The UK’s Most Valuable Sextech Companies | 2024
John McCrea, 08 February 2024
‘Tis the season of romance, and with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, we’ve immersed ourselves into the world of sextech and dating apps to bring you the top seven UK companies dominating the sector.
What is sextech?
The sextech industry comprises technologies and products designed to enhance sexuality, intimacy, and sexual well-being. From psychosexual therapy apps to vibrators, the industry caters to a broad range of consumers.
More recently, the industry has expanded further to address sexual health issues such as erectile dysfunction.
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Types of sextech companies
The corollary of changing attitudes towards sex is a hunger for more tools and products, and so the sextech industry has seen a stimulus in growth accordingly.
Our own data shows extraordinary growth between 2011-2021, with 2011 seeing two investments in sextech companies worth £280k, whilst 2021—a record year for sextech fundraisings—saw 11 rounds of investment worth a (comparatively) eye-watering £13.8m.
In the context COVID-19 and the associated lockdowns, this is to be expected with people spending more time at home, having more sex, and watching more pornography.
But what kinds of sextech are making waves on the market right now?
Apps
Apps have long been a popular vector for B2C consumers, and sextech is no different. In our list of most valuable sextech companies (more on that later), every single company has an app for its products, services, or communities.
Social media and community
Speaking of community, the success of OnlyFans has proven just how lucrative the alliance of social media and community can be in the sextech space, with creators on the platform trousering millions in earnings from willing community members.
Sexual health and well-being products
With attitudes towards well-being extending beyond physical health, consumers are now more curious about sexual health. With this in mind, sextech companies are leaning into a previously untapped market—psychosexual therapy.
Our sextech methodology
Our team have ordered the seven most valuable sextech companies, based on pre-money valuations.
We’ve also chosen to include the total amount of equity raised—plus each company’s current growth stage—to help build a more detailed picture of each organisation’s journey and show only the fastest-growing private companies in the sextech space.
And if you’re a Beauhurst client, you can simply click here to download the search methodology and digest the numbers yourself.
The UK’s most valuable sextech companies
Things are certainly heating up in the capital, with six of our seven sextech firms based in London. But who takes the top spot?
From sexual health & well-being to dating apps that help you find your future beau, here are the seven most valuable sextech companies based in the UK.
7.
Blueheart
Latest valuation: £5.45m
Total fundraising amount: £2.8m
Current stage of growth: Seed
Location: London
London-based Blueheart has developed an app-based digital sexual therapy service, designed to bring couples closer together through science-backed courses and exercises.
With a team of academic researchers and leading clinicians on hand, Blueheart utilises psychosexual education, mindfulness, and therapy resources.
Their latest round of fundraising (£1.7m) resulted in a valuation of £5.45m, nudging the seed startup into our top seven sextech companies.
6.
Paired
Latest valuation: £7.7m
Total fundraising amount: £3.3m
Current stage of growth: Seed
Location: London
Paired, another relationship-enhancing app for couples, chimes in at number six on our list. Named as one of Apple’s apps of the day for January 2024, Paired’s gamification of inter-couple communication has proven popular with users. Their ‘love more, stress less’ mantra is underpinned by a team of relationship therapists and academics.
At the seed stage of growth, Paired has raised a total of £3.3m in equity, whilst their latest round of fundraising places the company’s pre-money valuation at £7.7m.
5.
Mojo
Latest valuation: £10.5m
Total fundraising amount: £3.7m
Current stage of growth: Venture
Location: London
Mojo is a company born from the desire to change how erectile dysfunction is treated, citing psychology as a key driver behind the condition.
Mojo itself has not proven a hard sell, scooping £3.7m in equity funding from angel investors and venture funds, with their latest valuation pitching the organisation at a £10.5m pre-money valuation.
4.
Kama
Latest valuation: £10.9m
Total fundraising amount: £4.8m
Current stage of growth: Seed
Location: London
The first female co-founded company on our list, Kama is a sex-positive company with a goal to transform the experience of pleasure and its role in our general well-being. It places physical connection and libido as a therapeutic experience, lowering stress and promoting healthy living.
Another sexual wellness app, Kama has been stimulated by two rounds of fundraising, with its valuation an impressive £10.9m.
3.
thursday
Latest valuation: £14.8m
Total fundraising amount: £2.9m
Current stage of growth: Seed
Location: London
Into the top three, thursday’s dating app presents a rather unique selling point of match-making couples on exclusively one day of the week.
More of a social network, thursday makes an event of its countdown until—you guessed it—thursday. And partnering with bars in over 60 cities globally, it brings together like-minded singles in the hope they leave as couples. Think First Dates, but without Fred Sireux’s dulcet tones!
Its latest pre-money valuation sits at a super-spicy £14.9m, following a £2.5m injection from venture capital funds and angel investors.
2.
Killing Kittens
Latest valuation: £15.1m
Total fundraising amount: £6.8m
Current stage of growth: Established
Location: London
Fully female-fronted Killing Kittens, almost 20 years old now, has since matured into its status as the fully grown feline of the adult party sector. Inviting women to sexually liberate themselves in a safe environment, Killing Kittens both runs adult parties and maintains an online social network where members can meet and communicate.
Curiously, two-thirds of its overall equity raised has been since 2021 and compared to its modest £800k valuation in 2016, Killing Kittens has swollen to a seriously impressive £15.1m in 2023.
1.
MysteryVibe
Latest valuation: £24.2m
Total fundraising amount: £7.3m
Current stage of growth: Venture
Location: South East
MysteryVibe is sextech in its truest sense, creating physical products including adult toys. MysteryVibe made crowdfunding history by being the first sextech company to be listed on the premium B2B crowdfunding platform, Born, raising £53.3k in the process.
Fast-forward to 2023 where it secured a red-hot pre-money valuation of £24.2m, and MysteryVibe is by far our most valuable UK sextech company.
Projections for Sextech in 2024 and beyond
Sextech has found its market, with BedBible research estimating the global sexual wellness market to be worth $44.5b in 2022. Meanwhile, the same report expects a 6.6% average CAGR for the industry by 2030.
The industry faces a series of barriers to fundraising that its more lucrative tech siblings, deeptech and SaaS do not. Vice clauses and advertisement bans, amongst other reasons, make the operating environment challenging for sextech firms.
However, the pandemic undoubtedly delivered growth opportunities for sextech companies, and as the stigma surrounding sexual wellness gradually diminishes, the landscape appears promising.
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