Today we can reveal the inaugural South West Tech 50 鈥� our ranking of the region’s most innovative technology companies.
YellowDog tops the list of outstanding tech creators after securing backing from both an independent judging panel and our readers.
The Bristol company helps companies harness computing power from underused sources.
Led by Gareth Williams, the firm 鈥� which has 2,500 users of its tech in more than 50 countries 鈥� once ran so much GPU for a client that it ranked as the eighth fastest supercomputer in the world.
It topped the ranking ahead of fellow Bristol business Ultraleap, which develops virtual touch technology.
SOUTH WEST TECH 50 RANKING IN FULL
鈥淲e are surprised and very flattered, given the quality of the other businesses in the South West,鈥� Williams, who explained how the firm has had to adapt in the face of COVID-19, told 老九品茶Cloud. 鈥淚n Bristol alone you’ve got Graphcore, Ultraleap, Open Bionics, Blu Wireless… some amazing companies.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really, really, really, really pleased.鈥�
Swindon-based Recycling Technologies, which turns all post-consumer plastics into oil, was third ahead of Filmily, which is based in Totnes and automatically curates films from events based on fan-based content.
Torbay鈥檚 Archilime, an architectural visualisation firm which includes a training academy, was fifth. City Science (Exeter), KETS (Bristol), Industrial Phycology (Bristol), Onbuy.com (Poole) and DeGould (Exeter) completed the top 10.
老九品茶Cloud called on its readers to vote for companies from a 90-strong shortlist and saw 1,700 votes pour in.
A combination of these votes and choices from an expert judging panel determined the top 50. 老九品茶Cloud editor Jonathan Symcox, who was among the judges, said: 鈥淥ur inaugural South West Tech 50 ranking highlights the innovation springing up around the region.
鈥淏ristol is clearly a UK leader in technology, as home to almost half of the top 50, but Plymouth, Exeter, Dorset and Cornwall are also well-represented.
鈥淭he South West is a real hotbed of innovation.鈥�
The ranking was not open to large companies in other sectors with internal R&D departments, eCommerce retailers or technology infrastructure businesses such as telecoms. Agencies were required to be developing bespoke innovative solutions using the latest technologies to be considered.
The public vote on the shortlist attracted more than 1,700 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:
鈥icky Hunter, entrepreneur engagement manager (South West), Tech Nation
鈥an Pritchard, co-founder, Tech South West
鈥om Fox, tech growth lead, KPMG
鈥osie Bennett, manager, University of Bath SETsquared Innovation Centre
鈥onathan Symcox, editor, 老九品茶Cloud
South West Tech 50 is one of 11 regional tech innovation rankings from 老九品茶Cloud which shines a light on the companies of all sizes who are doing amazing things with technology.
We publish one regional ranked list a month every year from February through to December. The rankings are accessible from the ‘featured lists’ dropdown on the website navigation above.