Tech Nation has accepted 31 tech companies into its Upscale growth programme as investments in mid-stage UK companies take off.

Nearly a quarter of the companies selected are HealthTechs and a sixth are EdTechs. The companies chosen reflect the wider growth of the UK’s mid-stage scaling tech companies (at the Series A funding stage).

These firms have raised a total of $2.7 billion in the first half of 2021 (Jan-June) alone - an all time record - up from $2.4 billion in the whole of 2020.

The top three fastest scaling sectors in order are FinTechs, HealthTechs, followed by transport techs.

The UK is said to currently have 136 tech “futurecorns” - fast-growing tech businesses set to achieve a $1 billion-plus valuation - in the pipeline.

Seven of the companies joining Upscale 7.0 specialise in HealthTech and are focussed on transforming modern physical and mental health care.

Nourished, a Birmingham-based, female-founded scale-up, has developed a patented 3D printing technology for producing printed vitamins, while London-based HealthTech Birdie is using machine learning to reinvent elderly care so that the ageing population can live healthily at home for longer.

Five of the new Upscale cohort are EdTech companies, including Glean, which has developed a note-taking solution to improve learning from classes, lectures and other educational environments. In addition, Kidadl specialises in family “edutainment” and Kortext has built a digital platform for universities to share learning materials with students.

Companies accepted into the Upscale programme will receive over 60 hours of support at coaching sessions delivered by over 20 expert scale coaches.

They will also attend networking events with key stakeholders, peers, corporates and investors and have access to a range of online resources, designed to tackle fundamental scaling challenges around culture, talent, international expansion and financing.

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