Tech City UK has announced the 33 early-stage tech startups joining its Upscale programme in 2017.
Upscale, a six-month programme which will seek to support startups to scaleup, will see candidates receive mentorship from top UK entrepreneurs.
These include Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman, founders of Lastminute.com; investor and co-founder of LoveFilm Saul Klein; and Riccardo Zacconi, the entrepreneur behind Candy Crush.
Regionally, this year’s cohort is representative of the nation, with almost a third of the companies selected coming from outside of London. Startups include Cambridge Intelligence (Cambridge), Cronofy (Nottingham), LivingLens (Liverpool) and DueCourse (Manchester).
Divided into sectors, other early-stage firms joining Upscale this year include:
Trussle, an online mortgage service company and winner of the ‘Best in PropTech’ award at Tech City News’ Elevator Pitch LIVE competition.
Firefly Learning, an EdTech startup which raised a £4.5m Series A round led by BGF Ventures back in November 2016.
Echo, medication management app which closed a £1.8m Seed round last November and won the ‘Best in HealthTech’ award at Elevator Pitch LIVE 2016.
Diversity
Gerard Grech, chief executive of Tech City UK, commented: “One of the objectives of Tech City UK is to accelerate the growth of the country’s digital and tech sector. The companies that join our Upscale programme have already overcome significant hurdles and have the makings of brilliant businesses.
“It’s also great to see so many regions and sectors represented in the cohort, demonstrating the great diversity this country has when it comes to digital technology, as highlighted by the Prime Minister in her recent industrial strategy announcement,” he added.
As part of the programme, the 33 selected companies will also receive additional mentorship from graduates of the first Upscale scheme.
Eileen Burbidge, general partner of Passion Capital and chair of Tech City UK, said: “We welcome the next cohort to our Upscale programme. They can be confident that some of the most experienced, brightest minds in the tech ecosystem will be helping them to build their business over the coming year.”
A full list of participating startups and coaches is available here.