Crowd Threat has been named in the Ones to Watch Index 2026, a new list of the 20 North East businesses you need to know about.

The Index was announced today ahead of North East Entrepreneurship Week, which runs from 11 to 20 November across the region. Brought together by the Entrepreneurs' Forum in partnership with Castrius Capital Partners, it is the first edition of a list designed to put a spotlight on early-stage companies with the ambition, momentum and resilience to become regionally significant.

How the twenty were chosen

An open nomination process put more than 100 businesses forward. An independent panel of investors, advisors and entrepreneurs then narrowed that field to twenty. The panel looked beyond current size to the quality of thinking behind each business and the scale of the opportunity it is chasing. The performance of all twenty will be tracked over time, and an overall winner will be recognised at the North East Entrepreneurial Awards.

Crowd Threat is listed under Technology & Software, Newcastle.

Why Crowd Threat

Most threat and risk information still reaches organisations the slow way: analyst teams working from secondary sources, often hours after events have moved on. Crowd Threat takes a different route. A vetted global network of local reporters flags unrest, crime and incidents as they happen, giving businesses, governments and organisations faster, verified insight from the ground.

The longer-term goal goes beyond reporting what has already happened. By connecting thousands of local observations, the network is built to spot instability earlier and act as an early-warning system for anyone with people, assets or operations exposed to it.

A word from Michael

"It means a lot to be recognised in the region where Crowd Threat was founded and is being built. The North East has a long record of building companies that compete globally, and it's a privilege to sit alongside nineteen businesses doing exactly that. Our job now is to prove the panel right."

Michael McCabe, Founder & CEO, Crowd Threat

Good company

Congratulations to the other nineteen businesses on the list, spanning life sciences, health tech, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and consumer brands, from Aelius Biotech and LightOx to Low Carbon Materials and Tiba Tempeh. It is a strong snapshot of what is being built across the North East right now.

Thank you to the Entrepreneurs' Forum, Castrius Capital Partners and the independent panel. You can see the full Index on the North East Entrepreneurship Week website.