Tech Nation Future Fifty: Who to Watch
Tech Nation’s Future Fifty is the UK’s most established late-stage growth programme. Powered by Founders Forum, the initiative has helped scale household names like Deliveroo, Monzo, Revolut, and Darktrace. Since its launch, more than 30% of the UK’s unicorns and 40% of its decacorns have come through the programme, with alumni collectively raising over £16 billion.
Future Fifty 2025 continues this track record. The 50 companies in this year’s cohort have already raised £4.5 billion between them and employ more than 4,000 people. From AI breakthroughs to climate innovation and cutting-edge biotech, the list is a strong sign of where the UK tech ecosystem is heading.
With venture funding getting more selective and regulatory oversight increasing, late-stage companies can no longer scale on growth alone. The Future Fifty network gives founders and their teams international peer connections and the credibility of being part of a programme that’s backed by government and industry leaders.
Sector spotlight: Climate Tech
Catagen
Based in Belfast, Catagen is pioneering green emissions testing and scaling hardware solutions like hydrogen compressors and biohydrogen reactors. Backed by government grants and industry partners, it’s a business where finance leaders will need to juggle R&D funding, IP strategy, and capital-intensive manufacturing.
NatureMetrics
London- and Surrey-based NatureMetrics is making biodiversity measurable at scale through eDNA, AI, and geospatial tools. Fresh off a $25 million raise, it’s expanding internationally and moving deeper into disclosure dashboards for CSRD and TNFD reporting. Finance teams here face the challenge of complex ESG reporting, regulatory risk modelling, and building investor trust.
Elixr
Taking on the regeneration of towns and cities, Elixr combines data and infrastructure delivery to manage projects worth £500m plus. This is a space where finance leaders must balance public and private funding, long project cycles, and blended finance models to prove ROI on sustainability and social impact.
Hived
London-based Hived is the UK’s first fully electric parcel delivery network. Scaling EV fleets and logistics software is capital-intensive, making cost control, fleet financing, and regulatory compliance central finance priorities.
Sector spotlight: Health and Biotech
Grey Wolf Therapeutics
Grey Wolf is an Oxford biotech backed by Pfizer Ventures advancing antigen modulation therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Scaling clinical-stage businesses requires careful navigation of trial costs, regulatory approval, and long-term investor relationships.
Ultromics
Ultromics is another University of Oxford spin-out using AI to detect heart disease earlier and more accurately. With FDA clearance and deployment across major US health systems, Ultromics has raised over $100m. Finance leaders here must handle cross-border revenues, reimbursement models, and the demands of global expansion.
Hexarad
Founded by NHS radiologists, Hexarad is tackling diagnostic bottlenecks through AI-enabled teleradiology. Already helping millions of patients, it’s a case study in scaling healthcare delivery while managing procurement complexity and NHS partnership models.
Simple Online Healthcare
Simple Online Healthcare is a Glasgow-based digital health provider delivering clinically-led GP services and online pharmacy. Already serving 100,000+ patients monthly, it’s proof that finance strategies can be as innovative as the product. Cross-border scaling, reimbursement systems, and regulatory navigation will define its next phase.
The finance lens
Scaling a Future Fifty business is about financial clarity as much as it is about technology. These companies face CapEx-heavy growth, complex regulatory requirements, and global expansion and their finance leaders are the ones who can translate bold ideas into sustainable operations. They build live cashflow models, manage investor relationships, create reporting frameworks, and keep founders accountable and investors confident.
Across the board, finance professionals with experience in scale-ups are becoming mission-critical. For climate techs like Catagen and Hived, that means structuring project finance and controlling operational costs. For healthtechs like Ultromics and Hexarad, it means managing reimbursement models and regulatory risk.
Future Fifty’s 2025 cohort shows the UK’s strength in climate tech, biotech, and healthtech. All of these sectors will shape both economic growth and societal progress but while products and platforms make the headlines, finance leaders help these companies deliver at scale.
At Harmonic, we’re proud to partner with founders and investors to place the finance talent that makes growth possible. Because the UK’s next generation of unicorns will be built on strong financial leadership as well as innovation. To find out more get in touch with Jamie Huddart today ([email protected])