KPMG’s Emerging Giants practice has announced the shortlist of 80 tech businesses from across the UK that will go head-to-head in a bid to be crowned the 2023 Tech Innovator in the UK.
Following a record number of nearly 400 applications, 10 successful tech businesses from eight regions across the UK have been selected to take part in pitching competitions throughout June.
Shortlisted companies hail from a range of sectors, including healthtech firm Biofidelity, agritech business Harvest Farms, and AI-powered recruitment firm Gigged.AI.
Eight regional finalists will then go head to head in the national final, to be held at KPMG’s new Ignition North facility in Manchester in July, to find the ultimate UK Tech Innovator. The event will be one of the first held in the facility ahead of its formal opening in September. The UK winner will progress to the Global Tech Innovator final at Web Summit 2023, where they will compete on the global stage.
The nationwide competition, which is celebrating its 10th year, has uncovered British tech innovators including What3Words, SafetoNet, FIDOTech and 2022 winner HiiROC who went on to win the global final during Web Summit.
Having shone a light on a host of tech success stories from across the country, the competition is also now in its third year of going global and has expanded to include technology innovators competing across over 20 countries representing major regions of the world.
Commenting on the competition, Warren Middleton, lead partner of the Emerging Giants Centre of Excellence for KPMG in the UK, said:
“Over the last decade, we have seen our competition go from strength to strength as our tech ecosystems across the UK continue to mature, grow and attract many home-grown disruptors. This year we had a record level of applications to the competition, so our shortlisted businesses have already beaten off stiff competition to get to the pitching stage in front of the judges.
“We are very excited to meet the teams behind our shortlisted businesses and hear their stories and of course, to discover some hidden gems and showcase the best of innovation coming out of our tech ecosystems across the UK.
“Innovation is now firmly on the agenda of businesses and policymakers as a vital contributor to the health and wealth of our economy, and this competition is a great platform to help profile, recognise and celebrate the outstanding technology being developed across the UK.”
Companies will not only have the opportunity to be recognised as one of the UK’s most successful technology innovators, but the winner and runner-up will be provided with entry to a bespoke version of KPMG’s Access programme for fast growth businesses, exclusive networking opportunities among industry experts, their peers and other tech innovators.
The Tech Innovator in the UK winner, and the winner in each of the other participating countries, will progress to the Global Tech Innovator final at Web Summit 2023, where they will compete on the global stage.
Hull-based HiiROC was crowned UK Tech Innovator 2022 and went on to win the global competition at Web Summit in Lisbon.
CEO Tim Davies, who delivered the winning pitch said: “The global competition was exciting for the HiiROC team; a great reward for all their hard work and much appreciated by shareholders. It also provided a great opportunity to highlight our transformational new process for making low-cost, zero-emission hydrogen to a much wider audience, which included potential partners, suppliers, investors, advisors and policymakers.
“The competition was really impressive, with some amazing businesses and inspiring leaders. We had great support from the KPMG Private Enterprise UK team at every step in the process and they have continued to support us through the subsequent Access Programme.”
In partnership with KPMG.
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