Innovate Finance and The Data City Announce Strategic Partnership to Map the UK’s RegTech industry

Innovate Finance, the industry body representing UK FinTech, and The Data City, a real-time data platform mapping the modern economy, have today announced a new strategic partnership to define and map the UK’s RegTech sector.

The partnership sees The Data City join both Innovate Finance and its newly launched RegTech UK initiative as a member and official data partner. Together, the organisations will develop the UK’s first Real-Time Industrial Classification (RTIC) for RegTech – creating a dynamic, data-led picture of the sector and its role in the UK’s financial innovation ecosystem.

Alex Craven, Co-Founder and CEO of The Data City, has also been appointed to the RegTech UK Advisory Board to support the initiative with data-driven insight and strategic input.

Launched by Innovate Finance in 2025, RegTech UK is a new membership programme created to support, champion and advocate for RegTech companies in the UK. Its goal is to make the UK the global leader in regulatory and compliance technology, an increasingly vital area for financial services as regulation becomes more complex and technology-led solutions become essential.

The partnership also aligns with the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, which identifies Financial Services as one of eight priority sectors for growth. The strategy commits to cutting the cost of regulation by 25%, streamlining oversight, and using the new Regulatory Innovation Office to clear the path to market for innovative firms. By helping define the RegTech sector with live, accurate data, this partnership directly supports those aims, making it easier to identify emerging players, reduce friction, and scale adoption.

The global RegTech market was valued at $12.8 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $85.9 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights. RegTech UK brings together innovators, regulators, investors and ecosystem partners to drive adoption and build a stronger, smarter regulatory environment.

The Data City’s machine learning-driven classification system, built on company website data, enables the creation of bespoke sector definitions that go far beyond traditional SIC codes. The RegTech RTIC will group companies based on how they describe themselves on their websites, giving a real-time picture of what the sector looks like and who’s in it.

The new dataset will be published in The Data City’s platform and supported by a publicly available report. Developed with input from Innovate Finance, sector experts and sponsoring partners, the project will offer valuable insight to government, investors and the wider ecosystem. Sponsors will be credited within the data and report, and will be able to use the insights in their own communications.

This partnership is part of Innovate Finance’s wider work to support growing areas of UK FinTech by giving them the data, visibility and connections they need to succeed. It also supports The Data City’s mission to build a modern classification system for the UK economy, one that reflects how industries actually work today.

Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance, said:

“RegTech is one of the most exciting sectors within financial innovation today and there is a huge opportunity for the UK to be the world leader. Our partnership with The Data City will give us the tools to better understand the sector, champion its growth, and ensure the UK continues to lead the world in regulatory innovation and compliance technology.”

Alex Craven, Co-Founder and CEO of The Data City, said:

“We are proud to partner with Innovate Finance to deliver the UK’s first real-time classification of the RegTech sector. By combining our data-driven insights with the expertise of Innovate Finance, we will provide a much clearer, more dynamic view of the companies shaping this fast-growing industry.”