutions trains the next generation of aerospace and automotive manufacturers

Johnson Oluwadele’s first innovation with J-Wadel Solutions was an augmented reality (AR) virtual assistant that helped construction workers on live sites. The project’s success inspired him to create Holovast, an interactive, hands-free, AI-assisted holographic guide that workers in the industrial manufacturing sector can use on the job. Oluwadele spun out Holovast as a company in August 2025.

How it can help: The company’s guide converts work instructions into 3D holographic guidance. Using AR headsets, workers get visual, handsfree and voice-controlled guidance as they work. The solution, Oluwadele says, can help with workforce shortages in manufacturing across industries, including in the aviation industry, which is expected to have a 20-percent shortage in maintenance technicians by 2028. Its AI models also detect mistakes, adapt instructions to the user’s skill level and provide real-time feedback.

Company milestones: Founded in London in 2019, J-Wadel Solutions has secured more than £800,000 in funding.

Therion provides digital guidance and a digital operating system for manufacturers

Co-founders James Hall, Mike Parker, Kris Kennedy and Richard Larder created Therion to help small and medium-sized manufacturers see their profits, performance and risk in real-time.

How it can help: Most small and medium-sized manufacturers that Therion targets typically lack the resources to build their own digital solutions. Therion works as a consultancy firm to help. The company is also building a digital operating system for manufacturers, which digitizes jobs and automates administration, giving real-time insights and predictive alerts. These insights can help factory teams see where they lose money, what issues they need to fix and make data-driven decisions to optimize production.

Company milestones: Therion has been in business for less than a year, but has already worked with multiple clients. The Newcastle, U.K.-based company now serves as the innovation technology and digital partner for Dyer Engineering and has launched two pilot projects with manufacturers based in the U.K. Therion helped one machining client uncover the source of a £30,000 margin leak and identified a five-time return on investment to a signage company in just four weeks.

Thinkittech makes 3D printing safer and more effective

Founded in 2020, Thinkittech helps manufacturers integrate AI to automate, predict and give insights on their operations. Its AMSynchro platform helps them to track and analyze metal powder, the foundation of 3D printing in aerospace and defense manufacturing. “Once powder enters the production cycle, it becomes hard to track its condition, history or exposure events. This lack of visibility leads to waste, safety concerns and compliance risks,” says Thinkittech founder and CEO Emanuele Zanchettin. “AMSynchro is a platform designed to deliver predictive assurance across the entire lifecycle of metal powders.”

How it can help: Metal powders are hazardous and hard to track — even a microscopic flaw in a batch can lead to costly production failures. AMSynchro combines monitoring, data analytics and secure record-keeping to help manufacturers verify the integrity of powders, detect contamination, maintain compliance and reduce waste.

Company milestones: The company was chosen for the U.K. Space Agency’s LEO Program, a four-month accelerator program designed for space ventures, and was selected for other innovation programs in the U.K., Germany and now Canada.

Xworks AI helps manufacturers and processors track waste and recycled material

Millions of tonnes of valuable materials like plastics, metals, paper, electronics and tiles get lost because “small recyclers and manufacturers can’t prove where their recovered material came from or how it was processed,” says Electra Coutsoftides, CEO of Xworks AI. “Without trust in the data, those materials often end up treated as waste.” To improve accountability, Coutsoftide’s company has created digital product passports to help manufacturers and recyclers track where material came from, how it was processed and who verified the data.

How it can help: Globally, only about 9 percent of plastic and 12 percent of textiles are recycled. Using the company’s XTokenz — a digital receipt of recycling credits — small and medium-sized material processors can get a financial incentive to recycle responsibly. The product also gives manufacturers proof that they recycled their product. XTokenz provides companies with the world’s first circular carbon credit, which companies get by reducing their waste footprint.

Company milestones: To date, the London-based company has tracked more than 588,888 tonnes of material, and channelled more than 150,000 tonnes into plastic recovery programs. More than 2,200 businesses have joined the network. Later this month, the company plans to launch Carbonmark, a carbon credit marketplace that connects buyers with environmental projects — which will make XTokenz available to 27 million carbon credit buyers and sellers.

Learn more about how MaRS and Innovate U.K. are bringing new breakthroughs to Canada.