To celebrate the launch of this year's Scale-Up 50, we brought together over 150 founders and leaders from across the UK tech ecosystem and the energy in the room made it clear that the ambition driving UK tech isn't slowing down.
Held at the CFC offices in London, the evening marked the release our annual list produced in partnership with CFC, Cooper Parry, HSBC Innovation Banking, LegalEdge and Scaling Europe. Since 2023, the Scale-Up 50 has spotlighted the top 50 tech scale-ups in the UK, recognising companies that are making a real impact in their industries.
From founders swapping hiring tips to CFOs talking cash flow, the evening was full of great conversation between people navigating the scale-up journey. It was great to be able to bring together the people behind UK tech to connect and learn from each other's experiences. But the one thing dominating the conversation on the night was AI.
Capsule Co-Founder, Tom Wynne, captured this perfectly when addressing the room. He highlighted that the entire tech ecosystem is evolving with the introduction of AI and the way businesses operate, make decisions, get funding and scale is changing faster than ever as a result. Something investors have also recognised - UK AI companies raised $5.8 billion in Q1 2026 alone, with 74% of all UK VC going to AI. Tom also highlighted that as the opportunity grows so does the risk and the same tools enabling fast growth are reshaping the threat landscape.
The highlight of the evening was a panel discussion featuring four leaders with four different perspectives. Christian Owens founded Paddle at 18 and grew it to a $1.4 billion valuation, he's now building Clove, Bethany Ayers is CEO of Metomic, where she leads the company through AI adoption at the intersection of data and security, Franky Athill is CMO of Jack & Jill, one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, And Sanjay Bowry is CFO of Gravitee, bringing the financial reality check the conversation needed.
Moderated by Seb Johnson of Scaling Europe, the conversation centred on one of the biggest questions facing every scale-up right now - how do you grow a company when AI is reshaping the rules?
On fundraising, Christian was direct in his view that the market has fundamentally changed. Diligence that once took months now happens in days, and nobody knows where competitive advantage will come from anymore. "The fundraising cycle that used to take three months can now happen in three days. Everyone is biasing towards speed."
On hiring, Franky has built ten of Jack & Jill's seventeen-person team from former founders - not for their experience, but their mindset. When AI handles much of the execution, you need people who can adapt fast and own things end to end. Bethany disagreed: "AI amplifies the person using it. If someone doesn't know what they're talking about, AI just lets them not know in a much more destructive way." But both agreed that if a candidate isn't using AI tools, the conversation is over. She added "...lack of fluency is our number one reason for rejecting candidates."
On doing the work, Christian rebuilt an entire product strategy, brand and messaging hierarchy in two weeks with AI platform Claude. Bethany put it simply: "I speak at 140 words per minute. I could never type that fast." Sanjay added that the fundamentals haven't changed. Growth rate, gross margin, payback period still matter but revenue per employee is the number to watch now.
On culture, Bethany asked the room how many people use AI every day. Half the hands went up. "You need to be the AI champion of your business. You can't guide your team if you're not using it yourself." Christian's closing advice was to simply get your documentation in order. "We've been telling each other to write things down for decades. Now the machines do it for you."
The fastest-growing tech businesses in the UK are navigating genuinely hard problems without the support structures larger companies have. That's the common theme running through every company on the Scale-Up 50 list. The businesses building something sustainable are the ones thinking carefully about where AI fits and where it doesn't. The ones moving fastest are the ones who are most deliberate about how they use it.
Our partners at CFC, Cooper Parry, HSBC Innovation Banking, LegalEdge and Scaling Europe share that view, and each work closely with scale-ups at every point of their journey. Their involvement in the list reflects a genuine commitment to the companies on it.
The full Scale-Up 50 2026 list is live now. We work with scale-ups across the UK to make sure their insurance keeps pace with how fast they're growing. If the evening's conversations resonated, get in touch, we'd love to chat!