Today we can reveal the inaugural South East Tech 50 – our ranking of the region’s most听innovative technology companies.
Reaction Engines听leads the way听after securing backing from both an independent judging panel and our readers. The Abingdon company is hoping to unlock space with its unique propulsion technology which has been tested with the UK and US governments.
CEO Mark Thomas said it is also听“looking beyond the next Concorde” to hyersonic air travel听after a trial last year saw it successfully deal with temperatures associated with Mach 5 鈥� five-times the speed of sound.
On winning the South East Tech 50, he added:听“It听is just a huge accolade. The company has taken a long time to establish itself and we have people that work extremely hard on this because they really, really want to do it.
“But to see that recognised by reputable bodies such as yours against tough competition and more established businesses is really incredible.
鈥淚t really gives me a lift, and the team deserve it. They never fail to impress me.鈥�
Oxfordshire contributed four of the top five companies in this year’s Tech 50. Oxford’s Brill Power, which makes lithium ion batteries more reliable and sustainable, came in second.
Oxford nanosystems, also based in Abingdon,听improves heat transfer through听innovative coating technologies and came in third, with Didcot’s Electrospinning Company, a HealthTech which makes biomaterials to be implanted into human body, fifth.
Guildford-based听Swiftaid was Surrey’s top-ranked company in fourth spot. Its tech helps people ‘gift aid’ contactless donations.
Sparkbox (Southampton), Altitude Angel (Reading), GoHenry (Lymington), Percept Imagery (Brighton) and PassivSystems (Newbury) rounded out the top 10.
You can see the full top 50 ranking, which was compiled from a shortlist of听116 disruptive companies creating innovative technology solutions, here.
The ranking was not open to large companies听in other sectors with听internal听R&D departments,听eCommerce retailers听or听technology infrastructure businesses such as telecoms. Agencies听were required to听be developing bespoke innovative solutions using the latest technologies to be considered.
The public vote on the shortlist attracted almost 500 votes. A panel of expert judges also made their choices. The final 50 ranking was decided from a combination of these.
The judging panel was comprised of:
- Elizabeth Corse, entrepreneur engagement manager (South East), Tech Nation
- Tom Fox, tech growth lead, KPMG
- Sam Peers, business development manager, Blake Morgan LLP
- Jonathan Symcox, editor, 老九品茶Cloud
South East Tech 50 is one of 11 annual regional ranked lists which听shine a light on the companies of all sizes who are doing amazing things with technology.
We publish one ranked list a month every year from February through to December.听The rankings are accessible from the ‘featured lists’ dropdown on the website navigation above.