Discover High-Growth Martech Companies
Lily Ruaah, 01 February 2024
Looking at any tech sector, we will see a lot of change and martech is no outlier. As the market progresses and more and more companies pop up, martech businesses will need to shake up their marketing strategy to stand out.
We’ve seen a 133.8% growth rate in martech between 2014-2023, and the industry is predicted to grow a further 19.8% from 2023 to 2030. It’s going to be harder and harder to differentiate yourself in a saturated market, as a martech company.
Keeping up to date with the latest news and market trends is essential for business success—we’ve put together this article to give you an insight into what’s to come in 2024.
What is martech?
Martech stands for marketing technology. Martech helps companies automate, develop, and improve their marketing. This can be anything supporting: sending a newsletter, writing social posts, uploading blog content, organising events, and more.
The martech landscape is constantly evolving with the introduction of new technologies and the changing dynamics of digital marketing.
Methodology
We used a unique methodology to select our top 10 early-stage, high-growth martech companies.
We’ve ranked early-stage (seed or venture) private martech companies that have received equity in 2023, based on the total amount of equity raised. These businesses are all headquartered in the UK and have hit at least one of our high-growth tracking signals.
The landscape of martech
Looking at our methodology, there’s a clear indication that the martech industry is growing. From just seven active martech companies in 2014, there are now 67 active, high-growth martech companies.
We wanted to see if this trend continued to all martech companies in the UK, so we widened the search to include:
- All stages of growth
- Any kind of funding received, including none
- Hit one or more of our signals
There was still evident growth in the martech sector. In fact, the number of martech companies rose by 133.8% between 2014-2023.
That being said, the amount raised by these companies fell, from £388m in 2022 to £148m in 2023. This could simply be because martech companies are now in their developmental stages, or it could be because the overall economic climate in the UK has been on a down trajectory.
It could also be that investors have noticed the saturation of the market, and have started to pull back. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem to have an impact on the overall growth of the sector.
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What’s coming up in martech?
For a full picture of where martech is headed, we need to look globally. According to Stastia, the global martech industry was worth $670b in 2023—and in the US alone, companies spent more than $7.5b on martech.
Chiefmartec reported the martech landscape grew 18.5% in the past six months, which shows just how much growth we’ve seen in martech recently. While this trajectory might not be sustainable, it points to a healthy expansion in 2024, at least.
It comes as no surprise that AI will continue to be a major trend in martech. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen a boom in AI integration in martech companies—if you’re not automating with AI, you’re falling behind.
As technology progresses, we will see more extreme versions of tech in marketing. One example is metaverse stores. We thought the metaverse may have been a fad, but it looks like it’s making a comeback, particularly for customer engagement. Companies such as Emperia offer clients the software to build metaverse stores, and they’ve already worked with big brands such as Dior. Emperia has seen recent backing, raising £8.06m in equity, in January 2023—and other big brands, particularly in B2C, may follow suit.
While there are plenty of new companies on the scene, it’s evident we aren’t going to see head honchos—HubSpot, Microsoft, Oracle—going anywhere anytime soon. With over 194k users, such as Reddit, Eventbrite, and Tumblr, HubSpot is often named one of the best all-in-one CRMs.
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Top 10 martech companies 2024
10.
Uncrowd
Location: London
Total equity raised: £7.14m
Uncrowd focuses on customer analytics—the idea is to improve sales through customer attraction, retention, and average transaction value. Uncrowd uses a unique combination of CX observation, quantitative measurement and comparative results to give clients data that helps them get a comprehensive overview of their audiences.
Uncrowd took part in the Mayor’s International Business Programme in 2020, and featured on the BusinessCloud RetailTech 50 high-growth list. It secured £7.14m over six fundraisings. In September 2023, it received £532k. Its most significant fundraising was £3m in 2021, from Arete Capital Partners, Begin Capital, Matrix Capital Management, and other undisclosed investors.
09.
Duel
Location: London
Total equity raised: £7.22m
Duel creates software and apps that allow companies to market their brands through gamified customer advocacy programs. Customers receive awards for completing tasks that increase brand awareness. The idea is to tap into a reliable, scalable channel for customer acquisition.
In 2023, the company raised £428k from Minerva Business Angel Network, and other undisclosed investors—bringing their total raised up to £7.22m over 13 fundraisings. It was listed on the BusinessCloud MarTech 50 in 2022, and took part in the Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator in 2017.
08.
Emperia
Location: London
Total equity raised: £8.66m
Emperia has developed VR tech for the fashion and arts industry—aimed at boosting marketing and sales. Since launching, Emperia has helped brands like Dior and Burberry create and manage their metaverse storefronts.
This London company has received three rounds of funding. The most significant in 2023 was for £8.06m, from multiple investors, such as Background Capital, Base10, Concept Ventures, and Stanford Capital Partners, among others. It took part in the Augmentor accelerator in 2020, and was named on the Createch Ones to Watch high-growth list, also in 2020.
07.
OnePulse
Location: London
Total equity raised: £8.73m
OnePulse has created an app that enables users to earn money by completing market research surveys. Companies can target particular user segments and set the compensation they are prepared to offer for gathering feedback.
Since its inception in 2011, OnePulse has secured seven fundraisings, totalling £8.73m. Most recently it received £420k from Blackfinch Ventures. The company also participated in the Mayor’s International Business Programme, an accelerator.
06.
Threedium
Location: London
Total equity raised: £12.9m
Threedium provides 3D advertising, and web configuration services. It enables clients to make 3D product experiences across online stores—imagine being able to see the full 3D option of a clothing item as opposed to just 2D static pictures. It’s all powered by its state-of-the-art engine, Unlimited3D.
It was named on the BusinessCloud 100 eCommerce Trailblazers and the Deloitte Fast 50 high-growth lists, in 2020 and 2023 respectively—and took part in the Mayor’s International Business Programme. Threedium has raised £12.9m in total—£9.09m in 2023, from EdenBase, Interpublic Group, Kinisis Investment, Lyra Ventures, and several others.
05.
Komi
Location: London
Total equity raised: £13.8m
Komi has designed a digital platform that assists content creators in crafting landing pages to showcase their work to followers on various social media networks—it’s aimed at people who don’t have a huge technical skill in website creation. It’s already signed big names such as Lizzo, Elton John, Jessica Alba, and more.
In 2023, the company secured £9.2m from Antler UK Fund, Contour Venture Partners, E & Capital, Laffitte Management Group, Live Nation, Sony Music Entertainment, and others. Overall, it’s raised £13.8m across three fundraising campaigns.
04.
Hook
Location: London
Total equity raised: £14.8m
Hook is a SaaS company specialising in marketing and customer retention software. The company uses AI to learn how customers act, and predict their future behaviour—this enables companies to mitigate churn, boost revenue, and save time.
At the end of 2023, Hook received a huge investment of £8.89m—overall, the company has secured £14.8m in funding through three campaigns. It’s attended the Grow London Global accelerator programme in 2023.
03.
Cloud Retail
Location: London
Total equity raised: £24.9m
Cloud Retail, also known as Jiffy or Jiffy Software, develops software for e-commerce companies. Its main offering is vending machines for companies that might otherwise never have thought of selling in that way. For example, selling high-end jewellery through touch-screen vending machines, in shopping centres.
Over three fundraisings, the company has secured £24.9m in total. The most recent fundraising, in 2023, was for £1.78m and came from I2BF Global Ventures, Somersault Ventures, and other undisclosed investors.
02.
Lunio
Location: North West
Total equity raised: £26.1m
Lunio has created automation software designed to minimise the risk of click fraud for PPC. The idea is to eliminate fake clicks, and stop distorted analytics. It works across multiple platforms such as Google, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, and more.
Lunio has secured five fundraisings since 2016, totalling £26.1m. In 2023, the company received £3.5m. The company took part in the Tech Nation Cyber accelerator in 2020, and was named on the BusinessCloud MarTech 50 high-growth list in 2022.
01.
Novatiq
Location: Wales
Total equity raised: £39.9m
Novatiq, formerly known as Smartpipe Solutions, has developed an internet service that enables telecommunications companies to offer anonymised client data to advertising agencies. This service allows clients to customise their mobile ads.
It has secured £39.9m in total since 2015, over seven fundraisings. In 2023, it received £11m from Intent HQ and other investors. This Welsh company was founded in 2019, and since then has expanded rapidly, growing from seed to venture stage of evolution.
Summary
According to Grand View Research, the global martech industry is projected to grow by 19.8% from 2023 to 2030—that means more and more companies will be trying to establish themselves on the market. As artificial intelligence plays a larger role in the way martech develops, we are likely to see a lot of change, and a lot of new innovative companies to watch out for.
The Beauhurst platform makes staying ahead easy. Our powerful data capabilities, combined with Hubspot’s comprehensive marketing tools, streamline your processes and enhance your marketing campaigns.
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