For the second year in a row, Bloomberg has compiled a list of UK startups in the context of artificial intelligence dominance. Bloomberg’s list of the top 25 startups in the United Kingdom in 2024 includes innovative businesses operating in biotechnology, advertising, finance, autonomous driving, quantum computing, and more.
After the last year’s stagnation, venture capital investments have grown again, and the interest in AI in the UK, sparked by OpenAI two years ago, has become evident. For reference: venture capital investment is financing provided to startups or small businesses with high growth potential but also risky. These investments usually come from specialised firms or investors called venture capitalists. The purpose of such investments is to make a large profit at the stage of the company’s successful development.
For example, Wayve, a London-based autonomous driving company, has raised $1 billion in funding, with SoftBank, Nvidia, and Microsoft joining in. But investors are not the only ones recognising British achievements in this area. Scientists at Google DeepMind, the UK’s artificial intelligence lab, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for a model that helped solve the 50-year-old problem of predicting protein structure.
Hundreds of entries from Cardiff, London, Bristol, Southampton and other parts of the British Isles also revealed innovative companies in green energy, carbon accounting, healthcare technology and a startup working to solve one of the great mysteries of quantum computing: how to make the technology accessible for practical applications.
The listing also included several ‘pioneers’ who were the first to offer new products to the market: Sibstar, a debit card and app designed for people with dementia, and Arondite, which creates software tools for the military. We invite you to learn more about the innovators of the UK market.
A green solution to plastic pollution
Polyurethane seems to be everywhere these days. It is present in everything from face creams to clothing and car parts. The chemical accounts for 8% of all plastic in the world. Algreen, a start-up co-founded by a PhD in chemistry, is creating a biodegradable alternative. With production centres in Asia, North America and Europe, it targets customers ranging from haute couture to the automotive industry. Algreen products can be used in the manufacture of auto parts, footwear and cosmetics.
Batteries for an ageing power grid
The average age of electricity distribution transformers in the UK is 67 years, and the grid is long overdue for renewal. This fact prompted the Allye Energy team to create an ‘AWS of energy storage’. The Allye MAX system uses car batteries, particularly from low-mileage vehicles, to store energy at the edge of the grid. The Allye MAX software ensures that this energy is distributed intelligently to where it is needed most. This solution can halve energy costs for households, businesses and industrial users.
Very easy to administer
ANNA, which stands for Absolutely No Nonsense Admin, is an app that streamlines financial accounting, helping small businesses handle tasks such as taxes and bookkeeping in as little as 10 minutes a week. Users can manage most financial administrative tasks through the app, which answers queries such as ‘What are my bank details?’ or ‘Get my bank statement’. Currently, the company has 78,000 business users in the UK alone, and next month it plans to launch business accounts with an administrator and taxes in Australia.
Audio advertising in games
Do you ever find yourself so frustrated by a 30-second advert on YouTube that you just close the tab? Traditional adverts in games can be so distracting that some players quit. That’s what prompted Christian Facey and Wilfried Obeng, Google alumni and video game enthusiasts, to create audio ads. The startup’s idea is simple: sound bites are less intrusive for gamers, allowing them to continue playing while absorbing advertising messages. The company plans to expand to non-gaming applications and advertise podcasts.
Defence technologies for autonomy
Arondite develops artificial intelligence and software for the military that improves the interaction between sensors, robotics and autonomous systems in the defence industry and the people who operate these systems. This is a highly expert development, as Will Blyth, one of Arondite’s founders, previously served as an infantry officer in the British Army and worked for the Ministry of Defence. His co-founder Rob Underhill was a senior engineer at BAE Systems before heading up the department at Garrison Technology.
AI-powered precision manufacturing
CloudNC aims to transform precision manufacturing with artificial intelligence. Their CAM Assist product speeds up the programming of CNC (computer numerical control) machines. This software uses AI to automatically create machining strategies, which reduces programming time by 80%. This helps manufacturers speed up production, reduce time, and estimate production cycles more accurately, which leads to more contracts.
CAM Assist solves complex problems in the industry. The London-based company says that its AI can save manufacturers hundreds of hours of programming every year. CAM Assist entered the market in mid-2023, and the company raised $78 million from investors Autodesk, Atomico, and Lockheed Martin.
An algorithm for designing new materials
Cusp AI aims to combat climate change by accelerating the discovery of sustainable materials. The Cambridge-based company boasts the presence of the ‘godfather of artificial intelligence’ and Nobel Prize winner Jeffrey Hinton on its advisory board. Cusp AI uses generative AI, deep learning, and molecular modelling to create a highly specialised search engine. Users describe the required properties for a new material, and the platform suggests the appropriate chemical composition.
Co-founder Max Welling was previously a distinguished scientist at Microsoft Research, and CEO and co-founder Chad Edwards is a chemist who worked on commercialising deep learning at Google. The company’s latest funding round raised $30 million from Hoxton Ventures, Basis Set Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
AI-based risk management platform
Datamaran, a London-based company, was created to bring order to the ‘complex world of ESG risks and rewards’ (ESG is a system used to assess a company’s performance and manage social, governance and environmental risks). The company monitors reputational and regulatory threats and helps clients monitor compliance with changing regulations in real time using analytics tailored to specific supply chains and industries. Its customers include Kraft Heinz, Dell, Deloitte, and PepsiCo. In its most recent funding round in September, Datamaran raised $33 million.
An end-to-end marketplace for low-carbon energy networks
Electron is trying to accelerate the transition to renewable energy by changing the way energy is traded.
Their platform for trading and scaling flexibility helps optimise power grids and support this transition.
As power grids become more congested, their ‘distributed flexibility marketplace’ allows for real-time optimisation of energy flows and grid capacity. The company recently raised £5 million from East Innovate, Riverstone, Nesta and One Planet Capital.
So far, you’ve read about a number of the leading UK startups featured in the latest Bloomberg rankings. Next time, we will introduce you to promising projects, including rental platforms for luxury brands, lightweight materials for spacecraft, cars and the defence sector, hands-on cyber training through real-world simulations, a machine learning-based antibody detection platform, real-world quantum computing and many other interesting things.
Tetiana Morarash
