London startups dominate at the Europas

Europe’s biggest and most influential startups were in London last night for the Europas Awards.

In a grandiose night at the Old Billingsgate Market, the cream of London’s tech scene were winners across a number of the awards and the evening was confirmation of the host city’s top spot in Europe’s tech ecosystem.

For many, the highlight of the night was a performance by Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst (though there were rumours of a look-alike).

Founded in 2009 by Mike Butcher, the awards celebrate the most forward-thinking, progressive and innovative tech companies across a range of categories. It is the second time the awards have been in London.

London’s startup elite

It was hardly surprising that the fintech award would go to a London startup. GoCardless, who have processed $200m worth of transactions and disrupted the Direct Debit business, took the prize.

One of the big winners of the night was London-based Swiftkey. Started by friends and maths geniuses Jon Reynolds and Dr Ben Medlock, the company has changed the way people type on smartphones and has even managed to impress the tough-to-please Apple with its tech. Its product took home the coolest technology innovation award – and the firm also picked up the Europas Grand Prix Award.

London cabbie service Hailo took home Best Travel or Transport Startup. They face stiff competition from the likes of Uber, who were recently valued at $17bn.

Other British-based winners were Codeclub, Index Ventures, Brainient, Sleep.io, and Datasift.

The full list of winners