Oxford based FIDO Tech named the UK’s top tech innovator

KPMG today announced that Oxford-based FIDO Tech has been crowned KPMG Private Enterprise Tech Innovator in the UK.   CEO Victoria Edwards delivered a winning pitch to a panel of UK tech industry experts last night, beating 13 other fast-growth companies from across the UK.

FIDO Tech, which uses AI to detect water leaks and leak size in real-time from any audio or vibration file, with more than 92% accuracy, has gone from strength to strength after emerging from United Utilities’ successful Innovation Lab in 2019.  Water companies in the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, Africa, South Africa, and the US are now using the technology to find leaks. They were crowned UK winner having competed against some of the most innovative tech entrepreneurs across the country and now join the impressive list of winners who have gone on to do great things, including companies such as Echo Health and What3Words.

FIDO Tech will now progress to the global stage of the competition at Web Summit in November, to compete with tech innovators from 17 other countries. The winner of that stage of the competition will be crowned the Global Tech Innovator.

Bina Mehta, Chair, KPMG UK and Head of the UK Emerging Giants Centre of Excellence said:

“The power of our technology sector to deliver impact on a global scale is more important than it’s ever been, and our UK innovators are a real success story. The UK is ranked in the top five in KPMG’s Global Innovation Hub Index and sits at the forefront of global tech innovation.  Data from our upcoming Venture Pulse survey signals another record quarter for VC investment into our fast growth and early-stage businesses, pointing to our ability to create, attract and nurture entrepreneurs, disruptors, and scaleups across the UK. 

“FIDO Tech is a fantastic example of the growing number of innovative UK businesses who are proving that there is much opportunity for growth if businesses are prepared to think differently or come at the problem from a new angle.   I wish them the best of luck as they move on to represent the UK at the global competition at Web Summit.”

Kevin Smith, Partner and Chair for the firm’s global Emerging Giants practice, added:

“FIDO Tech now has the opportunity to tell their story on a global stage in front of investors, experts, and global corporates, as part of the KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator competition at Web Summit later this year. Access to global networks and markets is a key driver of growth for scaleup businesses and previous UK winners have gone on to have huge success and global reach. We are looking forward to continuing to support our finalists with their journey as they work towards becoming the tech titans of tomorrow.”

Victoria Edwards, CEO and Co-founder of FIDO Tech said:

“We are very excited to have won the Tech Innovator in the UK competition, against some very talented and remarkable competition and would like to thank KPMG and the wider tech ecosystem for the support that we have received throughout this process.

“Our experience throughout the competition has proven our ‘FIDO Faith’ - in that we will always do what we say we will do. To have taken part in the competition alongside such amazing tech businesses inspires us to seize on the challenge that lies ahead.  Winning this competition will enable us to talk to a wider audience and gives us a real opportunity to reach out to the water industry globally. FIDO AI with its sensor agnostic approach changes the leakage landscape.  We cannot wait to get to Web Summit to talk to a global audience as we know this is an issue that is being felt across the world.”

The first KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator will be crowned at Web Summit 2021, Lisbon, Portugal between 1 and 4 November 2021.

The full list of 14 UK finalists were:

Name	Overview	Region	Sector
Cambridge Spark	Cambridge Spark is an Edtech company enabling organisations to achieve their business goals by educating their workforce in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence.	South East	EdTech
Codices	Codices create the technology and formats to create live interactive video.	South West and Wales	Media
Deep Branch Biotechnology	We generate clean sustainable protein by recycling carbon dioxide. This is used to provide high quality nutrition to the animals we eat without relying on deforestation or overfishing.	Midlands	NetZero Other – Biotechnology
Desana	Desana partners with the world's largest flexible workspace operators to give employees of large organisations instant access to a global network of flexible workspaces via our app.	Scotland	PropTech
FIDO Tech	FIDO AI is the world's only tech which detects leaks and leak size in real time from any audio or vibration file. FIDO AI is scalable and is > 92% accuracy.	South East	NetZero AI/ML
hero	We create sophisticated and intuitive technology and solutions to help forward thinking organisations to support employee wellbeing with real measurable ROI.	North-East	HealthTech
Huboo Technologies	Huboo is one of the UK's leading fulfilment providers for eCommerce retailers. Huboo's success has hinged upon its clever use of technology within a sector that has historically been slow to innovate.	South West and Wales	Consumer Markets Other - FaaS (Fulfilment as a Service)
Memory Lane Games	Improving the lives of dementia patients and carers around the world with evidence-based dementia therapy APPS combining localised familiar & cognitively stimulating games optimised with AI/ML frustration-free design to deliver truly personalised dementia therapy at scale.	North West	Health Tech
Nourish3d	Nourished is the world's first truly personalised nutrition product. At Nourished we have developed a revolutionary method to combine seven different active ingredients into one daily personalised stack using an innovative 3D printing technology and patented vegan encapsulation formula.	Midlands	Consumer Markets
PinPoint Data Science Limited	A blood test which measures specific biomarkers and uses an algorithm created using artificial intelligence/machine learning to provide a calibrated probability of a patient having a cancer.	North-East	Health Tech
Quantum Science	Quantum Science has created world leading nanomaterials called INFIQ® quantum dots (QD) that can be tuned to absorb visible and infrared light  and this material can be readily incorporated into CMOS sensors to make novel QD sensors and revolutionise the $57B image sensor market with better performance at 1000 times lower cost.	North West	Consumer Markets
Signifier Medical Technologies Ltd (SMT)	eXciteOSA is the world's first daytime therapy to treat obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).	London	HealthTech
Trojan Energy	Trojan Energy manufacture, deploy and operate innovative flat and flush on-street EV charge points.	Scotland	NetZero CleanTech
Vertical Future	High-tech hardware and software solutions for the controlled-environment-agriculture (CEA), pharmaceutical, cosmetics and nutraceutical sectors.	London	NetZero FoodTech

 

Media enquiries:

Emma Murray

KPMG Press Office

020 7694 6506

emma.murray@kpmg.co.uk

 

About the competition

The KPMG Private Enterprise Tech Innovator competition is being hosted in the following 17 countries and territories (RC): Africa, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan (Jurisdiction), UK, United Arab Emirates, and USA.

About KPMG Private Enterprise

You know KPMG, you might not know KPMG Private Enterprise. The KPMG Private Enterprise global network for Emerging Giants has extensive knowledge and experience working with the start-up ecosystem. From seed to speed, KPMG professionals are (RC) here throughout your journey. You gain access to KPMG's global resources through a single point of contact — a trusted advisor to your company. It's a local touch with a global reach.

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