Tech firms to watch make list of ‘most promising’
ACOMPANY developing compostable food packaging from seaweed and another building farming robots are among the South West tech firms selected for prominent growth programmes.
Industry experts Tech Nation has identified 15 “promising” firms from across the region which it said had the potential to scale and strengthen the national sector.
Between them the businesses, which range from start-ups to laterstage enterprises, have raised hundreds of millions in investment and created more than 1,000 jobs.
Two of the businesses have joined Tech Nation’s ‘Future Fifty’ programme – an influential network of the UK’s leading later-stage tech companies.
Tech Nation said six of the companies had female founders, while three belonged to the South West’s burgeoning Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub.
Alumni of Tech Nation growth schemes include travel search engine Skyscanner and Monzo bank, as well as three UK firms to be valued at more than $10 billion – fintechs Revolut and Wise, and online luxury fashion platform Farfetch.
Of the 15 businesses earmarked for success these are the ones with links to Devon, Dorset and Cornwall:
Data Duopoly, Cornwall: Founded by Tanuvi Ethunandan and Erin Morris at Falmouth University’s venture studio Launchpad, the start-up is “revolutionising the visitor experience” in venues worldwide with an app which tracks and monitors visitor distribution, reducing queues and managing bottlenecks at theatres, museums and theme parks.
Husmus, Dorset: The Poolebased insurtech-proptech start-up is looking to shape the future of renting with a smart platform that offers landlords and tenants tailored insurance packages that looks to eliminate high costs and risks.
Filmily, Devon: The Totnes-based media firm harvests video content from thousands of mobile phones at events. It uses AI and computer vision to understand everything about each second of each recording and add relevant tags (faces, brands, objects) to understand what the camera saw. This data can be used with AI to then create branded films for clients.
Ooooby, Devon: With a name that stands for ‘Out Of Our Own Backyards’ the online marketplace for food producers, founded by Dartington-based Pete Russell, facilitates sales and logistics from gate-toplate. It is already operating across the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Others from outside the Westcountry highlighted include Graphcore, Bristol, an AI chip maker, valued at more than £2 billion last year, which has developed one of the most advanced intelligence processing units in the world.
The technology is used in machine learning globally to help power driverless cars and robots.
Also highly regarded is Huboo, Bristol, a fast-growing e-commerce fulfilment firm with technology that enables online retailers to access and complete end-to-end fulfilment operations.
The Bristol firm was identified in a government report last year as one of three companies within the city’s burgeoning tech sector expected to
attain a “unicorn” valuation of more than $1bn over the coming years.
Kelpi, based in Bath and working with the University of Bath, is working to develop compostable packaging using biomaterial derived from seaweed, in a bid to reduce the use of single-use plastics in the food industry.
Reach Industries in Bristol, a software developer, has come up with Lumi platform, which uses computer vision, voice and machine learning, is designed to help manage operations in scientific laboratories, so they can tackle world challenges quickly and more efficiently.
Meanwhile in Gloucestershire, the software developer Softlink.ai’s app enables online retailers to build websites, landing pages, shop and accept payment online with inbuilt email marketing and business automation, all via smartphone. The Gloucester company has a particular focus on Africa, with an office in Lagos.
Back in Bristol, Kinherit is a platform developed by the law firm designed to reduce hassle and confusion involved in setting up a Will, and helps people to make a digital end-of-life plan with their families, ensuring that no information is missed, or assets lost, during the process.
Also in Bristol, Clue is a Software as a Service (SaaS) investigation case management and intelligence platform.
It is used by governments, police, private, and non-profit sectors globally to help counter threats including fraud, organised crime, modern slavery, corruption, environmental crime and more.