The Top 10 Unicorns in the United Kingdom

Today, the UK is home to 87 active privately held startups, each valued at over US $1 billion allowing each to reach the coveted “unicorn” status. These unicorns operate in a broad range of sectors, from cleantech to crypto, from healthtech to gaming, and proptech to fintech; each are applying disruptive technologies or business models to disrupt existing sectors or creating brand new ones.

Fintech is by far the most common industry amongst the list of UK tech unicorns, with 18 currently operating in the space. These include six of the country’s leading challenger banks, including OakNorth Bank, Revolut, Starling Bank, and Monzo. This dominance comes as no surprise, given that fintech consistently ranks as the UK’s top-performing high-growth industry, attracting more equity investment than any other startup sector.

As of 2023, Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies have become the biggest recipients of equity investments, knocking fintechs off the coveted top position. Nine of the companies listed in the 2024 unicorn report feature artificial intelligence in their products, but AI is still in its early-adoption stage. The question isn’t will we see AI firms take-over the global unicorn list, but when we should expect to see this happen.

Here is a list of the top 10 unicorns in the UK according to Dealroom data analyzed by Lucidity Insights’ research team.

1 FNZ

Founded in 2003 by current Group CEO, Adrian Durham, FNZ is a global financial services company that provides investment platforms to major financial institutions and wealth management firms. Its end-to-end wealth management platform integrates modern technology, business operations, and investment services to help financial institutions and asset managers deliver differentiated value to end investors and advisors. FNZ has partnered with over 650 financial institutions and 12,000 independent wealth managers worldwide, manages a staggering US $1.5 trillion in assets under administration (AUA).

2 Revolut

Founded in 2015 by current CEO Nik Storonsky and CTO Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut is a global neobank and financial technology company that offers banking services for retail customers and businesses. It provides accounts and debit cards that can be used abroad with no foreign transaction fees and a “real” exchange rate with no further fees. Revolut offers a suite of financial services including peer-to-peer payments, currency exchange, foreign exchange, p2p and bank transfers & remittances, ATM withdrawals, donations, hotel and experience booking. The European Central Bank granted Revolut a full banking license in 2021 when its valuation was US $33 billion, making it the most valuable UK tech startup at the time. The company’s customer deposits reached US $15.5 billion in 2022, and as of December 2023, Revolut had more than doubled its headcount, employing over 7,500 people in over 30 countries.

3 Rapyd

Founded in 2016 as a consumer-mode e-wallet called CashDash by current CEO Arik Shtilman, VP Arkady Karpman, and GM Omer Priel, Rapyd is a global payments platform which allows customers to utilize various financial services, including payouts, fund pooling, payments, foreign exchange, card issuance, and virtual IBAN accounts. Today, Rapyd has operations in over 100 countries, over 250,000 merchant clients globally, and an expansion of the Rapyd Global Payments Network to over 1,200 payment methods supported by 18 settlement hubs. The company has raised US $470 million, acquired the payment service provider KORTA, and partnered with both MasterCard and Visa, boasting a portfolio made up of Tier 1 enterprise clients including Adidas, Google, Ikea, Meta, Netflix, Rappi, and Uber.

4 Blockchain.com

Founded in 2011 as “Blockchain.info” by current CEO Peter Smith along with board member Nicolas Cary and Benjamin Reeves, Blockchain.com is a Bitcoin block explorer service, as well as a cryptocurrency wallet and a cryptocurrency exchange supporting Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum. The Blockchain.com platform lets you access Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other leading cryptocurrencies, and customers can also use a card or bank account to buy crypto, earn rewards, connect to DeFi, and explore blockchain data. The company began as the first Bitcoin blockchain explorer in 2011 and later created a cryptocurrency wallet that accounted for 28% of bitcoin transactions between 2012 and 2020 when Blockchain.com had 40+ million wallets created in over 140 countries.

5 The Access Group

Founded in 1991 by current CEO Chris Bayne, CFO Rob Binns, and CSO Jon Jorgensen, The Access Group is a business software company that provides business management software to over 100,000 organizations across the UK, Ireland, the US, and the Asia Pacific region. The Access Group is passionate about helping organizations thrive and grow, and specializes in serving small and mid-sized organizations, both commercial and not-for-profit. They offer a range of business management solutions that streamline operations and boost productivity, and their dedication to product innovation and service excellence has empowered ambitious businesses like APXpress and the Fawcett Society for over 30 years.

6 Checkout.com

Founded by CEO Guillaume Pousaz in 2009 (previously Opus Payments), Checkout.com is a British multinational financial technology company that processes payments for other companies. It offers a global payment platform that supports online, mobile, subscription, and issuing payments. It also provides fraud detection, identity verification, and intelligent acceptance tools to boost your performance and customer experience. In May 2020, Checkout.com acquired Australian company Pin Payments, allowing Checkout.com to expand into the Australian and New Zealand markets. It had a valuation of US $40 billion in 2022, making it the most valuable European fintech startup.

7 Global Switch

Founded in 1998, Global Switch is a leading owner, operator, and developer of large-scale network-dense, carrier, and cloud-neutral multi-customer data centers in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Global Switch is one of the world’s highest credit-rated data center providers, with investment-grade ratings from Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P Global Ratings. Its network is home to some of the most forward-thinking public and private organizations of all sizes, who rely on it to house their mission-critical IT infrastructure and connect them seamlessly to a diverse choice of telecoms, internet, and cloud providers.

8 ION Group

Founded in 1998 by CEO Andrea Pignataro, ION Group is a global financial software and data firm that plays a crucial role in transforming the way businesses operate through automation technology. ION Group provides insights and tools for accessing and analyzing data from global capital markets, enables efficient trading and risk management, facilitates connectivity to exchanges and markets, and streamlines operational processes. By automating repetitive tasks, ION encourages creativity and long-term thinking, challenges boundaries, and questions assumptions to drive transformative leaps. ION Group serves over 100,000 organizations across various sectors and regions globally, and recently raised $276 million through separate loan sales in Europe and the US aimed at distributing cash to shareholders and strengthening its cash reserves.

9 Octopus Energy

Founded in 2015 by CEO Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy is a renewable energy group that stands out for its commitment to providing great value, green energy, and innovative smart tariffs. Octopus Energy has won more awards for customer service than any other energy supplier, and their standard prices are consistently cheaper than those of other large suppliers as they focus on long-term affordability rather than just fixed-term deals. Octopus Energy already manages £6 billion of green energy projects globally, and plans to invest £15.5 billion in offshore wind projects by 2030.

10 SumUp

Founded in 2012 by current CEO Daniel Klein, along with Jan Deepen, Marc-Alexander Christ, and Stefan Jeschonnek, SumUp is a financial technology company that offers smart tools to help businesses grow, from taking payments and processing orders, to customer acquisition and managing money. Over 4 million businesses have already chosen SumUp to be their partner as the company provides a suite of financial services including peer-to-peer payments, currency exchange, foreign exchange, p2p and bank transfers & remittances, ATM withdrawals, donations, hotel and experience booking. SumUp raised just under US $307 million in 2023 and aims to use this funding to grow its business both organically and inorganically. The company has plans to launch additional financial services around its existing card readers and other point-of-sale tools, expanding its current offerings which include invoicing, loyalty programs, and business accounts, while expanding its geographical reach beyond the 36 countries where it currently operates.

Don’t forget, these are just the top 10 of 86 active unicorns headquartered in the United Kingdom to date. Bolstered by companies like these being flag bearers for the next generation of startups, the UK’s thriving tech ecosystem showcases a blend of innovative ideas, robust investment, and a willingness to embrace disruptive technologies. This dynamic environment reflects a broad spectrum of opportunities for growth and transformation. Looking ahead, the key questions are how these unicorns will sustain their growth amidst increasing competition and how they will evolve in response to global economic challenges and technological advancements. The future of tech is bright, with many exciting developments on the horizon across the globe.