The Artificial Intelligence Top 50 UK

Sarah Cheesman, updated: 25 January 2024

We’ve ranked the top 50 artificial intelligence (AI) companies in the UK, by total amount of equity investment received to date. This includes funds raised through publicly-announced deals, as well as unannounced rounds.

Artificial intelligence has become an essential tool for the world’s leading tech companies, including the likes of Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. But it’s not just Big Tech getting in on the action—the UK is home to a fast-growing population of startups and scaleups, developing their own AI technology and new applications for machine learning algorithms and data science.

Spanning almost every high-growth industry, from cybersecurity and healthcare automation to chatbots and self-driving cars, there are endless ways in which AI models are being used to help consumers and businesses.

Learn more about how our client, Puma Private Equity, has improved their prospecting and due diligence processes with Beauhurst.

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The state of artificial intelligence in the UK

A popular place for artificial intelligence companies to set up shop, there are currently 1,546 AI companies across the UK that have hit one or more of our high-growth signals—all indicators of ambitious growth plans and future startup success. Since our original article from 2022, the UK AI market has boomed, we’ve seen a lot of growth with companies such as Brainpool AI, a company that uses AI for consultancy and to help their clients build custom solutions for their business.

There were just 1,486 AI companies across the UK that hit one or more of our high-growth signals in May 2022—securing £8.48b in equity investment. Now, collectively these businesses have secured £12.4b worth of equity investment, across 4,534 rounds, making artificial intelligence one of the best-funded sectors in the UK (behind fintech).

In this annual ranking, we profile the private AI startups and scaleups that have secured the most investment in the UK so far. Read on to find out who they are, how much they’ve raised, and how they’re innovating in 2024.

The Artificial Intelligence Top 50 UK

50. CloudNC

49. Healthily

48. Streetbees

47. BMLL Technologies

46. Secondmind

45. Lifebit

44. Quantum Motion

43. Beacon

42. Peptone

41. Chip

40. Holdpapers

39. Causaly

38. PolyAi

37. ieso

36. Speechmatics

35. Intent HQ

34. Faculty

33. Constellation AI

31. Healx

31. Sylvera

30. Roborace

29. Partnerize

28. ZOE

27. Signal AI

26. Peak

25. Infogrid

24. Stability AI

23. ComplyAdvantage

22. Builder.ai

21. RedCloud

20. Featurespace

19. Synthesia

18. Envisics

17. ContractPodAI

16. Tractable

15. Raylo

14. YuLife

13. Beamery

12. Wayve

11. Onfido

10. Oxa

09. Callsign

08. Lendable

07. Huma

06. Patsnap

05. Quantexa

04. Gousto

03. Cera

02. Thought Machine

01. Graphcore

The Artificial Intelligence Top 50 UK

10.

Oxa

Total amount raised: £185m
Total equity rounds: 5
Established: 2014
Location: Oxford

Oxa develops software designed to power driverless vehicles, with technology that uses features such as cameras and lasers in order to sense and navigate the surrounding environment. In 2023, the UK government announced that Oxa had been included in their Advanced Manufacturing Plan, setting out £150m of investment to supercharge the self-driving vehicle sector. They have received £185m to date through five rounds of fundraising, including £113m in December 2022, aimed at selling its software to a wider range of industries and growing worldwide.

09.

Callsign

Total amount raised: £215m
Total equity rounds: 5
Established: 2010
Location: City of London

Focusing on creating smooth customer interactions, AI company Callsign has produced technology for passive authentication, fraud prevention, and intelligence. Its proprietary technology uses artificial intelligence to mimic how humans recognise each other.

In October 2021, Visa choseCallsign as their preferred behavioural biometric and device intelligence identity partner across Europe.

Callsign is the world’s fastest-growing behavioural authentication and intelligence company. It has raised a total of £215m in investment, across five funding rounds. The company’s main investors include JP Morgan, AllegisCyber, and NightDragon Security.

08.

Lendable

Total amount raised: £216m
Total equity rounds: 7
Established: 2014
Location: Hackney

Lendable is a fintech company developing a peer-to-peer lending platform for consumer finance. The company’s AI software matches users with appropriate investors, leveraging artificial intelligence and automated underwriting to quickly approve loans. Lendable also offers loans to those with lower credit scores to provide a fairer borrowing solution. Lendable has raised £216m, across seven funding rounds, since 2014. It’s expanded to offices in New York, Nairobi, and Singapore, and has featured in several high growth lists: 2022’s FT 1000, the Deloitte Fast 50 in both 2019 and 2020, and the Fast Tech Track 100, also in 2019 and 2020. Additionally, in 2018, Lendable participated in Addleshaw Goddard’s AG Elevate accelerator programme for scaling fintech startups.

07.

Huma

Total amount raised: £236m
Total equity rounds: 10
Established: 2011
Location: Westminster

​​Huma (previously Medopad) is developing a web-based portal for hospitals and healthcare professionals to contain, manage, and collect health records. This data is then accessible to patients through a mobile app.

Alongside its main goal of managing healthcare data, Huma also works on digital health insights and has developed wearable technology to detect digital biomarkers and assess health in real-time. Huma has been working with many organisations around the world, including the NHS, to monitor COVID-19 patients remotely.

The AI company has secured £236m in fundraisings, from investors including Healthbox, Nexus Investments, Bayer, and NWS Holdings. In 2020, the company acquired two businesses: stress and productivity biometric startup BioBeats, and Tarilian, an optoelectronic sensor company that makes technology for measuring blood pressure and heart monitoring.

They have since acquired Alcedis, developers of a platform for the digitisation of clinical trials that can be integrated with third-party systems, and iPLATO, developers of an app that improves patients’ access to GP practices through an online booking system, and provides a platform for healthcare campaigns.

10.

Total amount raised: £185m
Total equity rounds: 5
Established: 2014
Location: Oxford

Oxa develops software designed to power driverless vehicles, with technology that uses features such as cameras and lasers in order to sense and navigate the surrounding environment. In 2023, the UK government announced that Oxa had been included in their Advanced Manufacturing Plan, setting out £150m of investment to supercharge the self-driving vehicle sector. They have received £185m to date through five rounds of fundraising, including £113m in December 2022, aimed at selling its software to a wider range of industries and growing worldwide.

9. Callsign

Total amount raised: £215m
Total equity rounds: 5
Established: 2010
Location: City of London

Focusing on creating smooth customer interactions, AI company Callsign has produced technology for passive authentication, fraud prevention, and intelligence. Its proprietary technology uses artificial intelligence to mimic how humans recognise each other. In October 2021, Visa choseCallsign as their preferred behavioural biometric and device intelligence identity partner across Europe. Callsign is the world’s fastest-growing behavioural authentication and intelligence company. It has raised a total of £215m in investment, across five funding rounds. The company’s main investors include JP Morgan, AllegisCyber, and NightDragon Security.

8. Lendable

Total amount raised: £216m
Total equity rounds: 7
Established: 2014
Location: Hackney

Lendable is a fintech company developing a peer-to-peer lending platform for consumer finance. The company’s AI software matches users with appropriate investors, leveraging artificial intelligence and automated underwriting to quickly approve loans. Lendable also offers loans to those with lower credit scores to provide a fairer borrowing solution. Lendable has raised £216m, across seven funding rounds, since 2014. It’s expanded to offices in New York, Nairobi, and Singapore, and has featured in several high growth lists: 2022’s FT 1000, the Deloitte Fast 50 in both 2019 and 2020, and the Fast Tech Track 100, also in 2019 and 2020. Additionally, in 2018, Lendable participated in Addleshaw Goddard’s AG Elevate accelerator programme for scaling fintech startups.

06.

Patsnap

Total amount raised: £251m
Total equity rounds: 4
Established: 2007
Location: Southwark

Patsnap has created a web-based platform to help clients assess intellectual property patents, with access to patent expiry dates, licensing, renewal, and legal information for tech companies.

The lawtech company’s platform is powered by artificial intelligence algorithms and natural language processing, to parse patents and IP, as well as extract and cross-match critical information. It can even analyse more complex documents, like clinical trials, chemical structures patents, and litigation records.

Patsnap has over 10k customers in over 50 countries, including big names like Tesla, Dyson, and NASA. So far, the company has secured £251m in investment, across four funding rounds.

05.

Quantexa

Total amount raised: £286m
Total equity rounds: 6
Established: 2016
Location: Lambeth

Quantexa is a cybersecurity firm that develops AI technology to secure organisations’ data and flag illegal activity. It works closely with industries that handle large datasets (such as banking, e-commerce, and the public sector), to create analytical models that uncover data risk, reveal opportunities, and enhance decision making.

The company is backed by AlbionVC, Dawn Capital, HSBC Enterprise Fund, and Accenture, among others. In its latest funding round, Quantexa raised £104m in investment. This took the company’s total fundraisings to £286m.

Quantexa has attended both the Microsoft ScaleUp accelerator and Tech Nation’s Future Fifty accelerator. It has also appeared on several high-growth lists, including The Telegraph’s Tech Hot 100, Fast Track’s Tech Track 100, InsurTech 100, and the 2021 edition of The Regtech 100.

7. Huma

Total amount raised: £236m
Total equity rounds: 10
Established: 2011
Location: Westminster

​​Huma (previously Medopad) is developing a web-based portal for hospitals and healthcare professionals to contain, manage, and collect health records. This data is then accessible to patients through a mobile app. Alongside its main goal of managing healthcare data, Huma also works on digital health insights and has developed wearable technology to detect digital biomarkers and assess health in real-time. Huma has been working with many organisations around the world, including the NHS, to monitor COVID-19 patients remotely. The AI company has secured £236m in fundraisings, from investors including Healthbox, Nexus Investments, Bayer, and NWS Holdings. In 2020, the company acquired two businesses: stress and productivity biometric startup BioBeats, and Tarilian, an optoelectronic sensor company that makes technology for measuring blood pressure and heart monitoring. They have since acquired Alcedis, developers of a platform for the digitisation of clinical trials that can be integrated with third-party systems, and iPLATO, developers of an app that improves patients’ access to GP practices through an online booking system, and provides a platform for healthcare campaigns.

6. Patsnap

Total amount raised: £251m
Total equity rounds: 4
Established: 2007
Location: Southwark

Patsnap has created a web-based platform to help clients assess intellectual property patents, with access to patent expiry dates, licensing, renewal, and legal information for tech companies. The lawtech company’s platform is powered by artificial intelligence algorithms and natural language processing, to parse patents and IP, as well as extract and cross-match critical information. It can even analyse more complex documents, like clinical trials, chemical structures patents, and litigation records. Patsnap has over 10k customers in over 50 countries, including big names like Tesla, Dyson, and NASA. So far, the company has secured £251m in investment, across four funding rounds.

5. Quantexa

Total amount raised: £286m
Total equity rounds: 6
Established: 2016
Location: Lambeth

Quantexa is a cybersecurity firm that develops AI technology to secure organisations’ data and flag illegal activity. It works closely with industries that handle large datasets (such as banking, e-commerce, and the public sector), to create analytical models that uncover data risk, reveal opportunities, and enhance decision making. The company is backed by AlbionVC, Dawn Capital, HSBC Enterprise Fund, and Accenture, among others. In its latest funding round, Quantexa raised £104m in investment. This took the company’s total fundraisings to £286m. Quantexa has attended both the Microsoft ScaleUp accelerator and Tech Nation’s Future Fifty accelerator. It has also appeared on several high-growth lists, including The Telegraph’s Tech Hot 100, Fast Track’s Tech Track 100, InsurTech 100, and the 2021 edition of The Regtech 100.

04.

Gousto

Total amount raised: £321m
Total equity rounds: 14
Established: 2012
Location: Shepherds Bush

Gousto is a meal kit delivery service that provides exact ingredients and portions to customers with instructions on how to prepare the dish. The food tech unicorn, backed by celebrity fitness coach, Joe Wicks, and Japanese investment giant SoftBank, is powered by AI, a technology used since its founding.

They have received £321m in funding to date, through 14 rounds of funding. The most recent of these was in February 2023, which saw £50m invested to support them during times of economic uncertainty. Their post-money valuation was listed as £239m.

They have been named on a number of high-growth lists, including the FT 1000, Fast Track Tech Track 100, and Top 100 – Britain’s Fastest Growing Businesses. They also attended the Future Fifty accelerator in 2017.

03.

Cera

Total amount raised: £366m
Total equity rounds: 9
Established: 2015
Location: Islington

Cera provides homecare, telehealth consultations, and prescription services, which can be managed through a mobile app, which also allows users to book appointments with nurses on demand. To date, they have secured £366m through nine rounds of fundraising. In August 2022, they raised £81.3m to invest in increasing their capacity to help more patients, a project that was invested into by 8090 Partners, Evolve Healthcare Partners, Guinness Ventures, and Jane Street, amongst others. They have attended DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, PwC Scale Programmes, and Govstart.

02.

Thought Machine

Total amount raised: £392m Total equity rounds: 8 Established: 2011 Location: Islington
Thought Machine develops fintech software Vault, which enables banks and financial services providers to centrally manage a range of products. Its core banking platforms can be used to run day-to-day operations, improving the cost, speed, and adaptability of legacy systems. Thought Machine’s software is accessed through an API and has a large artificial intelligence component. The AI company has raised £398m in growth capital so far, across seven funding rounds, with the likes of Molten Ventures (previously Draper Esprit), IQ Capital, Playfair Capital, and British Patient Capital. Its most recent fundraising, secured in July 2020, saw the company valued at £221m pre-money. Alongside new investors ING Ventures, JP Morgan Chase Strategic Investments, and Standard Charter Investments, this latest raise also saw Thought Machine reach unicorn status.

01.

Graphcore

Total amount raised: £528m
Total equity rounds: 9
Established: 2015
Location: City of Bristol

Graphcore operates in the semiconductor processing chip industry, developing and manufacturing chips made specifically to accelerate artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks. Graphcore’s chips use Intelligence Process Unit (IPU) technology, housing 1,472 separate IPU-Cores, capable of executing 8,832 separate parallel computing threads.

The Bristol-based AI startup has grown from strength to strength since 2016, with a total of nine funding rounds under its belt, which saw it reach unicorn status after just four years of trading. Graphcore has raised more than half a billion pounds in investment, and is partnered with large tech companies such as Microsoft and Dell Technologies. The company has offices in London, Cambridge, Oslo, Beijing, Seoul, and across the US.

4. Gousto

Total amount raised: £321m
Total equity rounds: 14
Established: 2012
Location: Shepherds Bush

Gousto is a meal kit delivery service that provides exact ingredients and portions to customers with instructions on how to prepare the dish. The food tech unicorn, backed by celebrity fitness coach, Joe Wicks, and Japanese investment giant SoftBank, is powered by AI, a technology used since its founding. They have received £321m in funding to date, through 14 rounds of funding. The most recent of these was in February 2023, which saw £50m invested to support them during times of economic uncertainty. Their post-money valuation was listed as £239m. They have been named on a number of high-growth lists, including the FT 1000, Fast Track Tech Track 100, and Top 100 – Britain’s Fastest Growing Businesses. They also attended the Future Fifty accelerator in 2017.

3. Cera

Total amount raised: £366m
Total equity rounds: 9
Established: 2015
Location: Islington

Cera provides homecare, telehealth consultations, and prescription services, which can be managed through a mobile app, which also allows users to book appointments with nurses on demand. To date, they have secured £366m through nine rounds of fundraising. In August 2022, they raised £81.3m to invest in increasing their capacity to help more patients, a project that was invested into by 8090 Partners, Evolve Healthcare Partners, Guinness Ventures, and Jane Street, amongst others. They have attended DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, PwC Scale Programmes, and Govstart.

2. Thought Machine

Total amount raised: £392m
Total equity rounds: 8
Established: 2011
Location: Islington

Thought Machine develops fintech software Vault, which enables banks and financial services providers to centrally manage a range of products. Its core banking platforms can be used to run day-to-day operations, improving the cost, speed, and adaptability of legacy systems. Thought Machine’s software is accessed through an API and has a large artificial intelligence component. The AI company has raised £398m in growth capital so far, across seven funding rounds, with the likes of Molten Ventures (previously Draper Esprit), IQ Capital, Playfair Capital, and British Patient Capital. Its most recent fundraising, secured in July 2020, saw the company valued at £221m pre-money. Alongside new investors ING Ventures, JP Morgan Chase Strategic Investments, and Standard Charter Investments, this latest raise also saw Thought Machine reach unicorn status.

1. Graphcore

Total amount raised: £528m
Total equity rounds: 9
Established: 2016
Location: City of Bristol

Graphcore operates in the semiconductor processing chip industry, developing and manufacturing chips made specifically to accelerate artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks. Graphcore’s chips use Intelligence Process Unit (IPU) technology, housing 1,472 separate IPU-Cores, capable of executing 8,832 separate parallel computing threads. The Bristol-based AI startup has grown from strength to strength since 2016, with a total of nine funding rounds under its belt, which saw it reach unicorn status after just four years of trading. Graphcore has raised more than half a billion pounds in investment, and is partnered with large tech companies such as Microsoft and Dell Technologies. The company has offices in London, Cambridge, Oslo, Beijing, Seoul, and across the US.
The future of artificial intelligence companies in the UK

With so many innovative and exciting AI companies putting their roots down in the UK, this industry has a promising future. As the global AI industry continues to evolve, the UK stands at the forefront of this technological revolution. With a strong foundation in academic research and a burgeoning ecosystem of AI startups, the nation is well-positioned to lead in various AI domains.

UK-based AI companies are expected to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of industries such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and cybersecurity. The integration of AI technologies into these sectors has the potential to drive unprecedented efficiencies, enhance decision-making processes, and contribute to economic growth. The UK government’s commitment to fostering innovation through initiatives like the Turing Artificial Intelligence Fellowships, alongside dedicated funding for AI research, underscores the national focus on becoming a global leader in artificial intelligence.

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