The unicorn companies at the heart of the UK tech scene

The UK is home to 13 tech unicorns - private companies valued at $1 billion or more 
Amelia Heathman12 June 2018

The UK is officially the tech unicorn capital of Europe, according to research by Dealroom and Tech Nation.

A tech unicorn is a private company valued at more than $1 billion (£745 million). The name comes from the fact that unicorns are rare and do not come around very often.

That’s why it’s so exciting that the UK is home to 37 per cent of Europe’s total unicorn companies. These 13 companies have a combined total of $23 billion.

Why is the UK so full of unicorns at the moment?

For one, there is a lot of great talent in the UK. There are now 2.1 million people working in the digital tech economy building the ground-breaking companies.

As well, UK start-ups are attracting more venture capital funding than ever. Seven out of Europe’s top 10 VC funds call the UK home, as they want to get a slice of the country’s growing start-ups.

Wendy Tan White, Board Trustee Alan Turing Institute, and board member at Tech Nation, said: “As an entrepreneur and an investor I see that momentum in the UK technology sector is building relentlessly, helped by a world-class research and academic environment.

“Ambitious entrepreneurs no longer have to leave this island and head to the US to build the company of their dreams.”

Here are the 13 UK tech unicorns to know

1. BenevolentAI

With offices in Belgium, New York and London and a research facility in Cambridge, BenevolentAI is shaking up the medical scene in a big way.

The start-up uses artificial intelligence (AI) to develop new medicines for diseases such as Motor Neuron Disease and Parkinson’s Disease.

In April this year, BenevolentAI raised $115 million from new and existing investors to see it valued at $2 billion, one of the largest funding rounds in the AI pharmaceutical sector.

2. Blippar

Blippar specialises in augmented reality (AR) and computer vision technology to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds.

For London History Day in May, Blippar’s technology was used to create an AR app that unlocked the history of London’s blue plaques in an interesting initiative.

3. Darktrace

Darktrace is a really interesting company. It has developed its own machine learning technology, based on the body's immune system, for companies to fight off cyber attacks.

As well, Darktrace has not one, but two female CEOs: Nicole Eagan in the US and Poppy Gustafsson in the UK and EMEA.

After just five years, Darktrace was valued at $1.25 billion earlier this year.

4. Deliveroo

Though started by two Americans, Will Shu and Greg Orlowski, Deliveroo is very much a London-based company. Started in 2013, the start-up works with more than 10,000 restaurants across the UK to deliver tasty food to customers in their homes.

This year the company launched an initiative to reduce plastic use in the delivery chain, such as making plastic cutlery opt-in and developing a new line of eco-packaging.

Deliveroo's new eco-friendly packaging
Deliveroo

5. Farfetch

Retail start-up Farfetch has revolutionised luxury fashion online. Housing collections from Gucci, Saint Laurent and Y/Project, you can shop using Farfetch in over 190 countries around the world.

Rumours are swirling that the company will soon be going public in New York, with a valuation of $5 billion.

6. Funding Circle

Launched in 2010, Funding Circle was part of the wave of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending marketplaces that swept through the UK. Though few survived, Funding Circle, with its offering of lending to small and medium-sized businesses, has soared.

The company is such a darling on the UK tech scene that its founder, Samir Desai, was awarded a CBE in 2015 for services to the financial sector.

Funding Circle's co-founder Samir Desai
Funding Circle

7. Immunocore

Another medical start-up on the list, Immunocore is focused on developing cancer drugs.

The company is working on developing a new category of drugs, named immunotherapies, which harness the immune system to destroy tumours.

Based in Abingdon near Oxford, Immunocore’s origins come from a company called Avidex, which was spun out of Oxford University in 1998.

8. Improbable

The Farringdon-based Improbable made headlines last year when it received $502 million in funding, the largest investment made in a European tech firm.

Improbably has created a platform named SpatialOS, which can be used to build advanced virtual worlds. So far, the tech has been used to create games, as well as simulations of cities and bodies.

Improbable founder Herman Narula at their offices in Farringdon
Matt Writtle

9. OakNorth Bank

OakNorth Bank is one of the series of challenger banks that have sprung up in the UK since the 2008 financial crisis.

Aimed at business banking, the bank reached unicorn status last year, the first of the new banks to do so.

OakNorth has developed its own AI software, named Acorn Machines, which uses data to empower lenders to offer finance to small and medium businesses.

10. Oxford Nanopore

Looking for a nanopore DNA sequencer? Well, Oxford-based unicorn Oxford Nanopore is the company that invented it.

The device, named MinION, is a portable, real-time, low-cost device that has been designed to bring easy biological analyses to anyone. MinION is aimed at anyone who works in scientific research, education or real-world situations such as environmental monitoring.

Since 2005, Oxford Nanopore has raised £451 million.

11. Revolut

One of the newest unicorns on the list, fintech (financial technology) challenger bank Revolut raised $250 million earlier this year meaning it's now valued at £1.2 billion.

Impressive, considering the company is only three years old.

Revolut now has 2 million customers across Europe, with around 900,000 in the UK alone. The company says it will be expanding to the US, Hong Kong and Australia later this year.

12. The Hut Group

The only North West company on the list, The Hut Group is an e-commerce company which owns brands such as LookFantastic, MyProtein and Zavvi.

Last year, The Hut Group received a £125 million investment, valuing the company at £2.5 billion.

The Hut Group recently acquired the global cosmetics brand Illamasqua
The Hut Group

13. TransferWise

TransferWise is the original fintech company in the UK. It was launched by two Estonian developers, Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, in London in 2011 after they were frustrated at the costs involved with international money transfers between bank accounts.

Now, TransferWise is worth $1.6 billion after successfully forging room for itself in the international transfers market.