Five tech scale-ups to watch out for in 2024
With the rise of AI, advancements in cordless technology, and pinching as the new clicking, 2023 has been a great year for technology.
It’s hard to sum up how much has changed in the last 12 months, and it’s even harder to predict where the next year will take us, but who are some of the scale-ups in the tech sector we should be watching out for in 2024?
Tribe tech group
Founded in 2019 by Charlie King, Tribe Tech Group looks to provide a safer and more efficient work environment in the mining industry. Based in Northern Ireland and Australia, Tribe Tech Group develop and manufactures autonomous machines to remove operators from the dangerous manual operations the mining industry exploits. This includes their Autonomous ‘reverse circulation’ Drill Rig and the Autonomous Sampling System.
More recently the company raised £1.4m in equity in a Series A investment round in December 2021, and £1.5m 12 months later from investors.
Texthelp
Texthelp has developed tech to help people with communication and dexterity problems. Founded in 1996 by Martin McKay, Texthelp started as a dyslexic spell check developer that eventually partnered with Google to provide a dyslexic tool integrated into the Chromebook laptop.
The company gathered new investments in 2020 after raising private equity, the amount of which is undisclosed, which helped to double the company headcount, now employing 370 people, and double its turnover to over £60m. Now with partnerships such as Tesco, Virgin Media, and easyJet, Texthelp’s turnover between 2021 and 2022 increased from £8.8m in 2021 to £19.8m in 2022.
Aurrigo International Plc
Provider of autonomous tech for the airport industry, Aurrigo International Plc designs and manufactures 4-seat and 10-seat autonomous vehicles and autonomous baggage handling dollies.
Following the deployment of the Auto-Pod and Auto-Shuttle in places like Solihull and Prague, revenue in the Autonomous and Aviation division for Aurrigo increased by 41%, and between December 2021 and December 2022, the company cash balance increased by 317%. The company also has a partnership with Changi Airport Group to develop and test aviation baggage handling products.
Arctic Shores
Founded by Robert Newry and Safe Hammad, Arctic Shores pioneered the development of behaviour-based psychometric tests by combining neuroscience, AI, and game technology to eliminate bias from the hiring and promoting process. The technology Arctic Shores has developed promises to accurately assess a candidate’s potential, save recruiters thousands of hours of time, and increase the diversity of a company’s talent pool.
With net current assets at £2.7m in 2022, up from £62,800 in 2021, this HR tech company is on the road to success.
Form3
Established in 2016 by banking and technology leaders looking to transform the payments infrastructure, Form3 is looking to raise a new generation of neo-banks with cloud-based technology. Thought Machine, a cloud-native banking technology company, has recently partnered with Form3 to bring real-time payment technology to the US and European markets, increasing their market offerings.
Turnover for the company increased from £2.1m in 2022 to £10.4m in 2023, and the company itself is growing at an annual rate of more than 100%, employing 270 people in 22 countries.
