Top 15 Bristol Tech Companies in 2024
Sarah Cheesman, Updated: 7 March 2024
Bristol tech companies account for 36% of the city’s high-growth businesses. Collectively, these 216 tech startups and scaleups employ over 10k people and reported a combined turnover of £223m in their latest financials.
Indeed, the tech sector is at the heart of Bristol’s startup ecosystem, with the region recently being named the UK’s fourth-best city for tech recruitment. Here, we explore Bristol’s tech scene in more detail, including some of the top tech startups to watch this year.
Bristol’s high-growth tech landscape
The Bristol tech ecosystem contains a healthy mix of tech giants (the likes of Amazon, Nokia, and Sony all have a base in or around the city) and emerging startups that are demonstrating impressive growth. Bristol boasts the greatest number of high-growth technology companies in the South West of England. And across the UK, it follows only behind the London (6,557), Edinburgh (308), Manchester (274), and Cambridge (245) tech scenes.
Bristol is also part of the Silicon Gorge technology hub—alongside Gloucester, Swindon, and Bath—these innovative tech cities have attracted large amounts of capital investment to the South West, as well as top-tier tech talent and entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, Bristol connects to the wider West of England’s tech ecosystem through organisations such as SETsquared, and TechSPARK, which works to strengthen the position of the region by bringing together its SMEs in a collaborative tech network.
Top tech sectors
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is the most common high-growth sector in Bristol’s tech ecosystem, accounting for 28% of the city’s technology businesses. Behind software companies are internet platforms (26%) and mobile apps (15%).
This follows trends seen across the UK’s wider high-growth ecosystem, where SaaS, internet platforms, and mobile apps are again the three most common tech sectors. Having said that, Bristol’s top tech companies span a wide range of industries, including fintech, cleantech, biotech, and pharmaceuticals.
Equity investment into Bristol tech companies
High-growth tech companies in Bristol are mostly early-stage, with 87% currently operating at the seed or venture stages of evolution, in keeping with trends seen across the country. But together, they’ve drawn in vast sums of venture capital investment: since 2012, Bristol tech companies have raised a total of £1.77b in equity finance, across 513 announced and unannounced funding rounds.
Taking a wider view of equity investment in Bristol tech companies, whilst just 12 fundraisings were announced in 2012 amounting to £9.15m, investment reached a peak in 2021 where 79 announced deals totalled £407m. In 2022, this dropped to 76 deals worth £233m and dropped further in 2023 to 57 deals worth £90.9m. However, there is context here — deals are down across the wider investment market due to market conditions such as higher interest rates. This is analysed in detail in our flagship report, The Deal.
Find out how the Science and Technology Facilities Council uses Beauhurst to identify high-potential companies looking to raise finance.
Bristol tech’s biggest raiser so far is semiconductor developer Graphcore. The company has secured an impressive £528m worth of equity fundraisings to date, and is one of two unicorn companies headquartered in the city. Fellow Bristol unicorn OVO (OVO Energy) has raised £259m in equity investment so far, across four funding rounds.
Top investors into Bristol’s tech ecosystem
Since 2011, equity crowdfunding company Seedrs leads the way with the largest total number of fundraisings, currently sitting at 47. This is closely followed by local angel network, Bristol Private Equity Club at 30. Also very active in the region are Parkwalk’s University of Bristol Enterprise Fund (14), SFC Capital (11), and WebStart Bristol (11).
Molten Ventures (formerly Draper Esprit) also tops the leaderboard for total value of fundraisings, having participated in £442m worth of announced equity rounds with Bristol tech startups so far. The leading VC fund has backed Bristol-based tech companies Graphcore, Xmos, and Focal Point Positioning. Meanwhile, the University of Bristol Enterprise Fund aims to support spinouts from the University and its business incubator, such as aerospace software developer Boxarr and clinical diagnostics technology company Micrima.
The tech companies in Bristol
We’ve ranked the 15 Bristol tech companies that have secured the biggest equity deals of the year so far. Every entrant in this list is a private business that has hit one or more of our high-growth tracking signals.
Read on to discover their growth journeys so far.
3Radical
Total amount raised: £12.6m
Total equity rounds: 12
Established: 2011
First on our list is 3Radical has developed a mobile app that helps brands increase customer engagement by gamifying commercial B2C actions. Users are rewarded with vouchers or ‘level ups’ by completing actions such as visiting a specific online store or making a purchase within a certain timeframe.
Founded in 2011, 3Radical has consistently raised a steady stream of equity fundraisings almost every year. More recently, the business has been featured in two high-growth lists — the South West Tech 50 (2020) and the BusinessCloud MarTech 50 (2022) and is currently valued at £4.63m.
QLM Technology
Total amount raised: £15.5m
Total equity rounds: Four
Established: 2017
QLM Technology, a spinout from the University of Bristol, has developed a quantum sensing system for the oil and gas industry, for the detection of methane leaks from wellheads and pipelines. Their technology uses eye-safe infrared semiconductor lasers in conjunction with a quantum Single Photon Avalanche Detector (SPAD) (Figure 1), which together acts like a “Geiger counter for light” to effectively count gas molecules in a gas plume out to distances of ~200 metres (~650ft).
The company has attended two accelerators; Seraphim Space Camp in 2018 and TechX Pioneer Accelerator in 2020.
Since being founded in 2017, it has raised a total of £15.5m through four investment rounds, as well as a further £1.95m through grant funding. Their most recent equity investment was in July 2022, contributed to by Bristol Private Equity Club, Britbots, British Business Bank Investments (BBI), Enterprise 100, Green Angel Syndicate, Newable Capital, Quantum Exponential, SLB, Wales Flexible Investment Fund, and other business angels. This was for a total of £12m to scale manufacturing processes and reduce costs.
BaseKit
Total amount raised: £17.1m
Total equity rounds: Eight
Established: 2008
BaseKit operates a website building and development service which partners with telecommunication and hosting companies to allow their customers to build websites without needing to write code. It aims to give people the confidence to build a business online. It attended the Seedcamp accelerator in 2008.
To date, this company has raised £17.1m through eight rounds of equity fundraising, with the largest of these being in April 2011 for £4m. Their most recent investment was in February 2022 for £967k. They have also been granted a further £277k, one through Seedcamp and another through Innovate UK.
Phasecraft
Total amount raised: £17.4m
Total equity rounds: Three
Established: 2008
Phasecraft provides quantum software, with applications in modelling and simulations, allowing scientists to predict the outcomes of chemical reactions. It is a spinout from two academic institutions: the University of Bristol in 2018 and University College London in 2020.
To date, it has raised £17.4m through equity investments, with the most recent of these being in August 2023. This was for a whopping £13m, giving them a post-money valuation of £51.2m. It has also received £1.83m through nine grants, including two contracts under the UK government’s Quantum Catalyst Fund, a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and Innovate UK.
Tumelo
Total amount raised: £17.5m
Total equity rounds: Four
Established: 2017
Tumelo has developed a mobile investment app that aims to help users finance businesses and causes they’re passionate about. The “tech for good” company was created as a university activism campaign, advocating to change the way the University of Cambridge invested its £6b endowment pot. Tumelo’s mission is to enable retail investors and pension members to create and benefit from a more sustainable investment system.
Since its launch in 2017, Tumelo has attended an impressive number of accelerator programmes: Entrepreneur Accelerator, Launch Space, AG Elevate, and Tech Nation Fintech. It has also raised £17.5m in equity investment, across four funding rounds (with investors including singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel). The fintech startup’s most recent fundraising, in May 2022, was a £15.3m round with Fidelity, Legal & General, Nucleus Adventure Capital, and Treasury, alongside angel investors.
Micrima
Total amount raised: £20m
Total equity rounds: Eight
Established: 2005
Clinical diagnostics company, Micrima, has developed breast scanning technology that allows scanning and detection of tumours in younger patients. It is another spinout from the University of Bristol, and appeared on the BusinessCloud MedTech 50 high-growth list in 2021.
The company has raised £20m through equity investments so far, with the most recent of these being in December 2023 for £5.13m. This gave it a post-money valuation of £26.9m. It has also been granted £2.62m, the majority of which was given in February 2008 through Innovate UK.
TravelLocal
Total amount raised: £21.4m
Total equity rounds: 11
Established: 2010
TravelLocal develops web-based software that helps to connect tourists with expert tour guides and locally-owned travel services in their holiday destination. In September 2023, it received a £7.29m investment from Active Partners, Gresham House Ventures, and Puma Investments to expand its international growth, develop its platform and invest in marketing. This is in addition to a further 10 investments since being founded in 2010.
It also acquired the German company trip.me in August 2021.
Rovco
Total amount raised: £32.5m
Total equity rounds: Eight
Established: 2015
Rovco provides underwater surveying and inspection services for a range of industries, such as oil and gas, scientific research, and renewables. The technology company uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help its clients make informed engineering decisions and de-risk their projects.
Rovco’s innovative technology includes autonomous subsea robotics, as well as 3D vision with machine-learning inspection. It has attended both the Entrepreneurial Spark and Upscale accelerator programmes, whilst also appearing in the South West Tech 50 high-growth list in 2020.
Since being founded in 2015, Rovco has raised £32.5m in equity investment, across eight funding rounds. In April 2022, in one of two rounds completed that year, the company secured a £22.7m equity and loan investment. Equinor Ventures, Foresight VCT, Legal & General Capital, IQT, and the UK Government’s Future Fund all participated in the round. It will be used to invest in marine infrastructure, clean energy, AI, and to expand overseas.
Blu Wireless
Total amount raised: £42.2m
Total equity rounds: Nine
Established: 2009
Blu Wireless is an internet and networking tech business that has developed 60GHz band technology for smartphones and tablets that aims to speed up wireless internet access. It plans to licence the technology to manufacturers of semiconductors and chips. It has been featured on two high-growth lists to date, including Top 100–Britain’s Fastest Growing Companies in 2018 and South West Tech 50 in 2020.
It has raised a total of £42.2m through nine rounds of equity fundraising, including a £12.6m round in May 2019. This had the aim of creating more jobs within the business, internationally deploying its devices using its HYDRA mmWave technology, as well as scaling its sales, software, and customer applications support teams.
Xmos
Total amount raised: £64.1m
Total equity rounds: Eight
Established: 2005
Xmos is a semiconductor company that designs and retails fabless semiconductors for a range of industries. It is a spinout from the University of Bristol, and featured on the South West Tech 50 list, as well as the 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain list—both in 2020.
It has raised £64.1m through eight rounds of equity fundraising, as well as a further £2.71m through grant funding. Their most recent fundraising round was contributed to by Future Fund and other undisclosed investors, for a total of £5.09m.
Moneyhub
Total amount raised: £71.9m
Total equity rounds: Six
Established: 2009
In the fifth spot on our list is Moneyhub, which develops software designed to allow businesses to aggregate and analyse customers’ financial data as well as facilitate rapid on-site payments via an API.
Since being founded in 2009, it has raised an impressive £71.9m through equity fundraising, the most recent of which was in December 2022 for £22.7m. They have also received £220k in grant funding through the West of England Growth Fund.
Ultraleap
Total amount raised: £145m
Total equity rounds: Eight
Established: 2013
Ultraleap is a consumer electronics company that develops hardware that tracks the spatial movements of the user, allowing them to interact with digital content. It is another spinout from the University of Bristol (in 2013), as well as an attendee on the Future Fifty accelerator in 2021 and the Grow London Global accelerator in 2023. It has appeared on six high-growth lists so far, including the King’s Awards for Innovation in 2018 and the BusinessCloud 100 MediaTech Innovators list in 2021.
To date, the company has raised a huge £145m through eight rounds of equity fundraising. This includes a £60m investment in November 2021 aimed at developing its computing platform. It has also received £2.90m in grant funding, and has made one acquisition—of American company Leap Motion in May 2019.
Immersive Labs
Total amount raised: £151m
Total equity rounds: Six
Established: 2017
Immersive Labs provides online training services for businesses, focusing on gamification to teach cyber security. It has attended four accelerators so far, namely Upscale, Future Fifty, CyLon, and the Mayor’s International Business Programme. It has also been named on three high-growth lists; South West Tech 50, HolonIQ EdTech, and Rising 100.
To date, they have raised £151m through six rounds of equity fundraising. The largest of these was in June 2021 for £42.7m, with investments from Citi Ventures, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Insight Partners, and Menlo Ventures. Immersive Labs also acquired American Company, Snap Labs, in November 2021.
ovo Group
Total amount raised: £259m
Total equity rounds: Four
Established: 2008
OVO Group comprises a number of clean energy companies, including OVO Energy, which supplies gas and electricity. The company has seen a total of £259m raised through four funding rounds so far, the most recent being in February 2019 for £200m (verified at £109m). They have also received £250k in grant funding to help them with activities such as a zero carbon heating trial that will install emissions-reducing technology into 250 homes.
OVO Group has also made four acquisitions, namely Bonnet in November 2023, SSE in January 2020, CORGI HomePlan in May 2017 and VCharge in February 2017.
Graphcore
Total amount raised: £528m
Total equity rounds: Nine
Established: 2016
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 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 tech companies in Bristol
Bristol is a vibrant hub for innovation and technological advancement. One of the key factors driving the growth of tech companies in Bristol is the city’s strong emphasis on collaboration and knowledge exchange. Bristol’s renowned universities, such as the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, provide a steady stream of top-tier talent and cutting-edge research in fields like artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced engineering. This academic excellence acts as a catalyst for innovation, attracting both entrepreneurs and established tech firms looking to tap into the city’s pool of expertise.
The city’s supportive business environment and flourishing startup culture contribute to the proliferation of tech ventures in the city. Initiatives like Engine Shed and Future Space provide co-working spaces, incubation programs, and access to funding, nurturing the growth of fledgling startups and fostering a spirit of entrepreneurship.
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