These are the 100 most disruptive startups in the world (and a third are from the UK): Roman Abramovich-backed Storedot, AI chip maker Graphcore and cancer detection scientists at Grail top list
A Bristol-based startup developing computer chips for artificial intelligence, an app for helping kids manage money, and a fintech just backed by Aviva, are among the UK startups to be named the most disruptive in the world.
AI chip firm Graphcore was ranked second in the annual list identifying companies with the potential to “influence, change or create new global markets”, pipped to the top spot only by Israeli battery startup StoreDot.
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Graphcore made headlines after landing £30m from investors late last year, including Amadeus Capital, the venture firm of ARM founder Herman Hauser. It produces chips that can process machine learning faster and more efficiently and has produced stunning visualisations of what “AI brains” look like.
Kids money app GoHenry ranked seventh and insurance startup Neos, which picked up £5m in funding from Aviva among others just last week, was ranked eleventh.
Aid:Tech, a company using blockchain to help distribute aid more transparently, a new media company tackling fake news, Signal Media, also ranked highly along with Ultrahaptics, a firm bringing the sensation of haptic feedback on smartphones to people’s skins. They ranked sixth, ninth and twelfth respectively.
Firms from the UK represented a third of Tallt Ventures Disrupt 100 index – more than any other location in the world.
Graphcore (2) Aid:Tech (6) GoHenry (7) Signal Media (9) Neos (11) Ultrahaptics (12) Cambridge Intelligence (15) CognitionX (16) HealX (25) Apolitical (26) Grabyo (32) Suade (34) Hadean (38) Boiler Room (39) Delos (43) Hackajob (47) Skipping Rocks Lab (56) LegalBeagles (60) StreetBees (61) Satavia (62) Vastari (63) Live Better With (68) Concured (69) Avalon AI (71) Blaze (72) MixCloud (75) Appy Feet (76) Firef.ly (77) Pointr (78) Firefly (81) Appattic (87) Curation Corp (97)
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The ranking, chosen by executives from top tech companies, including Uber and Google, venture capitalists and other experts working with entrepreneurs and technology, also identified the rise if healthcare and AI as areas ripe for disruption.
Health accounted for 17 per cent of the sectors, followed by 14 per cent working on disrupting general business and 10 per cent finance. Startups specialising in AI accounted for the largest area of tech only behind mobile. Tallt Ventures also calculated seven per cent have grown within or as a result of partnerships with corporates.
“The annual index celebrates disruptive innovation across all sectors and all geographies The quality of this year’s 100 is higher than ever. Each company featured is doing something truly unique and we’re excited to follow what they do next,” said founder of the Disrupt100, Matt Connolly.
Read more: 15 of the UK’s fastest growing startups are heading to Silicon Valley
Also making the top 10 is Grail, a US firm working on detecting cancer earlier which raised $900m from investors in March. It is conducting trials from which it hopes to develop products such as a wristband that can detect the disease.
Meanwhile, Storedot is working on technology that could charge phone batteries from zero to 100 per cent in just 30 seconds. It has raised $66m from investors who include billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
Top 10 Disrupt100 most disruptive startups
1. Storedot – battery technology
2. Graphcore – AI chips
3. Grail – early cancer detection
4. Bugcrowd – hacker bounties
5. Jamii – health insurance
6. Aid:Tech – transparent cash flows
7. GoHenry – money management for kids
8. Simplify – wireless provider
9. Signal Media – fighting fake news
10. Be My Eyes – helping blind see
See the top 100 here.