UK tech awards
Thursday 14 November 2024, Hotel InterContinental, London W1
shortlist announced
About
about the awards
recent showreel
The UK tech awards celebrates success, rewards achievement and raises the profile of the
UK tech community.
Companies which are eligible for the awards include not only publicly quoted technology companies on London Stock Exchange Main Market, but also AIM tech companies and fast growing and innovative private tech companies.
The UK tech awards provides a fantastic showcase for the fast-moving tech sector and a great networking opportunity, with an attendance of over 700 people comprising tech entrepreneurs, CEOs and FDs of fast growing tech companies (both public and private), plus corporate advisors, investors (both private and institutional), and tech consultants and commentators.
In short, an event not to be missed for the UK’s entire tech community!
Sponsors
J.P. Morgan is a global leader in financial services, providing comprehensive, scalable solutions in investment banking, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Committed to being the leading bank for the innovation economy, J.P. Morgan and its bankers across the globe, provide venture-backed and high-growth companies with specialized services, access to a robust professional and venture capital network and money-management solutions. With tech that powers growth, J.P. Morgan gives the agility needed to make secure, real-time, efficient decisions. Build your future with J.P. Morgan.
headline sponsor:
J.P. Morgan is a global leader in financial services, providing comprehensive, scalable solutions in investment banking, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Committed to being the leading bank for the innovation economy, J.P. Morgan and its bankers across the globe, provide venture-backed and high-growth companies with specialized services, access to a robust professional and venture capital network and money-management solutions. With tech that powers growth, J.P. Morgan gives the agility needed to make secure, real-time, efficient decisions. Build your future with J.P. Morgan.
Rothschild & Co is one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory groups. Our team of 4,600 talented financial services specialists on the ground in over 40 countries across the world, deliver a unique global perspective across four market-leading business divisions, advising on M&A, strategy and financing, as well as investment and wealth management.
Our Global Advisory business offers impartial, expert advice to large and mid-sized corporations, private equity, families and entrepreneurs, and governments. We design and execute strategic M&A and financing solutions for our clients and act as a trusted partner, taking a long-term and independent view on the challenges they face.
Rothschild & Co is one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory groups. Our team of 4,600 talented financial services specialists on the ground in over 40 countries across the world, deliver a unique global perspective across four market-leading business divisions, advising on M&A, strategy and financing, as well as investment and wealth management.
Our Global Advisory business offers impartial, expert advice to large and mid-sized corporations, private equity, families and entrepreneurs, and governments. We design and execute strategic M&A and financing solutions for our clients and act as a trusted partner, taking a long-term and independent view on the challenges they face.
Gracechurch Group is a full-service communications agency in the financial heart of London. Our team of over 20 highly qualified consultants deploy 25 years of strategic and hands-on expertise and knowledge to ensure public and privately held companies thrive in the modern media landscape. With a fully integrated approach, we provide a wide range of services from financial PR and investor relations to corporate and digital communications and social media. Our clients include privately held businesses and those listed on the LSE, NASDAQ, TASE, ASX and other global bourses and operating across multiple sectors. A thorough understanding of our clients’ businesses along with a strong commercial ethos helps us to create value and empower our clients through strategic communications.
Gracechurch Group is a full-service communications agency in the financial heart of London. Our team of over 20 highly qualified consultants deploy 25 years of strategic and hands-on expertise and knowledge to ensure public and privately held companies thrive in the modern media landscape. With a fully integrated approach, we provide a wide range of services from financial PR and investor relations to corporate and digital communications and social media. Our clients include privately held businesses and those listed on the LSE, NASDAQ, TASE, ASX and other global bourses and operating across multiple sectors. A thorough understanding of our clients’ businesses along with a strong commercial ethos helps us to create value and empower our clients through strategic communications.
Heidrick & Struggles is a premier provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, serving the senior-level talent and consulting needs of the world's top organisations. In our role as trusted leadership advisors, we partner with our clients to develop future-ready leaders and organisations, bringing together our services and offerings in executive search, diversity and inclusion, leadership assessment and development, organisation and team acceleration, culture shaping and on-demand, independent talent solutions.
Heidrick & Struggles Technology Practice has placed thousands of candidates: from technology executives at some of the world’s best-known companies to emerging leaders at later-stage start-ups. Our broad experience across industry and functional practices, combined with our unrivalled relationships, provides a unique advantage point for finding and developing transformational talent.
www.heidrick.com/en/industries/technology
Heidrick & Struggles pioneered the profession of executive search more than 70 years ago. Today, the firm provides integrated talent and human capital solutions to help our clients change the world, one leadership team at a time.® www.heidrick.com
Heidrick & Struggles is a premier provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, serving the senior-level talent and consulting needs of the world's top organisations. In our role as trusted leadership advisors, we partner with our clients to develop future-ready leaders and organisations, bringing together our services and offerings in executive search, diversity and inclusion, leadership assessment and development, organisation and team acceleration, culture shaping and on-demand, independent talent solutions.
Heidrick & Struggles Technology Practice has placed thousands of candidates: from technology executives at some of the world’s best-known companies to emerging leaders at later-stage start-ups. Our broad experience across industry and functional practices, combined with our unrivalled relationships, provides a unique advantage point for finding and developing transformational talent.
www.heidrick.com/en/industries/technology
Heidrick & Struggles pioneered the profession of executive search more than 70 years ago. Today, the firm provides integrated talent and human capital solutions to help our clients change the world, one leadership team at a time.® www.heidrick.com
Teneo is the global CEO advisory firm able to offer a unique blend of advisory capabilities in an integrated fashion. In Technology, we excel in four disciplines:
In our Management Consulting division, a team of >100 strategy consultants across London, New York, San Francisco and Dubai serve a range of leading publicly listed and private-equity-backed technology firms on topics of growth strategy, product strategy, operating model redesign, pricing & packaging, and commercial diligence.
In our People Advisory division, we have a market-leading capability in Executive Search for C-level roles – typically for private-equity-backed technology assets – alongside expertise in culture & purpose and organisational effectiveness/performance.
Teneo’s Strategic Communications division helps technology clients tackle their biggest corporate reputation challenges. Our team brings together the disciplines of corporate communications, government affairs, crisis & issues management, investor relations, and research in an integrated approach to provide clients with unparalleled business counsel and tactical communications support around the world.
Teneo's global Financial Advisory business advises corporates, creditors and other financial stakeholders in all situations – from well-performing to stressed. Our market-leading UK team is involved in some of the highest profile situations across restructuring, transformation, insolvency & bankruptcy, capital and transaction services
Teneo is the global CEO advisory firm able to offer a unique blend of advisory capabilities in an integrated fashion. In Technology, we excel in four disciplines:
In our Management Consulting division, a team of >100 strategy consultants across London, New York, San Francisco and Dubai serve a range of leading publicly listed and private-equity-backed technology firms on topics of growth strategy, product strategy, operating model redesign, pricing & packaging, and commercial diligence.
In our People Advisory division, we have a market-leading capability in Executive Search for C-level roles – typically for private-equity-backed technology assets – alongside expertise in culture & purpose and organisational effectiveness/performance.
Teneo’s Strategic Communications division helps technology clients tackle their biggest corporate reputation challenges. Our team brings together the disciplines of corporate communications, government affairs, crisis & issues management, investor relations, and research in an integrated approach to provide clients with unparalleled business counsel and tactical communications support around the world.
Teneo's global Financial Advisory business advises corporates, creditors and other financial stakeholders in all situations – from well-performing to stressed. Our market-leading UK team is involved in some of the highest profile situations across restructuring, transformation, insolvency & bankruptcy, capital and transaction services
Edison Group is a content-led IR business operating in all major capital markets. With our unique approach integrating analyst content, digital targeting and investor engagement, we have a proven history of increasing liquidity and valuations for our clients. By building bigger, better informed and more engaged audiences, we help our clients stand out in the marketplace.
Edison Group is a content-led IR business operating in all major capital markets. With our unique approach integrating analyst content, digital targeting and investor engagement, we have a proven history of increasing liquidity and valuations for our clients. By building bigger, better informed and more engaged audiences, we help our clients stand out in the marketplace.
ECI is a leading growth-focused private equity firm, investing alongside ambitious management teams in deals valued up to £300m. With half a century of investment success in the tech sector, ECI have partnered with over 250 growth businesses, offering management teams hands-on support to unlock growth opportunities together from day one. This is how we have delivered such exceptional results, with our realised investments since January 2022 averaging 4.3x MOIC and over 50% IRR across nine exits
Recent investments have included Commify, the European leader in business messaging solutions to local enterprises and ISMS.online, the fastest growing cyber security and compliance provider in the UK. ECI recently closed its latest fund, ECI 12, at a hard cap of £1bn in September 2023.
ECI is a leading growth-focused private equity firm, investing alongside ambitious management teams in deals valued up to £300m. With half a century of investment success in the tech sector, ECI have partnered with over 250 growth businesses, offering management teams hands-on support to unlock growth opportunities together from day one. This is how we have delivered such exceptional results, with our realised investments since January 2022 averaging 4.3x MOIC and over 50% IRR across nine exits
Recent investments have included Commify, the European leader in business messaging solutions to local enterprises and ISMS.online, the fastest growing cyber security and compliance provider in the UK. ECI recently closed its latest fund, ECI 12, at a hard cap of £1bn in September 2023.
At PwC, we’re committed to maximise business value and growth through technology innovation and digital transformation.
Bringing together our community of solvers in unexpected ways, we help clients solve their most important problems by combining human ingenuity with the right technology to build trust and deliver sustained outcomes.
It all adds up to The New Equation.
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/technology.html
PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.
At PwC, we’re committed to maximise business value and growth through technology innovation and digital transformation.
Bringing together our community of solvers in unexpected ways, we help clients solve their most important problems by combining human ingenuity with the right technology to build trust and deliver sustained outcomes.
It all adds up to The New Equation.
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/technology.html
PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.
Berenberg is one of the leading UK & Pan-European privately owned banks, founded in 1590. Its Investment Banking division acts as trusted strategic adviser to companies and investors on fundraising, capital markets and M&A. Operating from 14 offices across the UK, Europe and the US, we have helped our corporate clients raise more than £85bn through +400 transactions since 2016.
Berenberg is one of the leading UK & Pan-European privately owned banks, founded in 1590. Its Investment Banking division acts as trusted strategic adviser to companies and investors on fundraising, capital markets and M&A. Operating from 14 offices across the UK, Europe and the US, we have helped our corporate clients raise more than £85bn through +400 transactions since 2016.
Launched in May 2022, Boardwave is a mission-driven community with over 1600 members in the UK and European software industry, fostering a powerful network of founders, CEOs, and investors. Drawing inspiration from Silicon Valley's collaborative spirit, Boardwave is dedicated to propelling the UK and European software industry forward by offering a free membership model to CEOs and founders that grants them access to a comprehensive ecosystem of support, including networking opportunities, access to expertise, mentoring, and capital.
Backed by a consortium of more than 80 leading partners, Boardwave is committed to facilitating the UK and European software sectors' journey towards becoming global leaders by 2034.
Launched in May 2022, Boardwave is a mission-driven community with over 1600 members in the UK and European software industry, fostering a powerful network of founders, CEOs, and investors. Drawing inspiration from Silicon Valley's collaborative spirit, Boardwave is dedicated to propelling the UK and European software industry forward by offering a free membership model to CEOs and founders that grants them access to a comprehensive ecosystem of support, including networking opportunities, access to expertise, mentoring, and capital.
Backed by a consortium of more than 80 leading partners, Boardwave is committed to facilitating the UK and European software sectors' journey towards becoming global leaders by 2034.
Hg is a leading investor in European and Transatlantic software and services businesses. We support the building of sector-leading enterprises that supply businesses with critical software applications or workflow services, delivering a more automated workplace for their customers.
With a vast European network and strong presence across North America, Hg has over 400 employees across London, Munich, Paris, New York, San Francisco and Singapore, a current portfolio of over 50 businesses, worth over $150 billion aggregate enterprise value, with 115,000+ employees globally, growing consistently at over 13% per year.
Hg is a leading investor in European and Transatlantic software and services businesses. We support the building of sector-leading enterprises that supply businesses with critical software applications or workflow services, delivering a more automated workplace for their customers.
With a vast European network and strong presence across North America, Hg has over 400 employees across London, Munich, Paris, New York, San Francisco and Singapore, a current portfolio of over 50 businesses, worth over $150 billion aggregate enterprise value, with 115,000+ employees globally, growing consistently at over 13% per year.
Tech Nation is the leading growth platform for UK tech companies and fuels the growth of game-changing founders, leaders, and scaling companies so they can positively transform societies and economies. The organisation provides coaching, content, and community through growth programmes, events, research, and insights.
Tech Nation currently endorses the UK’s Global Talent Visa, which enables the best tech talent from around the world to work in the UK’s digital tech sector.
The organisation has over 10 years of experience helping UK tech companies scale, both at home and abroad. Over 40 cohorts and 1,000 companies have successfully graduated from Tech Nation’s growth programmes. Alumni include Skyscanner, Darktrace, and Monzo, as well as UK ‘decacorns’ Revolut and Wise.
Backed by Founders Forum Group since 2023, Tech Nation continues to unite the tech ecosystem whilst placing founders from all corners of the UK at the forefront of its work. By facilitating connections and providing a direct line to top tier investors, policymakers, media, and corporates, Tech Nation empowers founders to grow their businesses and scale successfully.
supported by:
Tech Nation is the leading growth platform for UK tech companies and fuels the growth of game-changing founders, leaders, and scaling companies so they can positively transform societies and economies. The organisation provides coaching, content, and community through growth programmes, events, research, and insights.
Tech Nation currently endorses the UK’s Global Talent Visa, which enables the best tech talent from around the world to work in the UK’s digital tech sector.
The organisation has over 10 years of experience helping UK tech companies scale, both at home and abroad. Over 40 cohorts and 1,000 companies have successfully graduated from Tech Nation’s growth programmes. Alumni include Skyscanner, Darktrace, and Monzo, as well as UK ‘decacorns’ Revolut and Wise.
Backed by Founders Forum Group since 2023, Tech Nation continues to unite the tech ecosystem whilst placing founders from all corners of the UK at the forefront of its work. By facilitating connections and providing a direct line to top tier investors, policymakers, media, and corporates, Tech Nation empowers founders to grow their businesses and scale successfully.
Awards
covering the period 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024
shortlist announced
Click on each award to view more information
tech deal of the year award
Sponsored by:
tech deal of the year award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- Darktrace plc
- IRIS Software Group Limited
- Monzo Bank Limited
- Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
- Revolut Group Holdings Ltd
- Wayve Technologies Ltd
criteria
The winner of this award will have completed a significant commercial or corporate transaction during the period under review, which could include licensing, partnering, collaboration fundraising, IPO or acquisition of a company or IP. The deal would be significant in scope and transformational in nature and would have added significantly to the company or organisation’s prospects in the short, medium and long term.
2023 winner
tech commentator of the year award
Sponsored by:
tech commentator of the year award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- Anisah Osman Britton MBE
- Amy Lewin/Sifted
- Hannah Murphy/Financial Times
- Katie Prescott/The Times
- Simon Thompson/Investors’ Chronicle
- James Titcomb/The Telegraph
criteria
This award is given to recognise and reward incisive, accurate, regular thought provoking and readable commentary, in what is clearly a specialist subject. In-depth knowledge of the whole UK tech ecosystem and being a recognised advocate or thought leader for the sector is key.
2023 winner
Richard Holway MBE & Anthony Miller/ TechMarketView
scale up award
Sponsored by:
scale up award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- Cera Care Ltd
- ComplyAdvantage Ltd
- Finbourne Technology Group Ltd
- Fresha.com SV Ltd t/a Fresha
- Immersive Labs Ltd
- Quantexa Limited
- Rovco Limited t/a Beam
criteria
The "Scale-up" award recognises pre-profit companies that have achieved an exponential level of success that sets them apart from their peers. This success could be measured by a number of factors including: demonstrable revenue growth e.g. >50% yoy; or a growing user base e.g. >100%; or significant funding from investors.
Nominees in this category will be asked to complete a submission form after nomination. The form requests key financial information and some KPIs.
2023 winner
tech for good award
Sponsored by:
tech for good award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- Arenko Cleantech Limited
- Cera Care Ltd
- eyeWitness to Atrocities
- KareHero Ltd
- Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
- Unmind Ltd
- ZOE Limited
criteria
Today’s customers expect businesses to deliver positive social and environmental outcomes as well as commercial value. The purpose of this award is to recognise non-financial contributions to society through the use of technology. The winner of this award will be a company that has harnessed the power of technology to deliver beneficial social, cultural and/or environmental outcomes. It could be the foundation of the entire ethos of the company or a specific initiative that is generating positive results in the community.
Nominees in this category will be asked to complete a submission form after nomination. The form requests key financial information and some KPIs.
2023 winner
tech investor award
Sponsored by:
tech investor award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- Accel
- Balderton Capital (UK) LLP
- Dawn Capital LLP
- HgCapital LLP
- Index Ventures (UK) LLP
- Summit Partners LP
criteria
This award recognises an organisation that truly understands tech and has demonstrated an ability to identify new and existing commercial opportunities across the sector. Their commitment and passion for the industry will be underlined by the investment decisions they have made, which will have led to strong commercial and profitable outcomes. They will understand value creation and possess a long term vision to help businesses grow, and will be able to demonstrate proven results, analytical skills, specialisation and deep understanding of the tech sector. This award is open to every organisation that invests in the sector, be they angel investors, fund management groups, Private Equity, IP commercialisation organisations etc., as long as the organisation is based in the UK or Ireland and invests primarily in UK tech.
In reviewing the nominations, the Voting Panel will pay due regard to fund return metrics and the number of Unicorns in the portfolio.
2023 winner
best use of tech in the digital economy award
Sponsored by:
best use of tech in the digital economy award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- 1Spatial plc
- Cantab Research Limited t/a Speechmatics
- Eagle Eye Solutions Group plc
- Trainline plc
- Windward Ltd
- Youth Group Limited
criteria
The winner of this award will be a company that has harnessed the power of digital technologies, including AI, IoT, robotics and blockchain to build or transform business models. It could be an established business that is using these new technologies to engage more effectively with its customers, or it could be a newer business that could only successfully exist and grow in the digital age. Engagement, connectivity and interactivity with its customers will be key.
2023 winner
tech growth business of the year award
Sponsored by:
tech growth business of the year award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- Concurrent Technologies plc
- Epos Now (UK) Ltd
- Exclaimer Ltd
- Featurespace Ltd
- Revolut Group Holdings Ltd
- Team Internet Group plc
criteria
The winner will be a profitable company able to demonstrate annual revenue growth greater than 10% CAGR over the last three years with a minimum revenue of £10m for the last accounting period. The Voting Panel will use qualitative as well as quantitative measures in determining the winner – and so will be looking for a company that has a quality management team, excellent financial performance and unique IP, or a great technology platform at the heart of the business, all of which are driving its growth.
Nominees in this category will be asked to complete a submission form after nomination. The form requests key financial information and some KPIs.
2023 winner
tech businesswoman of the year award
Sponsored by:
tech businesswoman of the year award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- Kerry Baldwin/IQ Capital Partners LLP
- Joanna Drake/THG plc
- Siân John MBE/NCC Group plc
- Martina King/Featurespace Ltd
- Catherine Ramsdale/Pragmatic Semiconductor Limited
- Liz Upton/Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
criteria
The winner of this award will be a strong role model for other women in the industry and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, CIOs and CTOs. She might be a leader of a tech company or technology function but plays a key role in championing technology and technological change within business. Her drive, energy and commitment will have been instrumental in developing new technologies or contributing to the company’s success.
Nominees in this category will be asked to complete a submission form after nomination. The form requests key financial information and some KPIs.
2023 winner
tech innovation of the year award
Sponsored by:
tech innovation of the year award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- Bramble Energy Ltd
- Closed Loop Medicine Ltd
- Diaceutics plc
- Featurespace Ltd
- Luminance Technologies Ltd
- Pragmatic Semiconductor Limited
criteria
Innovation is at the very heart of the tech industry. This award is given to recognise those driving and disrupting the status quo across all industries. The innovation must demonstrate a significant improvement over existing technologies in its field and must represent a major breakthrough or a substantial improvement in the application of technology. The technology must have a clear and sustainable business model, demonstrating commercial viability and a strong path to profitability and the team behind the technology must demonstrate strong leadership, expertise, and a clear vision for the future of the technology. Overall, the tech innovation award seeks to recognise and celebrate the most innovative, impactful, and scalable technology solutions that are changing the landscape of industry and society.
Nominees in this category will be asked to complete a submission form after nomination. The form requests key financial information and some KPIs.
2023 winner
tech CEO of the year award
Sponsored by:
tech CEO of the year award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- TS Anil/Monzo Bank Limited
- Poppy Gustafsson/Darktrace plc
- Rene Haas/ARM Holdings plc
- Steve Hare/Sage Group plc
- Vishal Marria/Quantexa Limited
- Richard Petti/IQGeo Group plc
- Dr Eben Upton/Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
criteria
The winner will have a clear passion for the tech industry, be an inspirational role model, determined and motivated with a strong vision and flair. The winner will provide that vital ingredient that has helped with the company’s success, inspire everyone around them and will be a prominent figure in the industry.
Nominees in this category will be asked to complete a submission form after nomination. The form requests key financial information and some KPIs.
2023 winner
tech company of the year award
Sponsored by:
tech company of the year award
Sponsored by
2024 shortlist
- Darktrace plc
- Featurespace Ltd
- IFS Ltd
- Octopus Energy Ltd
- Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
- Revolut Group Holdings Ltd
- Sage Group plc
- Wireless Logic Group Ltd
criteria
Tech companies are, of course, noted for their technological achievements, but the tech company of the year will have harnessed those achievements and produced sound commercial and financial success. The tech company of the year will be a fully accountable, well-managed business that has already gained recognition from analysts and investors, but will also have outstanding long‑term growth potential, with a sound strategy in place to ensure successful delivery of its commercial advantages and build shareholder value.
Nominees in this category will be asked to complete a submission form after nomination. The form requests key financial information and some KPIs.
2023 winner
Voting panel
Meeting: Thursday 26 September 2024
Ian Restall
Ford Sinclair Ltd
(Voting panel Chairman)
Kerry Baldwin
IQ Capital
Heba Bevan OBE
UtterBerry Ltd
Harry Chathli
Gracechurch Group
Kath Easthope
Boardwave
Nezahat Gultekin
Logo Yazilim
Georgie Hazell Kivell
Augmentum
Fatima Iu
Polar Capital
Josh Keen
Heidrick & Struggles
Elona Mortimer-Zhika
IRIS Software Group
Gareth Murfitt
PwC
Tim Nixon
Teneo
Philippe Noel
Rothschild & Co
Nik Ohri
Summit Partners
Helena Prokhorenko
Highland Europe
Dr Mark Reilly
IP Group plc
Dan Ridsdale
Edison Group
Julie Simmonds
Panmure Liberum
Ellie Steel
Founders Forum Group
Ben Tickler
J.P. Morgan
Skyler Ver Bruggen
ECI
Mark Whitmore
Berenberg
Rosh Wijayarathna
J.P. Morgan
Ian Restall
Ford Sinclair Ltd(Voting panel Chairman)
Kerry Baldwin
IQ Capital
Heba Bevan OBE
UtterBerry Ltd
Harry Chathli
Gracechurch Group
Kath Easthope
Boardwave
Nezahat Gultekin
Logo Yazilim
Georgie Hazell Kivell
Augmentum
Fatima Iu
Polar Capital
Josh Keen
Heidrick & Struggles
Elona Mortimer-Zhika
IRIS Software Group
Gareth Murfitt
PwC
Tim Nixon
Teneo
Philippe Noel
Rothschild & Co
Nik Ohri
Summit Partners
Helena Prokhorenko
Highland Europe
Dr Mark Reilly
IP Group plc
Dan Ridsdale
Edison Group
Julie Simmonds
Panmure Liberum
Ellie Steel
Founders Forum Group
Ben Tickler
J.P. Morgan
Skyler Ver Bruggen
ECI
Mark Whitmore
Berenberg
Rosh Wijayarathna
J.P. Morgan
Ian Restall
Ford Sinclair Ltd(Voting panel Chairman)
Kerry Baldwin
IQ Capital
Heba Bevan OBE
UtterBerry Ltd
Harry Chathli
Gracechurch Group
Kath Easthope
Boardwave
Nezahat Gultekin
Logo Yazilim
Georgie Hazell Kivell
Augmentum
Fatima Iu
Polar Capital
Josh Keen
Heidrick & Struggles
Elona Mortimer-Zhika
IRIS Software Group
Gareth Murfitt
PwC
Tim Nixon
Teneo
Philippe Noel
Rothschild & Co
Nik Ohri
Summit Partners
Helena Prokhorenko
Highland Europe
Dr Mark Reilly
IP Group plc
Dan Ridsdale
Edison Group
Julie Simmonds
Panmure Liberum
Ellie Steel
Founders Forum Group
Ben Tickler
J.P. Morgan
Skyler Ver Bruggen
ECI
Mark Whitmore
Berenberg
Rosh Wijayarathna
J.P. Morgan
Ian Restall
Ford Sinclair Ltd
(Voting panel Chairman)
Ian is non-voting Chairman of the Voting Panel.
He is a Director of Ford Sinclair Ltd., Chairman of Design Portfolio Marketing Services Ltd. and a member of the Investor Relations Society.
Throughout his career, Ian has been involved in the quoted growth companies sector. His early career was as a stockbroker, analyst, broadcaster and financial journalist in this area and, since founding Design Portfolio in 1991, he has been active in helping many companies with their investor communication and corporate reporting requirements.
Kerry Baldwin
IQ Capital
We are delighted to welcome Kerry to the Voting Panel once again and further details will be available in due course.
Heba Bevan OBE
UtterBerry Ltd
Heba is the CEO and founder of UtterBerry Ltd. UtterBerry is a patented intelligent wireless sensor system which works on extremely low power. Fitting in the palm of the hand, UtterBerry’s miniature sensors monitor multiple variables including x-y-z displacement, employing on board artificial intelligence and wirelessly relay processed data in real time. Despite their size, they work to sub-millimetre precision, measuring multiple variables; collecting and interpreting data at the source and transmitting information in real time. UtterBerry was named as one of London's Best Hardware Companies to Work For and Buy From 2021 by BestStartupUK.
Heba is a businesswoman and electronics and computer engineer with a track record of technical innovation in the areas of wireless sensor and sensor network design. She is passionate about technology design and expanding STEM education and hi-tech manufacturing in Britain. Heba’s technical expertise includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, blockchain, optics, semiconductors, compound semiconductors and communication systems. She has in-depth knowledge and experience in embedded software markets, networking, wireless sensors and cyber security. She cultivates strong customer and partner relationships, enabling parties to maximise their contributions in their respective areas of knowledge.
Heba has been awarded an OBE for her contributions to technology, innovation, and STEM education 2018. In 2021 Heba received the Women of the Year Woman of the Year award for Innovation. Heba is committed to sustainability and the application of engineering to create new sustainable technologies in the electronics industry. Heba participated in COP26 and supports the government in international engagements related to sustainability.
In 2021, Heba established UtterBerry’s new Innovation and Manufacturing Hub in Leeds, taking the opportunity to research and invest in new, clean, green energy sources to power this new venture. The Hub is creating approximately 800 new jobs and apprenticeships in Leeds over the next five years, creating economic growth and adding new advanced manufacturing capabilities in the UK.
Harry Chathli
Gracechurch Group
Harry is a financial PR and media strategist. For almost 30 years, he has designed and implemented successful communications campaigns to raise the profile of public and private companies in a variety of sectors, with a particular strength in technology-led businesses. Harry has been the key PR adviser in over 30 IPOs on the London Stock Exchange (Main Market and AIM), NASDAQ and other global bourses, as well as in other transactions and corporate events such as M&A, MBOs, crisis communications, boardroom disputes and shareholder activism.
Harry’s strength in PR strategy is built on his previous experience as a management consultant advising foreign governments on their economic reform programmes.
Kath Easthope
Boardwave
Kath is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Boardwave. Since its 2022 launch, Boardwave has emerged as a mission-driven hub for the UK and European software industry, attracting over 1,500 members. With a commitment to non-profit growth and offering free membership to CEOs and founders, Boardwave provides vital resources and support to drive the region towards global leadership by 2034. Backed by more than 80 top investors and alliance partners, Boardwave champions the collective advancement of the software sector.
Prior to Boardwave, Kath led global marketing for a leading AI-marketing business which successfully exited in 2022. She has a communications background and has run some of the UK & Europe’s most successful marketing and communications firms focused on the technology sector.
Nezahat Gultekin
Logo Yazilim
Nezahat has over 20 years of experience as a strategic advisor, investor, business owner and ecosystem builder in Silicon Valley and Europe. She most recently served as the Global Head of Advisory practice at UniCredit from its foundation. Previously she was Managing Director and Head of Technology Investment Banking for EMEA at Nomura. Prior to Nomura, Nezahat served as Director at Temasek, spearheading direct TMT investments in Europe, and was on the boards of Secret Escapes and BluJay. Prior to joining Temasek, she provided independent strategic advisory services including as a Senior Advisor to Atlantic Bridge Capital in early and growth stage investments, and as a founding member of the Future Fifty Programme of Tech Nation, a Downing Street supported initiative to foster UK tech ecosystem, as well as initiating Tech Nation’s fintech efforts. Nezahat had previous technology investment banking experience with Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers where she worked on a number of M&A, private placement and equity & debt capital transactions for various technology verticals. She currently serves as an independent NED on the board of Logo Yazılım, the largest software company in Turkey listed on ISE, Advisory Board of Emotion Network in Italy and on the voting panel of UK Tech Awards.
Nezahat has an MS in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University as a Fulbright Scholar and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Middle East Technical University, Turkey, as top of the graduating class.
Georgie Hazell Kivell
Augmentum
Georgie heads up marketing and operations at Augmentum, the UK’s only publicly listed fintech fund, which involves raising the VC’s profile with investors and the wider fintech ecosystem and supporting portfolio companies.
Georgie has worked in a number of startups across people, strategy and growth leadership positions. Following her MBA and a consultancy project with Crowdcube, Georgie moved into venture capital.
Passionate about diversity and inclusion, particularly in VC and entrepreneurship, Georgie co-leads the UK Women in VC community and is a qualified coach, working with women in tech and entrepreneurship.
Fatima Iu
Polar Capital
Fatima is a Technology fund manager at Polar Capital. She focuses primarily on US and European technology companies across different subsectors, with a thematic framework and growth bias. She holds an MSc in Chemistry from Imperial College London, and is a CFA charterholder.
Josh Keen
Heidrick & Struggles
Josh is a principal in Heidrick & Struggles’ London office and a member of the global Technology Practice. He specializes in recruiting executives and leaderships teams, partnering with transformational and growth-oriented software companies, covering venture backed pre-IPO through to large scale listed businesses.
Josh’s focus within executive search is centered on recruiting leaders for NASDAQ-listed technology companies, high growth venture-backed, and private equity-sponsored companies in the technology sector across multiple verticals, including enterprise software, SaaS, public cloud, infrastructure, data and analytics, cybersecurity, and storage.
Josh specializes in recruiting go-to-market, post-sales (customer success, support, and services), and divisional/regional CEOs within software companies globally. He is a member of the Marketing, Sales, & Strategy Officers Practice.
Before joining Heidrick & Struggles, Josh was at a boutique search consultancy advising large-cap LBO investors as well as mid-market and growth capital funds on hiring investment professionals. He has a Bachelor’s Degree, History, with honors from the University of Exeter.
Elona Mortimer-Zhika
IRIS Software Group
Elona is the Chief Executive Officer of IRIS Software Group and all of its subsidiaries. Elona is dedicated to ensuring IRIS is the most trusted provider of mission-critical software and services. She is very passionate about building winning teams that put customers at the heart of everything IRIS does, providing them with an exceptional experience and value-add solutions. IRIS was crowned Tech Company of the Year at the UK Tech Awards 2022.
Elona joined IRIS in 2016 as Chief Financial Officer and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2018, and then Chief Executive Officer in 2019. Before joining IRIS, Elona held several senior leadership roles in Big 4 and PE-backed businesses, including Mavenir, Acision, Arthur Andersen and Deloitte.
Elona graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Accounting and Economics and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. Awards include UK Tech Awards Tech CEO of the Year 2023; Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting in the US 2022; Top 50 Women in Accounting 2021; UK Tech Awards Business Woman of the Year 2020; Global Banking and Finance Business Woman of the Year UK 2020 and the Venus National Finance Professional of the Year 2018.
Elona is passionate about tech, education and diversity. Born in communist Albania, Elona won a scholarship at the age of 16 to attend an international college in Wales alongside students from over 100 different countries. This life changing experience has driven her to focus on making a high social impact and providing opportunities to those from under-privileged and under-represented backgrounds. She is a Trustee of Hg foundation, a charity focused on removing barriers to education and skills in technology, and is a Board Director of Boardwave, the networking platform for European Software leaders.
Gareth Murfitt
PwC
Gareth is PwC’s UK Technology Industry Leader. He is passionate about supporting UK Tech and Software companies grow and thrive. Gareth has enjoyed over 20 years' experience in the sector with PwC and works with a mixture of early stage, PE backed and listed clients. Gareth also has significant experience in supporting his clients with deals and IPOs, in both the UK and US markets.
Tim Nixon
Teneo
Tim Nixon is the CEO of Teneo’s global Management Consulting division as well as serving as the leader of the Global Technology Strategy and Transformation practice.
Tim has 20+ years’ experience of strategy & transaction advisory in management consulting and senior industry roles; living and working across the UK, India, Southeast Asia and the US.
Tim’s day-to-day client focus is advising leading technology & software firms and industry investors on critical issues, including strategy development, top-line growth, performance improvement and M&A. He has deep expertise in software growth strategy, cloud transformation, pricing & packaging for technology offerings and Commercial Due Diligence.
Tim also leads Teneo’s functional consulting expertise on topics such as near-/offshoring, cost base restructuring, PMI, Target Operating Model redesign and complex programme delivery.
He was previously a Partner with Credo, a boutique strategy consulting firm in London, which was founded in 1999 and acquired by Teneo in 2017.
Philippe Noel
Rothschild & Co
Philippe is a Managing Director covering software and services companies across Europe. He joined Rothschild & Co in 2023 after having begun his career at Lazard and previously ran the software team at Torch Partners. He has extensive experience across all types of transactions including acquisitions, disposals, public and private M&A, IPOs, and debt advisory mandates. Rothschild & Co is one of the leading global financial advisers, providing independent, expert advice on many high profile transactions.
He retains a particular interest in ESG after studying climate change at University. He graduated from Durham University in 2006 with a first-class honours degree.
Nik Ohri
Summit Partners
Nik first joined Summit in 2017. Today, as a Vice President, he focuses primarily on the technology sector in Europe. Nik’s investment experience includes Akeneo, Odoo, OneStock SAS, Red Points and TradingHub.
Prior to Summit, Nik worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Leveraged Finance Group at Goldman Sachs. He holds a BS, with first class honors, in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Nik is a co-founder and advisory board member at Kickstart Global, a non-profit organization focused on educating and mentoring student entrepreneurs.
Helena Prokhorenko
Highland Europe
Helena is a Principal at Highland Europe, a $3bn+ AuM growth equity fund focused on backing European-rooted technology entrepreneurs. Helena currently works with ME+EM, Modulr, Huel, Zwift, Plentific, and Meditopia, and previously worked with Wolt (acquired by Doordash). Prior to joining Highland in 2016, Helena was part of the Healthcare Investment Banking team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Helena is a graduate of the University of Oxford (MBiochem) and London Business School (MSc Management).
Dr Mark Reilly
IP Group plc
Mark is Head of the IP Group plc Technology business, running a £350m portfolio of early-stage, “Deep Tech” companies. The portfolio includes some of the UK’s most exciting emerging technology start-ups, such as Featurespace, Oxbotica, and Garrison Cybersecurity. He led the first investments into First Light Fusion, which recently achieved nuclear fusion, and the ground-breaking technology company Ultraleap. He was also on the board of Wave Optics when it was sold to Snap Inc in one of Europe’s biggest ever venture-backed Deeptech exits. Mark has almost 15 years’ experience as a Board Director of early-stage technology companies and has overseen well over 100 private and public company equity investments. He holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK.
Dan Ridsdale
Edison Group
Dan is the head of Edison’s technology team leading Edison's coverage of technology companies across the UK, Europe, US and Asia Pacific. He has over 25 years’ experience covering the technology and telecoms industries. Prior to Edison, worked in a variety of equity research and corporate finance roles at firms including Singer Capital Markets, Teathers, Bridgewell, RW Baird and Nomura. Before this he advised on emerging trends in technology as a market analyst at Ovum, having started his career in the telecommunications software industry.
Before this he advised on emerging trends in technology as a market analyst at Ovum, having started his career in the telecommunications software industry.
Julie Simmonds
Panmure Liberum
Julie has 25 years of experience in Equity Research, covering both UK and continental European companies across a wide range of healthcare subsectors including healthcare services, biotechnology and digital health. She joined Panmure Gordon in November 2015 from Canaccord Genuity. She was No.1 Extel rated 2018 and rated Analyst of the Year 2022 by the Small Cap Network Awards. She is also a panel member for NIHR i4i (invention for innovation), assessing early-stage medical technologies. Julie has a PhD in Microbiology from University of Kent.
Ellie Steel
Founders Forum Group
Ellie is Group Operations Director and plays a pivotal role in driving the growth of Founders Forum Group, a global community supporting entrepreneurs at every stage of their journeys via networking and events, services, investment, philanthropy, and insights. Ellie scopes and spearheads new ventures and strategic projects for the organisation and led its acquisition of Tech Nation in 2023. Ellie also oversees the smooth running of the group's day-to-day operations, collaboration across its network of businesses, and has oversight of the management and operations for Tech Nation. Before joining FFG, Ellie held various strategic roles at Informa PLC.
Ben Tickler
J.P. Morgan
Ben is an Executive Director in J.P. Morgan’s Innovation Economy Team. Ben began his career on the RBS graduate scheme witnessing the full force of the 2008 global credit crisis. After working across Retail, Business, Commercial and Corporate he spent two years at Santander where they were actively trying to double the SME market share in the UK.
An opportunity then presented to move into the world of tech and supporting early-stage high growth companies. He moved to Silicon Valley Bank’s UK Office in 2017 as employee number 120. Over the next seven years he went from VP to MD, the UK office grew to 400 and his final role was Head of Enterprise Software for EMEA (a relationship management and sales team).
Ben Joined J.P. Morgan in July 2024 as an Executive Director, Head of Venture UK within the fast-growing Innovation Economy team. His team support Series A+ tech companies with treasury, banking and debt solutions whilst connecting them to the wider JPM platform.
Skyler Ver Bruggen
ECI
Skyler is responsible for portfolio M&A at ECI, working alongside management teams to help with making acquisitions. That means supporting those teams in anything from refining strategy and sourcing targets to building an M&A function inhouse. Skyler is also a member of the ESG committee, where she enjoys working with our annual charity partner on some of the fundraising initiatives.
In her role in the Origination Team, Skyler also gets to know founders and management teams who may one day chose to partner with ECI, to help them understand what that partnership could bring to their business.
Skyler joined ECI in 2019 after three years in mid-market private equity and two years in private equity advisory and executive search. She graduated with a degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University.
Mark Whitmore
Berenberg
We are delighted to welcome Mark Whitmore to the Voting Panel. Further details will be available in due course.
Rosh Wijayarathna
J.P. Morgan
Rosh leads J.P. Morgan’s UK & Ireland’s Innovation Economy business – the Innovation Economy team focuses on supporting companies ranging from Series A through to Private Equity and PLCs across four key verticals: technology, life science, disruptive commerce and climate tech. Rosh has spent over 20 years working with high growth companies and previous to joining J.P. Morgan, started and led Silicon Valley Bank’s Corporate Banking practice. Rosh loves working with Founders and CEOs and helping scale their businesses – he has been responsible for providing the UK innovation companies with over $2bn capital. Outside of work, Rosh is a keen martial artist and cycles regularly (when he’s not shuttling his two young daughters to gymnastics, cub scouts and football).
Shortlist review
Read more about this year’s shortlisted companies by selecting an award below.
tech deal of the year award
sponsored by Rothschild & Co
The 2024 shortlist:
Darktrace plc
Cambridge-based Darktrace is a pioneer in AI cybersecurity. The group has revolutionised autonomous cyber defence and has been a stand-out business in the UK tech landscape for more than a decade.
In October this year, leading software investment firm Thoma Bravo announced the completion of an all-cash acquisition of Dartrace, valuing the group at approximately $5.3bn. The offer represented a premium of 20% over Darktrace’s closing share price of 517p, which was the last trading day prior to the announcement. The acquisition enables Darktrace to pursue further scale and innovation for its next stage of growth.
IRIS Software Group Limited
IRIS Software Group provides industry leading business critical software solutions and services to manage core business operations. The group is based in Slough and is a regular on the shortlist at the UK tech awards.
In December 2023, amidst ongoing challenging market conditions, IRIS signed one of Europe’s largest software transactions The group secured a co-controlling investment from LA-based private equity firm, Leonard Green & Partners, who invested alongside existing long term investors Hg Capital and Intermediate Capital Group. This fund raising round gave Iris an enterprise value of approximately £3.15bn. The deal more than doubles IRIS’ £1.3bn valuation, cited in 2018, and supports the group’s ambition to expand and scale its North American operations.
Monzo Bank Limited
London-based Monzo is a digital bank offering a mobile app for managing money, budgeting, and saving. The group was one of the earliest of a number of new app-based challenger banks in the UK.
In March this year, Monzo announced that it had raised £340m in a funding round to help boost its expansion plans. This was closely followed by a further fundraise in May 2024 of $190m, boosting Monzo’s total funding this year to $610m and raising the value of the business to $5.2bn post-money, making the group one of the most valuable digital banks in Britain. Earlier this month, Monzo also announced it was launching a secondary share sale that is set to increase the group’s value even further.
Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
Cambridge-based Raspberry Pi is a leader in low-cost, high-performance computing used by engineers and enthusiasts across the world. The group created The Raspberry Pi foundation to widen access to computing through the availability of low-cost computers.
Raspberry Pi listed on the LSE Main Market in June this year. The group raised £166m in a significantly oversubscribed IPO, giving the business a market cap of £541.6m, a total that has since increased to over £800m since the start of trading. Demand for the stock has been significant and the group’s shares increased by more than a third on the first day of trading.
Revolut Group Holdings Ltd
Headquartered in London, Revolut is a digital banking app that offers a range of financial services. The group is among the top digital-only financial providers for regular travellers and those sending money overseas.
In August this year, Revolut secured a $45bn valuation in a share sale by employees, cementing its status as Europe’s most valuable start-up. This valuation is more than a 20% jump on the group’s 2021 valuation of $33bn, achieved when raising cash from investors including Vision Fund and Tiger Global Management.
Wayve Technologies Ltd
London-based Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology for automated driving. The group’s advanced AI software and foundation models for autonomy enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any environment, enhancing the usability and safety of autonomous driving systems.
In May this year Wayve announced a $1.05bn Series C investment round led by SoftBank Group, with contributions from new investor NVIDIA and existing investor Microsoft. This is the largest known investment in an AI company in Europe to date, and helps the group accelerate its mission to reimagine autonomous mobility through embodied intelligence.
tech commentator of the year award
sponsored by Gracechurch Group
The 2024 shortlist:
Anisah Osman Britton MBE
Anisah regularly writes for Sifted, reporting on European tech. Anisah covers the practicalities of running a company, in addition to a weekly newsletter titled ‘Startup Life’. Anisah also writes for the Evening Standard, Courier Media and The Guardian.
Anisah is well respected voice in the industry, driven by her steadfast belief that tech can be a force of good if it employs a workforce that represents the diversity of society today. She has been deeply involved in the founding and/or operating of both technology and community driven initiatives. Anisah is currently Director of Operations at WVC:E, an organisation dedicated to promoting the inclusion, integration and empowerment of women in venture capital.
Amy Lewin/Sifted
Amy is an experienced journalist having worked in the industry for over a decade. Amy leads Sifted’s team of journalists, hosts the monthly podcast, writes Sifted’s weekly VC newsletter Up Round and regularly speaks at tech events across the continent. Amy was shortlisted for the tech commentator of the year award in 2023.
Amy has a particular interest in the ‘human side’ of companies and making the tech and financial sectors more appealing and accessible to all. As such, she reports on issues including female representation in venture capital and the role of startups in addressing societal issues such as climate change. Amy provides a fresh voice to the global tech debate and highlights the considerations that matter to European startups and innovators.
Hannah Murphy/Financial Times
Hannah is a tech correspondent at the FT, leading the conversation around social media giants such as Meta, X and TikTok, in addition to covering topics including AI, the metaverse, disinformation, cyber and election security. Hannah regularly moderate panels for FT Live and at other conferences and c-suite events. She has also appeared on live slots and documentaries with national broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4.
Hanah is driven by a passion for the intersection of social platforms with other aspects of the tech world, including fintech and cybersecurity. Prior to her time as tech correspondent, Hannah worked as a finance reporter where she worked on issues including online trading, stockbroking and market structure.
Katie Prescott/The Times
Katie is the Technology Business Editor at the Times and is one of the most prominent technology and business journalists in the UK. She covers key developments across the technology, media and telecoms space and their impact on our day to day lives. Katie recently provided some of the most incisive journalism on AI available, from the dangers of deepfakes, to the twists and turns of the journey of Open AI.
Katie has been a trusted voice to millions of listeners during her time on both Times Radio and presenting business news on Radio 4’s Today Programme where she analysed and explained global issues such as climate change, COVID-19, and the latest developments in cutting edge technologies. In addition, Katie also hosts a number of major events staged by The Times.
Simon Thompson/Investors’ Chronicle
Simon is Associate Editor at the Investors’ Chronicle and is an experienced and influential investment writer with a significant following. He has almost two decades experience at the publication and as part of this role, having begun his career with IC as Companies Editor in 2001.
Simon publishes a daily column on stock-picking, which is widely read and well-respected by potential investors. He is the creator of Investors Chronicle’s ‘Bargain Shares’, a value portfolio that has beaten the market in 18 of the last 22 years. In addition, Simon is a published author with multiple stock picking guides to his name.
James Titcomb/The Telegraph
James is one of the leading technology journalists in the country, with a significant UK following. He is currently the Technology Editor at The Telegraph, having worked with the paper for almost a decade, first as a general business reporter and then heading up the paper’s Silicon Valley Bureau in the US. Prior to his time with the Telegraph, he also worked as a reporter for City AM and the Daily Mail.
James is an important and influential voice in the tech world, particularly on the intersection of technology and current affairs where he is trusted to provide incisive journalism on issues such as COVID censorship, the perpetuation of conspiracy theories through online bots and a potential looming TikTok ban in the US.
scale up award
sponsored by J.P. Morgan
The 2024 shortlist:
Cera Care Ltd
London-based Cera is Europe’s largest provider of digital-first home healthcare. The group is redefining healthcare by moving more and more services out of hospitals and into people’s own homes.
Cera is one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies, having rapidly expanded since it’s launch in 2016. The group’s annualised revenues have grown from £3m to £300m by growing its NHS and local government contracts from just five to 350 in only four years. This growth is reflected in Cera’s workforce, with the group now employing nearly 10,000 carers and nurses, and delivering 2m in-person community visits every month, which is equivalent in capacity to almost 100 hospitals.
ComplyAdvantage Ltd
Headquartered in London, ComplyAdvantage is the financial industry’s leading source of AI-driven financial crime risk data and fraud detection technology. The group’s mission is to neutralise the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, and other financial crime.
In April this year, ComplyAdvantage announced its acquisition of Golden, a San Francisco-based innovator automating the construction of one of the world's largest knowledge graphs. The deal strengthened the group’s foothold in North America by delivering an extensive base of US customers and fuelled ComplyAvantage’s significant growth following its expanded client roster.
Finbourne Technology Group Ltd
London-based Finbourne provides investment management solutions and a cloud-native data management platform. The group’s interconnected investment functionality and data management solutions power financial services professionals to make better, faster decisions.
In September this year, Finbourne successfully raised over £100m in a secondary funding round, building on its £55m Series B earlier this year. The investment, led by CommerzVentures and HSBC Ventures, will accelerate Finbourne’s high-growth go-to-market strategy, in addition to expanding its sales, product and marketing capabilities in the US, UK, Ireland, Singapore and Australia.
Fresha.com SV Ltd t/a Fresha
Headquartered in London, Fresha is the leading marketplace platform for beauty & wellness. The platform allows consumers to discover, book and pay for beauty and wellness appointments with local businesses via its marketplace, while beauty and wellness businesses use an all-in-one platform to manage their entire operations.
Fresha has quickly established itself as the world's largest beauty and wellness software marketplace. The group has translated its platform in to 14 languages, which has fuelled its global expansion and has delivered 70% revenue growth year-on-year, compared to the average SaaS growth of 20%. Fresha has raised $185m in total in venture capital to help deliver further rapid expansion.
Immersive Labs Ltd
Bristol-based Immersive Labs is a leader in people-centric cyber resilience. The group’s tailored approach to cyber skills development continuously assesses, builds, and proves cyber capabilities, whilst keeping teams ahead of an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Immersive Labs is trusted by the world’s largest organisations and governments, including Citi, Pfizer, Humana, HSBC, USPS, the UK Ministry of Defence, and the UK National Health Service. The group achieved ARR CAGR growth of 50% over a 3 year period, with organic expansion into 13 countries with customers in over 35 countries. Immersive Lab’s organic growth has been fuelled by VC investors Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Summit Partners, Insight Partners, Citi Ventures, Ten Eleven Ventures, and Menlo Ventures.
Quantexa Limited
Quantexa is an innovative global tech firm, based in London. The group is highly experienced in helping organizations across a variety of industries solve some of their biggest business challenges with data and AI.
In April last year, Quantexa completed its Series E funding round. The latest investment round secured the group’s unicorn status with a valuation of £1.5bn and accelerated the execution of its growth strategy within the $500bn Decision Intelligence space. The group also completed its first acquisition last year of an award-winning provider of AI-based risk and market intelligence solutions, which further accelerated Quantexa’s growth plans.
Rovco Ltd t/a Beam
In September this year, Rovco and Vaarst merged, creating a new brand, Beam. Based in Bristol, Beam is a leading deep technology company, using AI and autonomy on robotic ships and underwater robots to service offshore wind farms.
Beam is changing the way its industry operates, moving it from a low margin 20-30% model to a high margin 60-70%+ automated business model with AI at its very heart. The group now holds contracts in over 90% of the USA’s operational windfarms, has operated in over 70% of the UK’s windfarms, and is rapidly growing in Europe. Rovco/Beam has raised $38.5n in total over 9 rounds of fundraising and is backed by Foresight, L&G and Equinor.
tech for good award
sponsored by Heidrick & Struggles
The 2024 shortlist:
Arenko Cleantech Limited
London-based Arenko is a market-leading technology provider enabling the clean energy transition. The group’s mission is to build a sustainable future by enabling a zero-carbon grid worldwide.
Arenko has created a complete software solution which connects and optimises the battery’s technical and commercial performance using automation technology, AI, enhanced analytics and deep-learning algorithms. The group digitally connects energy assets with revenue opportunities in real-time through autonomous data driven decision-making and execution. This enables trading desks, utilities and asset owners to maximise revenues and reduce cost to serve.
Cera Care Ltd
London-based Cera is Europe’s largest provider of digital-first home healthcare. The group is redefining healthcare by moving more and more services out of hospitals and into people’s own homes.
Cera is one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies, having rapidly expanded since its launch in 2016. The group’s annualised revenues have grown from £3m to £300m by growing its NHS and local government contracts from just five to 350 in only four years. This growth is reflected in Cera’s workforce, with the group now employing nearly 10,000 carers and nurses, and delivering 2m in-person community visits every month, which is equivalent in capacity to almost 100 hospitals.
eyeWitness to Atrocities
eyeWitness to Atrocities is a London-based charity that combines law with technology to ensure footage of mass atrocity crimes meets evidentiary admissibility standards applicable before international and national courts.
The group offers the only system – the free eyeWitness to Atrocities app and a secure database – specifically designed by legal professionals for human rights defenders to collect, verify, and safeguard digital evidence of atrocity crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. In addition to the app and database, eyeWitness provides training on photo and video documentation, legal expertise and links to key investigative bodies, streamlining the process from documentation to justice.
KareHero Ltd
KareHero’s mission is to radically change the lives of carers. The group aims to prevent employees from having to take a step back or suffer caregiver burnout because they lack access to the support they need.
KareHero was founded in 2022 by Stephanie Leung who has been the default adult family caregiver to her parents since the age of 14. Prior to founding KareHero, Stephanie was a Venture Partner at LocalGlobe VC. The group’s offering comprises a care matching service (CareSourcer.com) that is free and open to the public, as well as a digital plus human care concierge service, (KareHero), offered as an employee benefit to employers and insurance companies.
Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
Headquartered in Cambridge, Raspberry Pi is a leader in low-cost, high-performance computing used by engineers and enthusiasts across the world. The group’s aim is to democratise technology by providing access to low-cost computers.
The group created The Raspberry Pi foundation, which is a registered charity to enable young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies. The foundation launched the Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, three years ago, and continues to work closely with businesses, foundations, and governments to ensure that its work reaches as many teachers and young people as possible.
Unmind Ltd
Unmind is an enterprise SaaS mental health platform, based in London. The group is creating a new era of work by combining proactive and reactive mental health solutions with AI and advanced data-led strategies.
Unmind has partnered with some of the world’s biggest brands such as Uber, Nationwide, Standard Chartered, Mediacom and British Airways, to give over 2.5m people the right support at the right time. The group helps Human Resource Officers shape the future of work through tailored strategies, measuring organisational health, educating leaders to power positive business performance and ensuring all employees have the right care at the right time.
ZOE Limited
London-based Zoe is a healthtech company that specialises in gut microbiome testing. The group has run the world’s largest in-depth nutrition study in order to produce a personalised program to give individuals insights into how their body responds to food.
Zoe’s PREDICT study encompasses a collection of rigorously designed clinical trials that have helped the group understand and predict personalised metabolic responses to foods, in order to move beyond a “one-size-fits-all” approach to nutrition. The group’s at-home test kit helps people gain a better understanding of their unique metabolism and gut microbiome. People who follow the ZOE program report impressive results, with 85% of it’s members reporting they feel healthier.
tech investor award
sponsored by Teneo
The 2024 shortlist:
Accel
Accel is a leading venture capital firm with offices in Palo Alto and California, in addition to operating funds in London, India and China. Since inception, the group has invested in over 300 companies, including Facebook, Slack, and Dropbox and was one of the first Silicon Valley venture firms to set up a European team.
Accel has raised more than $12bn in total capital commitments and has invested in over 700 companies in its history. In May this year, Accel announced it had raised $650m for its eighth early-stage fund to invest in start ups in Europe and Israel. In addition to its investments, Accel is involved in various community and philanthropic initiatives. The firm has launched several programs to support entrepreneurship and innovation in underrepresented communities, including a partnership with the nonprofit organization, All Raise, to increase diversity in the tech industry.
Balderton Capital (UK) LLP
London-based Balderton is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage, technology and startups in Europe. The group is considered to be among the four-biggest venture capital firms in the UK.
Since launch, Balderton has invested in over 275 technology companies from across Europe. The group’s current portfolio includes global leaders such as Revolut, GoCardless, Wayve, Writer and PhotoRoom. In addition, many of the group’s previous portfolio companies have successfully exited, including Darktrace, Depop, MySQL and THG. In August this year Balderton announced a $615m Early Stage Fund IX and $685m Growth Fund II, to back Europe’s most ambitious entrepreneurs from seed stage through IPO, marking the first time the group has raised early and growth funds simultaneously.
Dawn Capital LLP
London-based Dawn Capital is one of the few European venture capital firms with deep expertise in SaaS. The group backs European founders to build the next generation of global software leaders.
Since launch, Dawn Capital has raised over $2bn from global investors and backed more than 80 companies across 16 European countries. The firm’s portfolio includes Mimecast, iZettle, Tink, LeanIX and currently established unicorns Collibra, Dataiku and Quantexa. In September 2023 Dawn Capital raised capital of $700m; $620m was channelled to its dedicated early-stage B2B software fund, with $80m allotted to a follow-on fund.
HgCapital LLP
Hg is a leading investor in European and transatlantic software and services businesses. The group was founded in 1990 as Mercury Asset Management and then became part of Merrill Lynch Asset Management in the late 90s. In 2000, the partners spun the business out of MLAM to become Hg, a fully independent leveraged buyout firm. Hg has won the tech investor of the year award, most recently in 2022.
Hg has delivered outstanding performance for its investors and as a result, has achieved strong growth, increasing fund sizes by an aggregate of 88%. In September this year, the group announced the closing of multiple fundraisings include Hg Genesis 9, closing on €4.4bn; Hg Mercury 3 closing on €1.3bn and Hg Saturn 2 which closed on $4.85bn, with all three funds hitting their hard-caps.
Index Ventures (UK) LLP
Index Ventures work with entrepreneurs and their companies at every stage, across every sector. The firm was born in Geneva in 1996, and quickly expanded to London with the goal of bringing Silicon Valley-style investment to Europe.
Index has a long history of identifying, nurturing, and partnering with visionary founders, with an impressive portfolio that includes Figma, Discord, Notion, and Roblox. In July this year, the group announced it was adding $2.3bn in new funds with its 12th venture fund of $800m and its 7th growth fund of $1.5bn, bringing total capital raised since its founding to £11.6bn.
Summit Partners LP
Summit Partners is a leading growth-focused investment firm with offices in Boston, New York, London and Luxemburg. The group invests across growth sectors of the economy and, since its founding has invested in over 550 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries.
Summit’s global team includes more than 100 investment professionals with deep domain knowledge within key growth sectors. In October this year, Summit raised $9.5bn for its twelfth US Growth Equity Fund. The new fund, Summit XII, will target majority and minority investments of $75 to $500m primarily in profitable, category-leading growth companies. With this new capital, the group is now managing more than $46bn in assets across its fund complex.
best use of tech in the digital economy award
sponsored by Edison Group
The 2024 shortlist:
1Spatial plc
Cambridge-based 1Spatial is a global leader in Location Master Data Management (LMDM) software and solutions. The group’s software is primarily used by enterprises and government bodies to make better business decisions through improved accuracy and sharing of location data.
In July this year, 1Spatial announced it had secured several new contracts in the US, supporting the digital transformation of transport and emergency services departments. The new contracts delivered, in aggregate, at least $500,000 in annual recurring revenue. Alongside its newly launched SaaS offerings, 1Spatial has a number of growth vectors available to enable the group to deliver on its ambitions.
Cantab Research Limited t/a Speechmatics
Cambridge-based Speechmatics specialises in automatic speech recognition (ASR). The group’s advanced ASR solutions leverage neural networks and statistical language modelling to convert spoken language into written text.
Speechmatics’ technology supports real-time transcription and translation across over 50 languages, making it a leader in the speech-to-text industry. As voice becomes a primary way to interact with technology, inclusive technology will be more important than ever. In October this year, Speechmatics showcased its inclusive technology in a film produced by BBC StoryWorks, which demonstrated a look at the future of voice technology.
Eagle Eye Solutions Group plc
London-based Eagle Eye is a leading SaaS company enabling retail, travel, and hospitality brands, such as John Lewis and Pret a Manger, to earn the loyalty of their end customers by powering their real-time, omnichannel, and personalised consumer marketing activities.
The group’s cloud-based platform, Eagle Eye AIR, provides the most flexible and scalable loyalty and promotions capability in the world. The group plans to launch a growing number of EagleAI offerings, including 'Personalised Flyer', an AI powered personalised digital flyer in 2025.
Trainline plc
London-based Trainline is Europe’s leading independent rail platform, selling rail and coach tickets to millions of travellers worldwide. The group operates through three business segments: UK Consumer, International Consumer and Trainline Solutions.
Trainline’s technology has transformed the way the public buy their train tickets. In July this year the group created a new booking portal, called platform One, which is home to Trainline’s own retail channels, as well as handling ticket sales for several train operators. The new platform covers more than 270 rail and coach companies across 45 countries, including over 80% of rail routes in Europe.
Windward Ltd
Windward is a leading predictive intelligence company, fusing artificial intelligence and maritime expertise to digitise the global maritime industry, based in London. The group’s customers include leading participants across the maritime industry covering banks, commodity traders, insurers, government agencies, and major energy and shipping companies.
Windward’s AI-powered software solutions provide real time information and insights on major seafaring vessels at sea, enabling stakeholders within the maritime eco-system to make intelligence-driven decisions to manage risk and achieve business and operational insights. In October this year, the group announced a number of key developments, including significant business expansion and new contract wins in the Government sector amounting to $1.9m.
Youth Group Limited
Youth Group is a group of companies that solves challenges for the next generation. Its mission is to help 100 million young people with their work, money and health goals and it is used by some of the world’s leading brands including Pret A Manger, Easyjet, Google, and Mars.
Youth Group provides tailored solutions to help brands connect and engage with the next generation. One of its most recent collaborations is with Easyjet and My Duvet Flip, which is hailed as the UK's Leading Career Show and was created to provide comprehensive guidance and support to viewers. EasyJet was announced as an official brand partner for Season 4, which will feature a conversation with Training Pilot Captain Kate West, who became the world’s youngest female Captain at the age of 26.
tech growth business of the year award
sponsored by ECI
The 2024 shortlist:
Concurrent Technologies plc
Concurrent Technologies is a designer and manufacturer of leading-edge computer products, systems and mission critical solutions used in high-performance markets by some of the world’s major OEMs. The group is based in Colchester, Essex.
Concurrent technologies has enjoyed significant growth over the last few years. The group secured eight major design wins across US, UK, Europe and Asia Pacific during the period, in addition to winning its largest ever contract to date of $6m with a major US Defence & Aerospace prime contractor, providing validation to its technology.
Epos Now (UK) Ltd
Based in Norwich, Epos Now is an AI-driven point-of-sale platform processing over $30bn annually. The group offers seven financial products across EMEA, APAC, and AMER, including full deposit banking, account numbers, and faster payment methods.
The demand for Epos Now’s financial products has driven very strong growth, resulting in the group reaching $160m in revenue this year and scaling operations across 10 countries, including the UK, USA, Australia, Mexico. Its complex AI and embedded finance products drive growth for merchants, making the group indispensable to its customers and enabling them to succeed in a competitive market.
Exclaimer Ltd
Guildford-based Exclaimer is a leader in email signature management for Microsoft and Google services. The group’s solution simplifies signature management, maintaining brand consistency, promoting campaigns, and gathering customer feedback in real-time. Clients include BBC, Make-A-Wish, Sony, and Bank of America.
Exclaimer has made a significant impact on the industry and in under two years, its ARR has surged from £30m to £54m. The group has introduced a comprehensive global pricing and product revamp, elevating PPU by 35%, enhancing conversion rates by 50%, and expanding Enterprise deals by 18% worldwide. Exclaimer’s channel sales have been instrumental in driving this success.
Featurespace Ltd
Featurespace invented Adaptive Behavioral Analytics, Automated Deep Behavioral Networks and ARIC Risk Hub, the most powerful and open technology to combat fraud and financial crime. The group has headquarters in Cambridge and Atlanta and its customers include HSBC, NatWest, TSYS, and Worldpay.
Featurespace’s proprietary technology builds complex behavioural profiles to identify anomalies in real-time. The group’s technology consistently provides a 75% uplift in Fraud Detection Rates with a 5:1 False Positive Ratio. In September this year, Featurespace announced it had signed a landmark definitive agreement to be acquired by Visa in a deal which should close early in 2025.
Revolut Group Holdings Ltd
Headquartered in London, Revolut is a digital banking app that offers a range of financial services. The group is among the top digital-only financial providers for regular travellers and those sending money overseas.
In August this year, Revolut secured a $45bn valuation, cementing its status as Europe’s most valuable start-up. The group added 12m new customers globally last year, reaching 45m in June 2024 and its group revenues increased by 95% to $2.2bn. In addition, Revolut reported a record profit before tax of $545m, leaving the group well positioned for strong growth in 2024 and beyond.
Team Internet Group plc
London-based Team Internet Group is a leading global internet solutions company operating in two highly attractive markets. The group’s proven business model is backed by straight-forward KPI, high-quality earnings, scalable technology and an entrepreneurial management team.
Since Team Internet’s IPO in 2013, the group has achieved a revenue CAGR of 71%, driven by a blend of significant organic growth and strategic acquisitions. The group’s gross revenue increased by approximately 15% in FY2023 and is set to break the $1bn barrier imminently. Team Internet’s recent transformational acquisition of Shinez sees the group poised to take its growth to new levels.
tech businesswoman of the year award
sponsored by PwC
The 2024 shortlist:
Kerry Baldwin/IQ Capital Partners LLP
Kerry co-founded IQ Capital in 2006 and has over 20 years deeptech venture capital experience. Kerry was Chair of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and is an international advisor and speaker on venture capital, deeptech ecosystems, research and innovation.
Kerry invested in the first wave of UK deeptech companies and has focussed on deeptech early-stage technology over her five funds which invest from seed to £30m. Kerry specialises in GTM, Strategic Marketing, Competitive Intelligence and heads up IQ’s cybersecurity, climate tech, supervisory tech, big data and neuro-tech portfolio. She sits on several boards including Risilience, FNA and CyberSmart.
Joanna Drake/THG plc
Joanna is CIO at THG, with a rich career spanning over two decades in senior IT leadership. With a relentless focus on driving global transformations, Joanna is a stalwart in the technology sector. Joanna has also held pivotal positions at organisations including Skyscanner, Wood Mackenzie, Betfair and Yahoo.
In her current role at THG, Joanna spearheads the delivery of world-class global operations and technology services across various platforms, ranging from corporate to retail and beyond. She is a people orientated leader who is passionate about leadership, Diversity & Inclusion. In addition, Joanna sits on the advisory boards of the Global CIO Institute, Hottopics, Forrester and the UK IT Leaders group.
Siân John MBE/NCC Group plc
Siân is the CTO at NCC Group and is responsible for intelligence, insight and innovation within the business. Siân has worked in Cybersecurity for 25 years across strategy, business risk, privacy, and technology.
Since joining NCC Group last year, Siân has defined the future direction of services through close interaction with clients, industry, and academia. As a recognised cyber security thought leader and strategist, Siân held previous roles at Microsoft and is the current Chair of techUK’s Cyber Security Management committee. Siân was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s 2018 New Year’s Honours List for services to Cybersecurity.
Martina King/Featurespace Ltd
Martina King joined Featurespace in 2012. Formerly the MD of augmented reality company Aurasma, she has an extensive career in media and technology, including MD of Yahoo.
Under Martina’s leadership, Featurespace has become the world’s leading provider of Enterprise Financial Crime prevention software, risk scoring events and preventing fraud and financial crime in more than 180 countries. The group has raised over £100m in funding, supporting its ongoing expansion and ability to protect more than 30 major global financial institutions, including HSBC, Worldpay, NatWest Group, Danske Bank and Barclays. Since 2018, Martina has been honoured by PaymentsSource as one of its Most Influential Women in Payments in addition to being named in the Top 40 Powerful Women in Tech by Silicon Republic.
Catherine Ramsdale/Pragmatic Semiconductor Limited
Catherine is SVP Technology at Pragmatic Semiconductor, where she oversees the maturation of its technology platforms, from early process development through to release of its Process Design Kit to external users. Formerly at Plastic Logic (now FlexEnable), Catherine has worked in the flexible electronics sector since completing her PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2002.
Catherine has played a major role in the development of ultra-thin semiconductor circuitry on flexible substrates, taking early proof-of-technology concepts through to manufacturing readiness. She is named inventor on over 15 patents in the field and co-author on numerous research publications.
Liz Upton/Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
Liz Upton is Executive Director of Communications at the Raspberry Pi Foundation. She was an award-winning journalist before becoming one of the co-founders of Raspberry Pi along with her husband Eben.
Liz has steadfastly guided the communications at the Foundation and Trading since founding the group. The Raspberry Pi story began in 2006 with the creation of the first prototypes inspired by the BBC Micro of the 1980s. Six years later, the first Raspberry Pi was created and today, following the group’s recent very successful IPO, the business has a market cap of £690m. Liz and Eden received Honorary Fellowships from The National Museum of Computing for their services to technology in 2022.
tech innovation of the year award
sponsored by Berenberg
The 2024 shortlist:
Bramble Energy Ltd
Surrey-based Bramble Energy is an award-winning cleantech business accelerating global decarbonisation and powering the transition to a Net Zero world. The group’s mission is to solve the global challenge of making clean energy technology accessible.
Focusing on manufacturability, scalability and rapid innovation, Bramble Energy has developed PCB-X™, a versatile hydrogen platform that leverages printed circuit board (PCB) technology to create a series of patent protected clean energy solutions. By making hydrogen fuel cells more affordable and scalable, Bramble is paving the way for a sustainable energy future, positioning itself as a key player in the cleantech industry.
Closed Loop Medicine Ltd
Cambridge-based Closed Loop Medicine is redefining medicine by enabling physicians to treat the individual, not just the disease. The group’s pioneering approach aims to democratise healthcare by enabling real-time, real-world dose optimisation of both next-generation and established medicines, improving outcomes for patients with chronic diseases.
Modern healthcare demands more comprehensive monitoring that accounts for individual variability and tailors treatments effectively. Closed Loop Medicine’s patented technology not only provides personalised disease management, it also offers cost and resource savings for healthcare systems, in addition to providing a protected and differentiated route for pharma. The group’s vision occupies a unique space at the intersection of data, healthcare, and traditional therapeutics.
Diaceutics plc
Belfast-based Diaceutics is a leading technology and solutions provider to the pharma and biotech industry, with 17 of the top 20 global pharma companies as its customers. The group’s DXRX platform, the world’s first diagnostic commercialisation platform for precision medicines, helps patients receive the right therapy to positively impact their disease outcome.
Diaceutics’ platform uses AI to analyse millions of data points across its network of affiliate laboratories to identify where patients are not receiving the optimal treatment, then provides biotech organisations with the solutions to help address these opportunities. The group is ideally positioned to address the $3bn of lifetime precision medicine revenues lost due to inadequate testing and to bring its therapies to market more effectively.
Featurespace Ltd
Featurespace's world-leading, real-time machine learning product helps prevents fraud and financial crime using its ARIC™ Risk Hub. The group is based in Cambridge and has harnessed generative AI to develop cutting-edge fraud prevention innovations for the financial services industry.
Featurespace pioneered the world’s first ever Large Transaction Model (LTM) named TallierLTM™. TallierLTM is a large-scale, self-supervised, pre-trained model designed to power the next generation of AI applications for the financial services and payments industries. The model is able to predict future consumer transactions because it has been trained with more than 10 billion varied transactions, making it highly accurate and representative of real-world consumer transactions. TallierLTM is an innovation the banking industry desperately needs, amid skyrocketing fraud, and tough, potentially very costly, regulation.
Luminance Technologies Ltd
Founded by AI experts from Cambridge University, Luminance is a pioneer in Legal-Grade™ AI. The group is revolutionising the way organisations draft, negotiate and analyse their documents by bringing next generation AI to every single touchpoint an organisation has with its contracts.
With a specialist legal Large Language Model (LLM) that has been exposed to 150+ million legally verified documents, Luminance has developed an AI which can produce, analyse and understand legal content; from taking a first-pass assessment of incoming contracts and re-drafting them in a click, to analysing executed documents and aiding criminal investigations. The group’s proprietary Legal-Grade™ AI is validated by leading lawyers and used by 600+ organisations including BBC Studios.
Pragmatic Semiconductor Limited
Cambridge-based Pragmatic is a global leader in flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs), with a ground-breaking technology platform that revolutionises semiconductor manufacturing. The group’s uniquely flexible chips deliver low cost, low-carbon intelligence at scale to fuel AI models and power the IoT.
Pragmatic’s FlexIC Foundry® technology delivers rapid, high-volume fabrication with a high level of customisation. Due to the simplified production process, the group’s foundry has an extremely compact footprint, giving rise to the concept of Fab-as-a-Service (FaaS). FaaS gives customers their own compact fab – a ‘Fab-in-a-Box’ – which can be quickly deployed wherever it’s needed, at around a tenth of the cost of a silicon semiconductor fab and significantly faster, providing the most attainable route to semiconductor sovereignty.
tech CEO of the year award
sponsored by Boardwave
The 2024 shortlist:
TS Anil/Monzo Bank Limited
TS joined Monzo in October 2020 and is a highly respected financial services and payments leader with more than 25 years of retail banking experience. As CEO, he brings a wealth of expertise from his earlier career at Visa, Standard Chartered, Citigroup and Capital One in roles that have spanned the world, including the US, Singapore, Canada, Japan and India.
TS has enormous experience launching new products, developing innovative payment technologies and taking existing businesses to new growth opportunities. Monzo has become renowned for its customer-centricity, an approach that has been instigated and led by TS, which has had significant results. Earlier this year, Monzo was valued at £4bn after it secured a £340m funding round led by Alphabet’s growth fund CapitalG.
Poppy Gustafsson/Darktrace plc
Poppy Gustafsson was CEO and co-founder of Darktrace up until last month. She stepped down from the business after overseeing its £4.2bn sale to US private equity business Thoma Bravo. Poppy is a champion of gender diversity in tech and has been honoured with an OBE for her contributions to cybersecurity.
Under Poppy’s leadership, Darktrace experienced momentous growth. Poppy spearheaded the group’s IPO on the Main Market of London Stock Exchange in 2021, which valued the business at £1.7bn, and relentlessly continued to drive the group’s growth, culminating in its £4bn valuation. She successfully guided Darktrace through some challenging moments and was instrumental in helping the group achieve its technology vision of a Cyber AI Loop. Last month, the Government announced Poppy would head up the Office for Investment as a minister in the Treasury and the Department of Business and Trade.
Rene Haas/ARM Holdings plc
Rene was appointed CEO of ARM in February 2022. Prior to this, Rene was President of ARM’s IP Product Groups (IPG) from January 2017. Under his leadership, Rene transformed IPG to focus on key solutions for vertical markets with a more diversified product portfolio and increased investment in the ARM software ecosystem.
Rene leads ARM from offices in California, while the company headquarters remain in Cambridge. Since taking on the role of CEO, Rene reformed the group’s leadership team and was instrumental in completing ARM’s blockbuster IPO on NASDAQ in September, which gave the group a market cap of over $54bn. Earlier this year, the group’s shares surged 55%, powered by strong forecasts on demand for its technology. As of last month, ARM now has market cap of £123bn.
Steve Hare/Sage Group plc
Steve joined Sage in 2014, having previously been operating partner and co-head of the Portfolio Support Group at private equity firm Apax Partners, which he joined in 2009. Prior to this Steve built over 10 years’ experience leading the finance function for three listed UK companies, culminating as CFO for FTSE 100 company Invensys.
Steve is passionate about transforming the way people think and work to enable their organisations to thrive. He is a proud supporter and volunteer of CVYP0 (The Cramlington Voluntary Youth Project) and The Sage Foundation, which has raised $3m to support non-profit organisations across the world. Steve has driven Sage to achieve significant scale and growth. In the third quarter, the group’s total revenue increased by 9 % to £585m, driven by continued growth across the Sage Business Cloud portfolio.
Vishal Marria/Quantexa Limited
Vishal is CEO and Founder of Quantexa. With over 20 years of experience, Vishal is globally recognized for his ground-breaking work helping industry leading organisations operationalise data and AI to improve organisational decision-making. Previously the youngest Executive Director at EY, Vishal led major programs at international banks including global Anti Financial Crime technology strategy, data-driven remediation, and end-to-end reviews of strategy and policy.
Vishal founded Quantexa with one unique goal in mind: to create a technology platform that would materially change the way people make strategic, operational and tactical decisions from a data foundation they could trust. Since founding the group, Vishal steered Quantexa to Unicorn status, accelerated its international expansion, and helped the firm gain recognition as one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, along with being awarded Bloomberg's 25 Top Startups to Watch in 2023.
Richard Petti/IQGeo Group plc
Richard joined IQGeo in 2016, bringing with him 25 years of experience in developing market leading businesses for automotive, financial and industrial customers. Richard was previously CEO of Asset Control, a supplier of data management systems to leading financial institutions, and COO at WEMA, a leading provider of sensors to commercial vehicle manufacturers.
Since joining the group, Richard has successfully re-branded IQGeo, divested the RTLS division, made two significant acquisitions and expanded the group’s global presence, serving more than 100,000 users from 200 clients worldwide. In addition, Richard is an active contributor to the fintech and industry 4.0 sectors, and a published author on topics such as risk management, data aggregation, and stress testing.
Dr Eben Upton/Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
Eben founded the Raspberry Pi Foundation in 2008 with a mission to make computing more accessible to young people. He serves as CEO of Raspberry Pi plc and has over 25 years' experience in the technology industry. Eben was previously a Distinguished Engineer with fabless semiconductor company Broadcom, and co-founder and CTO of mobile games and middleware vendor Ideaworks 3d.
Eben is responsible for the overall architecture of the Raspberry Pi device that has been sold more than 60 million times since launch, including 7.4 million last year. Eben recently led the company in its successful float on the LSE Main Market, which raised £166m during the IPO, representing a landmark milestone for London and the UK tech industry. Raspberry Pi reported an operating profit for FY23 of $37.5m on sales of $265.8m and its strong financial track record has enabled the group to distribute approximately $50m since inception to support the work of the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
tech company of the year award
The 2024 shortlist:
Darktrace plc
Cambridge-based Darktrace is a pioneer in AI cybersecurity. The group has revolutionised autonomous cyber defence and has been a stand-out business in the UK tech landscape for more than a decade. The group has been shortlisted for 3 awards at this year’s UK tech awards.
Darktrace reported a strong close to its financial year, with annualised recurring revenue of $782.2m for the year to end June 2024, representing year-on-year growth of 22.7%. In October this year, the group announced its acquisition by leading US software investment house, Thoma Bravo, valuing the group at approximately $5.3bn. The acquisition will enable Darktrace to pursue further scale and innovation for its next stage of growth.
Featurespace Ltd
Featurespace has become the world’s leading provider of Enterprise Financial Crime prevention software, risk scoring events, and preventing fraud and financial crime in more than 180 countries. The group has been shortlisted for 4 awards as this year’s UK tech awards.
Featurespace has raised over £100m in funding, supporting its ongoing expansion and ability to protect more than 30 major global financial institutions, including HSBC, Worldpay, NatWest Group, Danske Bank and Barclays. In September this year, Featurespace announced it had signed a landmark definitive agreement to be acquired by Visa in a deal which should close early in 2025.
IFS Ltd
IFS is the world’s leading provider of industrial AI and enterprise software for hardcore businesses that make, service, and power our planet. The group was founded by five university friends who pitched a tent outside its first customer's site to ensure they would be available 24/7. Since then, IFS has grown into a global leader with over 7,000 employees in 90+ countries.
Last month IFS delivered the strongest growth quarter to date in Q3 2024, reinforcing its position as the fastest growing industrial software company. The group completed two significant acquisitions, adding significant growth and scale to the business. IFS’ Annual Recurring Revenue increased by 30% year-on-year.
Octopus Energy Ltd
Octopus Energy is a renewable energy company based in London. The group focuses on sustainability and innovation, managing extensive renewable energy projects and leveraging technology to enhance energy efficiency and customer experience.
In December 20023, Octopus Energy announced its existing shareholders had invested a fresh $800m into the company, bringing its total valuation up to almost $8bn, a 60% increase from its December 2021 valuation. Last month, Octopus Energy paid over £3bn to the UK Government following its acquisition of Bulb, delivering a significant boost to government finances at a time when budget constraints are pressing. Octopus ensured that every Bulb employee was offered a job (an impressive 94% chose to stay) while seamlessly migrating Bulb’s 1.5 million customers onto its systems within six months, minimising disruption to customers.
Raspberry Pi Holdings plc
Cambridge-based Raspberry Pi is a leader in low-cost, high-performance computing used by engineers and enthusiasts across the world. The group created The Raspberry Pi foundation to widen access to computing through the availability of low-cost computers. Raspberry Pi has been shortlisted for a record 5 awards at this year’s UK tech Awards.
Raspberry Pi listed on the LSE Main Market in June this year. The group raised £166m in a significantly oversubscribed IPO, giving the business a market cap of £541.6m, a total that has since increased to over £800m since the start of trading. The group reported its profitability in the first half was stronger than expected, with Gross Profit of $34.2m and Adjusted EBITDA of $20.9m, up 55%. Raspberry Pi was recently awarded the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark based on the energy efficiency benefits of its computers.
Revolut Group Holdings Ltd
Headquartered in London, Revolut is a digital banking app, offering a range of financial services. The group is among the top digital-only financial providers for regular travellers and those sending money overseas and has over 35 million customers globally.
In August this year, Revolut secured a $45bn valuation in a share sale by employees, cementing its status as Europe’s most valuable start-up. Prior to this, Revolut reported a record $545m profit, driven by a 95% revenue increase to $2.2bn. The fintech’s diversified revenue streams and strategic initiatives, including new products and market expansions, have positioned it for further significant growth and success.
Sage Group plc
Sage Group is a UK-based company providing cloud business management solutions for SMBs. The group offers software for accounting, finance, payroll, and human resources and its products help businesses automate processes, improve efficiency, and ensure compliance.
During the period, Sage continued to introduce new AI-powered products and services that delivered enhanced productivity and insights for the group. In the third quarter, Sage’s total revenue increased by 9% to £585m, driven by continued growth across the Sage Business Cloud portfolio. The group has supported thousands of entrepreneurs in underserved communities with loan funds and grants, in addition to helping develop STEM skills in over 10,000 young people in the UK.
Wireless Logic Group Ltd
Wireless Logic is a global leader in IoT and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) managed services. Founded in 2000, the group offers connectivity, control, and security solutions across mobile and satellite networks. Its services enhance operational efficiency for sectors like energy, healthcare, logistics, and retail.
In April this year, Wireless Logic, secured a milestone global reseller agreement with SpaceX’s Starlink. The agreement integrates Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity into Wireless Logic’s extensive portfolio of managed services, offering greater flexibility and choice for global IoT deployments. Wireless Logic has achieved consistent organic revenue growth and reported expanding EBITDA margins and excellent operating cash conversion.
The event
Sponsorship
Sponsorship opportunities sometimes become available including sponsorship of an individual award, sponsorship of the official drinks reception or sponsorship of the menu. Sponsorship opportunities are, by their very nature, limited. Costs and availability on request.
Hosting a table
Reservations will be available for tables of ten people. Numbers are strictly limited and reservations are taken on a first come, first served basis.
Advertising
Advertising in the digital brochure is welcomed and enables your key messages to reach a highly targeted audience. The digital event brochure is available to download on the night and contains details of the all nominees, the programme for the night and the menu. Uniquely, it also contains the names of all attendees, in alphabetical and table order. Thus it is widely used as a reference post event for up to a year afterwards.
Bespoke sponsorship opportunities
We offer a range of bespoke sponsorship packages, tailor made to suit your marketing objectives and budget. Further information on request.
Enquiries
For all enquiries relating to the UK tech awards, please do get in touch with jo.thomas@ford-sinclair.co.uk.
Key details for guests
Date
Thursday 14 November 2024
Venue
Hotel InterContinental
One Hamilton Place
Park Lane
London W1J 7QY
Start time
6.00 p.m. – drinks reception
7.30 p.m. – dinner
12.00 midnight – carriages
Dress code
Black tie
Charity collection
A charity collection will be taken up during the course of the evening and the UK tech awards team will be available throughout to accept contactless donations. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Accommodation
Hotel InterContinental, London, W1
A special rate of £385 per room per night inclusive of VAT and English breakfast has been secured for the night of 14 November 2024, subject to availability.
Please find below the link to book; the cut-off date is 31 October 2024.
book a room
Location
Latest media
Charity
2024 charity collection
A collection will take place at the UK tech awards 2024 and the total amount raised will be shared equally between our two supported charities, BBC Children in Need and BCCS. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
BBC Children in Need believes that every child should have the chance to thrive.
The charity makes sure there’s someone able to give food, clothes and beds to a child living without; someone qualified to talk to a child who is anxious, isolated or grieving; someone trained to mentor teenagers in communities facing inequality or violence; someone to be there for children living with serious illness or a disability.
We are asking you to help make life lighter for children.
BCCS is an established children's charity that delivers vital mental health and emotional wellbeing services across East London.
The charity works to improve the lives and life chances of children and young people by offering a wide range of highly professional support and advice services for issues such as anxiety, self-harm, bullying, bereavement, parental separation and family conflict.
The charity’s unique approach is to intervene as soon as problems are identified and work with the child and their family for as long as it takes to put things right.