Yorkshire Post

Online safety firm Crisp hailed for role in protecting the public

- MARK CASCI BUSINESS EDITOR ■ Email: mark.casci@ypn.co.uk ■ Twitter: @MarkCasci

ONE OF Yorkshire’s biggest tech firms has been praised by the Government for its role in keeping people and businesses safe online.

Leeds-based tech firm Crisp has featured in a new report for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) which both claims the UK as the world leader in online safety innovation and highlights the important role Crisp is playing in the safety tech sector.

The report, Safer Technologi­es, was produced independen­tly and highlights significan­t growth within the sector.

The number of dedicated online safety firms has doubled in the last five years and investment increased more than eight-fold in 2019, making it a record year.

Crisp is headquarte­red in Leeds city centre and works with

‘We’ve been active in helping the government shape a safer online world.’

some of the biggest brands in the world to protect them online from false informatio­n.

Its global team of experts specialise in linguistic­s, reporting, psychology, data protection, law and regulation, to provide comprehens­ive weaponised social communicat­ions defence.

The report reads: “Crisp contribute­s to the safe, daily online experience­s for over two billion users (covering an estimated 400 million children) across the globe.

“Since its establishm­ent, Crisp has secured over £30m in external investment, and continues to rapidly expand while proudly keeping its roots firmly in Yorkshire.”

Adam Hildreth, CEO and cofounder of Crisp, said: “We started Crisp in 2005 with an aim to make the internet safer for children and teenagers using online games and social networks.

“Since then, we’ve grown our services to help firms, brands, publishers and social platforms all across the world manage their online safety.

“We’ve always been active in helping the UK government shape a safer online world and we’re pleased that we’ve been highlighte­d as a UK success in this report.

“Although over 85 per cent of our revenues and clients are from outside the UK, the vast majority of our staff and all of our technology is in Leeds.

“We’re proud to be part of a fast-growing and important UK tech sector, helping to keep people safe.”

Elsewhere, the main findings of the report are:

■ UK safety tech providers currently hold an estimated 25 per cent of the global market share.

■ In 2019, the sector generated £226m in annual revenues, and has grown rapidly with an estimated 35 per cent annual growth rate since 2016.

■ Some of the most establishe­d companies (those earning in excess of £5m) have grown at rates of up to 90 per cent a year, and the report estimates that safety tech revenues could exceed £1bn by 2025.

In addition, the report’s authors anticipate the UK is likely to see its first safety tech unicorn (a company worth over $1bn) emerge in the coming years.

Minister for Digital and Culture in the DCMS, Caroline Dinenage, said: “We are all spending more time online during the pandemic and this new report shows the value the Safety Tech sector could add as we look to power growth out of it.

“Its innovative products, many of which are developed in towns and cities across the country, are being used globally to help companies make their online platforms safer.

“The Government is leading the world developing online harms laws and it’s great to see our brilliant British tech industry is part of the solution.”

Establishe­d in 2005, Crisp began protecting children and teenagers using online games and social networks from online harms. Today it works with multiple blue chip companies to do the same.

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