Today we announce the latest group of companies who are joining, and graduating, from our Future Fifty programme. The companies chosen demonstrate growing location and sector diversity in the digital technology industry

The new intake (full list below) for the Future Fifty programme have been identified by a prestigious judging panel (included in the footnote) as some of the UK’s highest potential digital businesses for rapid, global expansion.

The full list of new joiners is as follows:

• Brandwatch (Brighton) – Description: DATA & ANALYTICS – a leading enterprise social intelligence company. Established: 2005. Raised $64.73m to date
• Buddi (Rickmansworth) – Description: DIGITAL HEALTH – a hardware and software provider to remotely monitor health and safety. Established: 2005
• Crowdcube (Exeter) – Description: FINTECH – a crowdfunding venture for entrepreneurs. Established: 2010. Raised $15.86m to date, over £100m raised by entrepreneurs through the platform
• Deliveroo (London) – Description: ECOMMERCE – a delivery platform bringing high end food to homes and offices via web and mobile. Established: 2013. Raised $199.59m to date
• FundApps (London) – Description: FINTECH – a software provider offering a cloud-based regulatory compliance monitoring service. Established: 2010. Monitoring over $1trn USD in assets on a daily basis
• iwoca (London) – Description: FINTECH – A FinTech startup offering flexible finance to the millions of SMEs across Europe . Established: 2011. Raised $31.45m to date
• LoopUp (London) – Description: ENTERPRISE – a SaaS solution for remote business meetings. Established: 2003
• Lost My Name (London) – Description: ECOMMERCE – marrying technology and publishing to create personalised children’s books. Established: 2012. Raised $9.84m to date and sold over 1m children’s books in the last two years
• MWR InfoSecurity (Basingstoke) – Description:  CYBER SECURITY – A research-led cyber security company. Established: 2003. Raised £3m to date
• NewVoiceMedia (Basingstoke) – Description: ENTERPRISE – a cloud customer contact platform to deliver a personalised customer service and drive a more effective sales team. Established: 2000. Raised $111.3m to date
• Peak (London) – Description:  DIGITAL HEALTH – a mobile cognitive training platform designed by neuroscientists. Established: 2013. Raised $10m to date, over 6m players in less than 12 months of operation
• Powa Technologies (London) – Description: ECOMMERCE – specialists integrating the physical and digital worlds. Established: 2007. Raised $176.7m to date – Series A investment of $76m was the single largest seed investment in a UK technology startup
• Space Ape Games (London) – Description: GAMING – award winning mobile gaming company focuses on high-quality, hand-crafted games. Established: 2012. Raised $11.2m to date
• The Floow Limited (Sheffield) – Description: INTERNET OF THINGS – An independent UK based telematics company which supports leading insurers, car manufacturers and fleet operators across the globe. Established: 2012
• Yieldify (London) – Description: DATA & ANALYTICS – ecommerce solutions to turn visitors into customers. Established: 2013. Raised $11.5m to date

Collectively, the new companies have raised more than $660m.

London’s position as the global leader in Fintech is reinforced yet again by the presence of three fast-growth financial technology companies – Crowdcube, iwoca and FundApps. Indicative of a maturing technology scene, the newest members of the Future Fifty demonstrate the diversity of the UK’s digital expertise. Other sectors represented include Cyber Security, Digital Health and Gaming.

This increase in range of sectors represented is coupled with the addition of some huge digital companies which are based outside of London, such as: Buddi (Rickmansworth), Brandwatch (Brighton) and The Floow (Sheffield).

The success of the digital industry continues to drive economic growth across the country. Whilst the majority of the incoming companies are based in London, 40 per cent are located outside the capital.

This announcement also marks the graduation of 15 companies which have been on the programme since the very beginning (2013):

• Unruly – Description: leading programmatic platform for social video advertising. Established: 2006. Acquired by NewsCorp for £114m
• Naked Wines – Description: online wine retailer. Established: 2008. Acquired by Magestic Wines for £70m
• MedicAnimal – Description: one of Europe’s largest and most trusted online retailers of veterinary products. Established: 2007. Acquired by Forward Dimension Capital (undisclosed)
• Funding Circle – Description: an online marketplace where people can directly lend to small businesses in the UK. Established: 2010. Raised $273.24m at a valuation of over $1bn
• Farfetch – Description: brings together independent fashion boutiques to create luxury ecommerce platform. Established: 2008. Raised $194.5m at a valuation of over $1bn
• Shazam – Description: media engagement company offering an app that connects people to the music they love. Established: 1999. Raised $130m at a valuation of over $1bn
• Hailo – Description: free smartphone app that allows passengers to get a taxi or licensed car. Established: 2011. Raised $100.6m to date
• Huddle – Description: enterprise content collaboration company that builds network for secure cross-organisation cloud. Established: 2006. Raised $89.2m to date
• MADE.com – Description: an online ecommerce platform directly providing designer furniture. Established: 2010. Raised $81.06m to date
• Onefinestay – Description: offering city accommodation for visitors while the homeowner is out of town. Established: 2009. Raised $80.9m to date
• Datasift – Description: social data platform enabling companies to aggregate social media activity. Established: 2010. Raised $77.89m to date
• eToro – Description: social trading and investment network, offering traders easy access to the currency, commodity & equity markets. Established: 2007. Raised $72.9m to date
• Secret Escapes – Description: exclusive members only travel club from travel experts. Established: 2010. Raised $72.86m to date
• Synthesio – Description: provides social listening, analytics and social ROI in one simple tool. Established: 2006
• MODE – Description: technological solutions to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) worldwide. Established: 2010

Since the programme was founded in 2013, the Future Fifty companies combined have raised a total of £791 million and operate in 170 countries worldwide. The programme has assisted some of the most successful digital businesses in the UK, including Funding Circle, UNRULY and Zopa.

Sara Murray, Founder of buddi, said “We are excited to be joining a programme that has supported high-growth British businesses like Hailo and Shazam. Buddi is changing the way our active, independent parents and grandparents safely stay in their own homes as they age. We Brits are an innovative bunch and I think the FutureFifty programme will help to ensure our digital economy becomes increasingly competitive in a global marketplace.”

Asi Sharabi, Co-Founder and CEO of Lost My Name, said “The last decade has seen the UK build an enviable reputation as a place where technology businesses can successfully grow. But in order to safeguard this status, it’s vital that our brightest startups receive both the support and opportunities they need to scale. Tech City UK’s Future Fifty programme is crucial in this regard and I’m delighted that Lost My Name has been selected as part of the latest intake.”