Tech Nation Announces 15 Companies Selected To Join Prestigious Future Fifty Programme

As the spotlight shines on the UK tech sector for the second day of London Tech Week, Tech Nation, the UK’s leading growth platform for tech scaleups, announces 15 new companies selected to join the Future Fifty programme – Tech Nation’s growth programme for late-stage digital businesses.

Companies selected to join Future Fifty: Cazoo, Cognism, Double Eleven, Form 3, Hopin, Huma, Multiverse, MYPINPAD, Oxbotica, STATSports, Strike, Tessian, Wagestream, What3words and Wolf & Badger. The latest companies to join the programme are going from strength to strength in what has been a record breaking year for UK tech, with 20 tech unicorns created in 2021 alone (companies valued at $1bn and above).

New startups which responded to the challenges posed by the pandemic are represented in the cohort. Hopin, the online events platform, saw its valuation rise to $7.75bn, while headcount has grown to more than 900 employees in 47 countries since March 2020. Established scaleups who have cemented their status as the leading global tech companies over the past year, are also represented. One new joiner, Cazoo, the online car retailer, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2021, raising $1bn to build out its brand across the UK and mainland Europe.

In total, new joiners to the programme are planning to increase their headcount by on average 60% in the next 12 months. Japan is the top country companies are planning to expand to, followed by Canada, Germany, South Africa and China.

UK late-stage tech ecosystem

The programme reflects the growth of the UK tech sector, and the “funnel” which takes companies from seed to billion-dollar valuations. Launched in 2013, 202 companies have taken part in the programme, collectively raising $36bn in venture capital investment, with 11 companies going on to IPO, including Deliveroo, Darktrace, and Wise (London’s largest-ever tech listing) as well as Revolut – the UK’s single largest tech company, valued at £23bn.

The nature of companies at this late stage of growth is changing. Over the last decade, investment into UK late stage tech companies has scaled up. Firms at this stage have gone from raising $409mn exclusively through Series B and C rounds in 2011, to far larger sums of money – mega rounds between $100-250mn and of $250mn+. So far in 2021, these Series B, C and mega rounds make up two thirds ($9.95bn) of the $15bn raised by late stage scaling tech companies. This is further evidence of the increasing maturity of the UK tech sector, and the investment profile of the UK is evermore reflecting that seen previously in the Bay Area and Beijing alone. Furthermore, UK companies at late stage are taking on this scale of investment, at an earlier stage in their scaling journey, in order to compete with US tech giants.

Quotes

Gerard Grech, Founding Chief Executive, Tech Nation, comments: “The companies selected to join this year’s Future Fifty programme are a shining example of the UK’s entrepreneurship, innovation and resilience. The UK tech sector is the cornerstone of our economic growth, the 15 companies joining Future Fifty 10.0 collectively employ over 5,000 people and have raised almost $1.6bn in venture capital investment. Based across the UK, nurturing the growth of these scaling late-stage tech companies is critical to future proofing the UK’s economy’.

Slaughter and May emerging tech partner Ben Kingsley said: “We’re delighted to be a part of this year’s Tech Nation Future Fifty as a programme partner and having the chance to support the great work that Tech Nation and these fifty ambitious and innovative organisations are doing. We always enjoy working with pioneers and helping to remove the legal and regulatory obstacles in their paths – so we’re all looking forward to doing more of this with this fantastic Future Fifty cohort.”

Future Fifty 10.0

Cazoo

Ecommerce & Marketplace I London

Cazoo’s mission is to transform the car buying and selling experience for consumers across the UK and Europe by providing better selection, quality, transparency, convenience, flexibility and peace of mind. Cazoo aims to make buying or selling a car no different to ordering any other product online today, where consumers can simply and seamlessly buy, sell, finance or subscribe to a car entirely online for delivery or collection in as little as 72 hours.

Cognism

Sales Intelligence I London

Cognism is a leading global sales intelligence platform. With an internationally compliant database and unrivalled global data coverage, Cognism helps revenue teams to generate and close new business opportunities faster. Comprising a powerful mix of innovative technology and human ingenuity – including intent data, outbound automation features and a team of go-to-market advisors – Cognism enables B2B organisations to solve their revenue expansion challenges and overcome global compliance barriers.

Double Eleven

Gaming/Immersive I Middlesbrough

Double Eleven is a full-service video games developer and publisher, working on some of the world’s biggest IP’s (including Minecraft) with some of the globe’s largest companies (like Microsoft). The company operates its HQ out of Middlesbrough and runs a satellite office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but has partners and players spanning all territories across the world.

Form 3

Fintech I London

Form 3’s vision is to be the world’s most trusted provider of payment technology. It aims to design, build and run the technology that powers the future of payments through an end-to-end managed technology service to regulated financial institutions that provides them with connectivity to the universe of payment schemes through a single API.

Hopin

Event & Community I London

Founded in 2019 and launched in 2020, Hopin is the leading all-in-one event management platform that enables brands and communities to create immersive, live experiences for virtual, hybrid and in-person audiences. Through its multi-product platform including Virtual Venue, Event Marketing, Onsite Services and Live Streaming Studio, attendees can learn, interact, and connect with people from anywhere in the world. Hopin, one of the UK’s fastest growing companies, is a remote-first company headquartered in London with employees in 47 countries. More than 100,000+ organizations use its platform and millions of attendees show up each month.

Huma

Healthtech I London

Huma is a digital healthtech company transforming healthcare and research globally. Its digital ‘hospital at home’ and decentralized clinical trial platform uses real-time health data from smartphones to help patients, clinicians, researchers, and healthcare systems.

Multiverse

Edtech I London

Multiverse’s mission is to create a diverse group of future leaders. To achieve this, the company provides high-quality apprenticeship programmes that combine work, training and community at some of the world’s most exciting companies. Multiverse is the outstanding alternative to university and corporate training.

MYPINPAD 

Fintech I Cardiff

MYPINPAD combines universally trusted and highly secure consumer PIN authentication with leading-edge mobile technology, providing a critical element to enable the development of integrated, scalable and unique customer experiences. Its specialised proprietary software for payments, e-commerce and digital identity turns smart devices into payment terminals and trusted authentication devices. This enables a consistent ‘card present’ experience across in-store and digital channels.

Oxbotica

Autonomous Vehicle Software I Oxford

Oxbotica is a world-leading autonomous vehicle software company, headquartered in Oxford, UK, and founded by Professor Paul Newman and Professor Ingmar Posner in 2014. Oxbotica’s unique software enables any vehicle, in any environment to operate autonomously – referred to as Universal Autonomy. It is an entire ecosystem, a software platform comprising multiple software solutions that address the full spectrum of the autonomy marketplace. Oxbotica partners with global companies who licence its software and take it to market at scale.

STATSports

Sports I Newry

STATSports are world-leaders in on-field performance monitoring and analysis in sport. Working with over 600 professional teams across all sporting disciplines, STATSports APEX system revolutionised the sport science and player performance industries, providing elite practitioners full visibility of athlete readiness in real time. STATSports’ APEX Athlete Series offers the everyday athlete full understanding of their athletic performance to help athletes become fitter, faster and perform at a higher intensity. Based in Northern Ireland, STATSports’ technology has become omnipresent across elite sporting institutions, working day to day with 600+ clients, including 15 out of 20 Premier League teams and world champions within soccer, rugby and baseball.

Strike

Proptech I Colchester

Strike is changing what it means to be an estate agent. For too long, selling your home has meant high fees and pointless jargon. SoStrike is turning the industry on its head and to make selling simple, transparent, and free.

Tessian

Cybersecurity I London

Tessian’s mission is to secure the human layer in cybersecurity by empowering people to do their best work, without security getting in their way. Using machine learning technology, Tessian automatically predicts and eliminates advanced threats on email caused by human error – like data exfiltration, accidental data loss, business email compromise and phishing attacks – with minimal disruption to employees’ workflow.

Wagestream

Fintech I London

Wagestream is Europe’s fastest-growing social impact business. Working with employers like Bupa, Holiday Inn, Pizza Hut, Halfords and the NHS, it supports the financial wellbeing of more than half a million workers  – giving them one app for financial education, budgeting and savings, built around more flexible access to earned wages. Founded with a social charter, it’s the only provider in the fast-growing financial wellbeing category part-owned by leading financial charities and impact funds.

What3words

Location Technology I London

what3words has divided the physical world into three- metre squares with each square given a unique combination of three words, making it the easiest way to find and share exact locations. Millions of people around the world use what3words to make life safer, more efficient and less frustrating. Thousands of businesses use what3words to improve efficiencies and customer experience – from e-commerce and logistics companies to travel, ride-hailing and navigation apps.

Wolf & Badger

Ecommerce & Marketplace I London

Wolf & Badger is a global multi-channel retail platform founded in 2010 by the Graham brothers – George Graham, CEO and Henry Graham, creative director. Through its proprietary technology, Wolf & Badger connects users with fashion, accessories, homeware and beauty brands locally and worldwide. The business has an exclusive focus on ethical, unique and independent designers and was certified as a B Corp in May 2021 for its role in promoting fair and responsible retail.

Quotes

James Isilay, CEO, Cognism comments: “I am delighted that Cognism has been accepted to join the Future Fifty 10.0 programme. It represents a significant step forward for us as a provider of compliant sales intelligence, helping companies find their next best customer with pinpoint accuracy and speed. It also recognises us as one of the UK’s most successful digital businesses and a future leader in the UK’s tech economy. The Future Fifty is one of Europe’s most prestigious scaling programmes and so I’m thrilled to be working with them at this critical stage in Cognism’s growth.”

Double Eleven comments: “For Double Eleven to be recognised as one of the UK’s most successful digital businesses is just wonderful. I am really looking forward to seeing what being part of the Future 50 program can unlock for us as a business as we grow and scale into the next chapter of our company’s journey.”

Michael Mueller, CEO, Form3, comments: “I am incredibly proud that Form3 has been selected to join the Future Fifty 10.0 cohort as one of the UK’s most successful late-stage tech companies.We are all excited that Form3’s success has been recognised and look forward to joining forces with other tech leaders as we continue to scale rapidly on our mission to become the world’s most trusted provider of payment technology.”

Hopin comments: “We are proud to be included in this year’s Future Fifty cohort alongside an incredible group of technology companies. Our mission at Hopin is to make the world feel smaller and more connected through meaningful and immersive shared experiences. It is an honor to be a part of a community which shares our purpose-driven vision and is committed to supporting each other while pushing innovation forward in the UK.”

Dan Vahdat, CEO & Founder, Huma, comments: “At Huma, we’ve been able to make such a great impact on the future of healthcare because of our collaborations with amazing experts. We know how important it is to share ideas, so we’re delighted to be part of the latest FutureFifty cohort as this is a unique chance for all of us to learn from each other’s mistakes and successes. This is vital if we want to meet our mission of advancing proactive, predictive health so we can help everyone live longer, fuller lives.”

Euan Blair, Founder & CEO, Multiverse comments: “UK scale ups aren’t just driving the economic recovery, they are also places to have an incredible, fulfilling career. The learning opportunities from a hyper-growth environment can’t be found elsewhere, and the rewards that come from companies on a mission to change the world are huge.”

Richard Forlee, CEO, MYPINPAD comments: “MYPINPAD are delighted and honoured to join the latest cohort of Future Fifty. It is an exciting time for MYPINPAD as we deployed the world’s first software-based payments solutions this year and raised £15m capital to scale up the business over the coming months. We look forward to interacting, learning from others and sharing experiences with our peers at Future Fifty.”

Sean O’Connor, Co-Founder, STATSports comments: “STATSports are delighted to have been chosen as one of the UK’s leading tech companies as a member of the Future Fifty 10.0 program. As Europe’s leading growth program for late-stage tech firms, the Future Fifty will provide us with opportunities to learn from the experiences of other members as we continue in our mission to bring the world’s leading GPS sports performance analysis to the everyday athlete. Our membership this year is testament to the hard work of our employees, and as the only member from Northern Ireland, we look forward to highlighting NI’s part in the UK technology ecosystem amongst this high value network of our peers.”

Sam Mitchell, CEO, Strike comments: “It’s an honour to be part of the Future Fifty 10.0 programme. It makes us incredibly excited to know we are joining the ranks of some of the fastest-growing and best-known brands in the country. We aim to use the Future Fifty programme as a platform for growth and improvement for both our leadership team and our business as a whole.”

Tim Sadler, CEO & Founder, Tessian comments: “We’re so excited to be part of this year’s Future Fifty cohort and to join the alumni of powerhouse companies leading the way in tech. Since raising our Series C round earlier in 2021, Tessian is truly gearing up for the next chapter in our journey to secure the human layer in enterprises across the world, and we are excited to discover how this program will support us in achieving our mission.”

Peter Briffett, CEO & Co-founder of Wagestream, comments: “We’re so proud of the team’s efforts throughout a volatile year – almost doubling in size to support more than half a million front-line workers, and become Europe’s fastest-growing social impact business. We’re thrilled to become part of Future Fifty 10.0, and look forward to putting the learnings straight back into our mission of shaping a new financial wellbeing category and bringing fairer finance to millions of workers.”

Jack Waley-Cohen, Co-founder & COO, What3words comments: “We’re very pleased to be part of Future Fifty, and with an exciting group of other companies. what3words has been growing fast in recent years, and FF is great recognition of our progress: we’re looking forward to seeing what we can get out of the program, and also we hope to be able to give something back to support our peers and the wider UK tech scene.”

George Graham, CEO & Co-Founder, Wolf & Badger, comments: “We are thrilled to join Future Fifty as we continue to grow rapidly and build on our vision for a fair and frictionless future for retail. We gained a huge amount as previous participants of Upscale and so are excited to participate in what will no doubt be an exceptional program.”