Meet the Upscale 2024 Cohort

We are excited to see the return of Upscale,  the first cohort-based UK programme to support scaleups on the road towards raising Series B. The programme kicked off with our launch event on the 17th September at the Century Club, where Programme Lead Johnny Mayo introduced the 2024 cohort in front of an audience of investors and tech leaders.  

The Upscale programme is designed to help the UK’s most promising mid-stage tech companies tackle the unique challenges that come with scaling their businesses. Companies that have transitioned from startup to scaleup have established a promising product-market fit, raised a healthy funding round and are now focused on expanding quickly – a phase which comes with its own set of hurdles.

The Upscale programme focuses on overcoming scaleup specific challenges, with expert-led workshops on themes such as: rapidly scaling operations while maintaining quality, building and managing larger teams, expanding into new markets, and managing increased financial complexity. Participants will also benefit from peer-to-peer support and access to a wide network of successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

Our latest cohort have so far raised a total of £314 million (£8.4 million on average) in Series A funding, with an average headcount of over 50 team members. Over a third of the companies joining this years Upscale cohort are also headquartered outside of London, showcasing the contribution and economic vibrancy early-stage companies bring across the regions, with cities like Sheffield, Manchester and Edinburgh being notable scaleup hubs. It’s not just diversity in our cohort company headquarters, with companies operating across a wide variety of industries, including Aerospace, Fintech, and Clean Technology!

Carolyn Dawson, CEO of Founders Forum and Tech Nation said: 

“Upscale is designed to help some of our highest potential scaleups grow and scale their businesses. The path from Series A to B offers a unique set of challenges – whether that’s regional expansion, an increased product range, or growing a larger team – so Upscale’s been designed to closely support founders through this transition, unlocking economic benefits the length and breadth of the UK”.

Tessa Clarke, Co-founder and CEO of Olio and Upscale alumni said: 

“Quite simply, it’s the best scaleup programme around. 

It’s an incredibly well thought-through format, and is an unparalleled learning & networking opportunity – not only for the founders, but also for the whole senior leadership team. I can’t recommend it highly enough”. 

Angie Ma, Co-Founder of Faculty and Upscale alumni said: 

“The Upscale programme has been a fantastic experience. Meeting brilliant people – founders, mentors, etc. – on the programme has been immensely valuable.

I particularly appreciate the opportunity of sharing our challenges and hearing how others are working through similar challenges. We don’t often find places to do that”. 

Simon Bumfrey, Head of Technology and Life Sciences at HSBC Innovation Banking UK said:

“We’re proud to be a founding partner of Upscale, bringing together the shared ambitions of HSBC Innovation Banking and Tech Nation to equip companies with the knowledge, connections and tools they need for the next stage of growth. 

This established programme has played a part in fostering some of the UK’s most promising post Series A companies, and we look forward to supporting this ambitious new cohort of scaleups on their journeys.” 

Daniel Glazer, London Office Managing Partner, Wilson Sonsini said:  

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Tech Nation on the Upscale programme to support UK scaleups as they approach a Series B financing round.  

Many high-growth UK companies begin to find success in the US commercial and capital markets between Series A and Series B; we look forward to working with the Upscale companies on their US Expansion and US Fundraising strategies, and preparing for a potential US IPO or M&A exit.”

Meet this year’s Upscale Cohort:

Aegiq – Designs and builds high-performance quantum photonics hardware for communications and computing applications

Antavo – Providing best-in-class technology to manage experience-based, paid, and lifestyle loyalty programs online, in-store, or on mobile

Aveni – Using the latest in AI to automate and innovate, empowering businesses to achieve exceptional productivity and compliance outcomes

Cadro – Innovative WealthTech solutions for client acquisition, financial planning, portfolio management, and digital brokerage

Carmoola – Motoring fintech start-up which helps car buyers calculate their budget in 60 seconds

Emperia – Virtual Reality Platform for Art, Retail & Fashion

Enthuse – Our donations, fundraising and event reg tech puts your charity centre stage, letting you focus on your campaigns, supporters, and beneficiaries

Focaldata – AI-powered platform gives clients and our internal teams the ability to 10x their output and ensure insight can power better decisions and faster growth

Fuuse – A charge point management platform that is designed to maximise the value of electric vehicle (EV) chargers

Gravity Industries Ltd – Making human flight a reality

Kuberno – Global entity governance

Little Journey – Little Journey aims to support all children to better health through data-driven, personalised care

Material Evolution – Material Evolution empowers the industrial sector to build a better climate future, for today & tomorrow

Mission Zero Technologies – Developing technology to efficiently recover CO2 from the atmosphere

Mopo / Mobile Power Ltd – A pay-per-use battery technology company delivering sustainable energy to individuals and businesses across Africa

Nu Quantum – a quantum networking start-up building the entanglement fabric essential to scaling quantum computers

Passion Fruit – Platform to find vetted, flexible, quality marketing talent

Puraffinity – The Smart Adsorbent Materials Company for sustainable water solutions 

Qflow – Reducing project carbon and supporting sustainable construction

Summize – Contract Lifecycle Management software that embeds contract workflows and AI

Surf Security – The work environment built for the modern enterprise

tepeo – A cleaner alternative to your existing boiler that doesn’t release any pollution directly and stores heat at the greenest times

Virtual Internships – The only platform that guarantees real-world work experience across the globe

Xapien – Fully automated on-demand research on any person or company in the world, in minutes, not days

Zedify – Sustainable delivery solutions

Zeti – Revolutionising transport finance for good

Find out more about Tech Nation’s Upscale Programme here.