Industry landscapes
The companies, capital and talent shaping chemicals and materials tech in the United Kingdom. Find the leaders. Understand the segments. See where the activity is.
An industry ecosystem,
measured in context.
24 featured companies from the funding, hiring, revenue and team-size leaderboards.
Locked revenue figures are available in Radar; the eight company financial previews stay the same throughout this page. A dash means the figure is outside these featured lists. Revenue years vary by company; the figures are not a like-for-like revenue comparison. Compare annual accounts ↗
Recently founded means a recorded 2023–2026 founding year and no recorded parent, acquirer or public-company status. These companies are not labelled startups without that separate classification.
Explore classified startups in Radar ↗A few useful ratios bring the size of this ecosystem into perspective.
28 of 352 tracked companies have open roles.
139 of 352 tracked companies have a recorded round.
Share of disclosed capital received by the three largest recorded recipients.
Midpoint of 364 rounds with a disclosed amount.
Scale is concentrated. Opportunity is broader. The three largest funding recipients hold 24.5% of disclosed capital, while 60.5% of tracked companies have no recorded funding round.
Explore the segments →Recorded company formation and disclosed funding across the complete annual series shown.
Sum of recorded funding rounds · USD
| Year | Funding (USD) | Founded | Raising |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $49M | 19 | 21 |
| 2017 | $36.33M | 14 | 15 |
| 2018 | $74.21M | 28 | 26 |
| 2019 | $49.31M | 19 | 27 |
| 2020 | $138.94M | 19 | 30 |
| 2021 | $364.57M | 23 | 30 |
| 2022 | $241.24M | 19 | 38 |
| 2023 | $155.19M | 10 | 31 |
| 2024 | $291.27M | 10 | 34 |
| 2025 | $165.87M | 0 | 19 |
Share of all disclosed company funding.
422 recorded rounds since 2016
Recorded participation in chemicals and materials tech company rounds since 2016.
Backed by LetterOne and Axens and others.
Backed by Novo Holdings and A P Moller Holding.
Backed by Arch Venture Partners and Casdin Capital and others.
Participating investors were not recorded in this snapshot.
Backed by Lansdowne Partners and Oxford Science Enterprises and others.
Backed by Atlantic Bridge and Intel Capital and others.
Backed by Plural and Playground Global and others.
Participating investors were not recorded in this snapshot.
Backed by SAGANA and Regeneration.VC and others.
Backed by UB FIGG and Horizons Ventures and others.
Annual accounts for reporting companies linked to this landscape, on like-for-like currency and reporting bases.
Display conversions use the dated reference rates above. Where a verified rate is unavailable, figures retain their source currency. Each reporting cohort keeps its currency and accounting basis separate.
FY2025 · company accounts; aggregate reporting threshold not met · 1 reporting entities from 131 eligible matches.
Sum of reporting-entity revenue; not the United Kingdom market sales.
Combined result for the same cohort.
Combined net income ÷ combined revenue.
The middle covered reporting entity.
None of 1 covered entities.
Share of covered revenue from the five largest entities.
Reported cohort totals by year; coverage is stated for every period.
Bar height shows revenue. Changes in coverage can affect totals.
FY2025 · 1 reporting entities
Up to eight fixed company previews show financial amounts. Search and sort the wider company list, then continue in Radar.
| Company / reporting entity | Revenue | Net profit / loss | Net margin | Revenue growth | Total assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MoA Technology ↗10895764 | £2.5m | £-9.4m | -374.1% | — | — |
Explore full company accounts and filings.
Choose “View accounts” to inspect an available company preview.
Each pair uses the same year, currency and reporting basis. Cohort overlap is disclosed.
| Industry | Covered / eligible | Revenue total | Median revenue | Net profit / loss | Aggregate margin | Profitable share | Overlap |
|---|
Available-account cohorts are not estimates of whole industries. Overlapping entities can occur in more than one cohort; do not add cohort totals.
Filed annual accounts for exact designated national identifiers. Every aggregate and peer pair uses one fiscal year, source currency and reporting basis; periods, coverage and overlap are explicit; 2026 partials are excluded.
The same up to eight reporting entities remain open across years, filters and sorts. Other company figures are available in Radar.
Source currencies and accounting bases stay separate. Missing accounts are excluded rather than treated as zero. Exact reporting periods appear on company previews. Annual totals can change with coverage and do not measure growth of a fixed company cohort.
Explore the segments behind the headline numbers.
Rank segments by scale, hiring or disclosed funding.
Companies can sit in several segments. Counts and funding overlap.
The largest measured segment in this report snapshot.
27 companies hiring · $1.88B disclosed funding
Explore in RadarCommon revenue models; a company can use more than one.
Recorded corporate activity linked to companies in this landscape.
Qualus Corporation has announced that Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. has completed its acquisition of the company from New Mountain Capital.
London-headquartered Nanomox has secured £2.4 million in seed funding, blending equity and grants. The round was led by TSP Ventures and Boast Trading LLC, with participation from Imperial College Enterprise Fund 3, SNØCAP VC, the Circular Innovation Fund, EIT RawMaterials, and several UK angels.
Cambridge-based materials start-up Sparxell has raised $5 million in pre-series A funding as investment activity begins to pick up again in next-generation materials, following a prolonged slowdown driven by inflation, rising interest rates and growing scrutiny of sustainability claims.
🇬🇧 Notpla receives EU funding to develop plastic-free coffee cups Packaging Insights
Completing the acquisition of SaveMoneyCutCarbon is a pivotal milestone for Haydale.
Future Materials Group (FMG) is pleased to announce that it acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to SHD Composites, a leading global manufacturer of advanced composite materials, on its sale to Cambium.
Immaterial brought SLB, Finindus, and Nokia Ventures to quickly scale its decarbonisation materials.
AZB & Partners is advising Morgan Advanced Materials plc (“Morgan”), the global manufacturer of advanced carbon and ceramic materials for complex and technologically demanding applications, on the sale of Morgan’s India molten metals systems business to Vesuvius plc (“Vesuvius”), as part of its global sale of its molten metals systems business. The transaction is structured as an acquisition of Morgan’s 75% shareholding in its Indian listed subsidiary, Morganite Crucible (India) Ltd (“MCIL”), by Vesuvius’ Indian listed subsidiary, Foseco India Ltd (“FIL”), with consideration for the acquisition being the issuance of new FIL shares to Morgan group shareholders in MCIL.
Emerald Technology Ventures Backs Xampla with $14 Million in Series A Funding September 5, 2025 Aim is for Xampla’s revolutionary Morro materials to replace more than 10 billion units of the most polluting single-use plastic...
Bristol-based Phasecraft, a startup specialising in the development of quantum algorithms, has secured €29 million in Series B funding.
Top 10 categories among 180 recorded events in the 24-month window.
1 tracked people moves
Appointment Chair
Products, platforms and features in the recorded window
AI Classifier
Heat-transfer fluid / thermal management fluid
21 recorded customer wins
Customer: Quàbec Nickel Corp.Marketing and media services
Customer:
Customer: mlcIndustrial lime production
Customer: Technology
Customer: interfloorMaterials
Customer: jericho energy venturesAI infrastructure and energy
1 companies with reported reductions
Scale not stated rolescost reduction
1 recorded events
approved supplier status with BAE Systems
4 tracked suits
intellectual property infringementPatent · Settled
patent infringementPatent · Settled
Reported company results in the recorded window.
Median across 20 reported growth observations; companies may contribute multiple periods.
Company-linked deal reports; status is preserved as recorded.
| Acquirer → target | Status | Date | Value / context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearlake Capital Group, L.P.→Qualus ↗ | Completed | 2026-05-02 | Not stated in snapshot |
| ansys→granta design ↗ | Announced | 2026-02-02 | Not stated in snapshot |
| Haydale→Intelligent Resource Management Limited (trading as SaveMoneyCutCarbon or "SMCC") | Completed | 2026-01-16 | Not stated in snapshot |
| Haydale→Intelligent Resource Management Limited, trading as SaveMoneyCutCarbon (SMCC) | Announced | 2025-12-13 | Not stated in snapshot |
| cambium→SHD Composites ↗ | Completed | 2025-12-03 | Not stated in snapshot |
| vesuvius→Morgan Advanced Materials ↗ | Announced | 2025-09-24 | Not stated in snapshot |
A discussion or rumour is not a completed transaction. An unstated value is not zero.
1 postings in the preceding 12 months. The full 12-posting snapshot covers 9 employers.
0 tracked postings mention remote work.
2 postings specify a level.
Top skills across 12 tracked postings in the available jobs snapshot.
| Company | Employees |
|---|---|
| Oxford Instruments ↗ | 2,027 |
| AmSafe Bridport ↗ | 249 |
| Kromek ↗ | 139 |
| M Squared ↗ | 110 |
| Cambridge Mechatronics ↗ | 100 |
| Nanoco Group ↗ | 61 |
| Morgan Advanced Materials ↗ | 58 |
| Haydale ↗ | 54 |
300 founders and chief executives across 200 companies.
Ex-Ian Temperton Consulting, Climate Change Capital, LIFFE. University of Cambridge MA 1996, LBS MIF 2003
Ex-Illumina, FEI, Intel, CoorsTek. Rhode Island School of Design BS 1990, University of Oregon MBA 2000…
Sipearl, ex-Nexeon, ex-Pyreos, University of Bristol, 1977
Ex-Wilson Wright, Advetec Group, Mulberry Bow, Crowe Clark Whitehill. UCL BSc 2003
M Squared, ex-Coin Liquidity Solutions, ex-Finnet, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), 2016
University of Bristol.
Ex-Terrafend, Dstl, BNFL. Durham University BSc 1996, Durham University PhD 1999
University of Utah BS 1979
Ex-Novihum Technologies, Corless Consulting, Sahara Forest Project, The Bellona Foundation. MIT BS 2005, University of Cambridge PhD 2009
Econic Technologies, ex-Worn Again Technologies, ex-Nanoco Technologies, Imperial College London
Ex-L'Oreal. The Australian National University ME 2009, INSA Lyon - National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon MEng 2010…
ex-Co-Founder RE Fashion Awards, Director Anti-Apathy
86 profiles with education records.
4 profiles with prior-work records.
Profiles cover recorded founders and leaders; contact details remain in Radar.
1,239,791 articles in the measured 12-month window.
Chemicals and Materials Tech coverage across United Kingdom · articles per complete quarter
| Quarter | Articles |
|---|---|
| 2021Q2 | 186,573 |
| 2021Q3 | 214,501 |
| 2021Q4 | 181,618 |
| 2022Q1 | 192,548 |
| 2022Q2 | 186,057 |
| 2022Q3 | 196,598 |
| 2022Q4 | 221,607 |
| 2023Q1 | 220,963 |
| 2023Q2 | 211,445 |
| 2023Q3 | 226,389 |
| 2023Q4 | 213,647 |
| 2024Q1 | 241,814 |
| 2024Q2 | 230,767 |
| 2024Q3 | 248,128 |
| 2024Q4 | 259,968 |
| 2025Q1 | 337,280 |
| 2025Q2 | 254,670 |
| 2025Q3 | 558,115 |
| 2025Q4 | 204,974 |
| 2026Q1 | 234,904 |
Article volume measures coverage, not market sales.
298 recorded company events across 41 companies; percentages use that event total.
Chemicals and Materials Tech coverage across United Kingdom · ranked by full-period article count.
Recent and prior counts use the source comparison windows.
Chemicals and Materials Tech coverage across United Kingdom
| Keyword | Recent | Prior | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| test cricket | 10,525 | 7,137 | 47% |
| test innings | 8,160 | 5,300 | 54% |
| 5-day cricket | 6,247 | 4,294 | 45% |
| tariff negotiations | 4,519 | 2,805 | 61% |
| 1000 test wickets | 4,213 | 2,843 | 48% |
| stock performance | 4,032 | 2,739 | 47% |
| countries | 3,913 | 1,436 | 172% |
| test match tactics | 3,272 | 1,709 | 91% |
| ashes test | 2,835 | 1,915 | 48% |
| longest test innings | 2,742 | 1,749 | 57% |
| icc world cup | 2,029 | 3,150 | -36% |
| europa league | 791 | 2,518 | -69% |
| icc champions trophy | 535 | 2,032 | -74% |
| economic slowdown | 1,064 | 1,622 | -34% |
| africa t20 cup | 642 | 1,297 | -51% |
Chemicals and Materials Tech coverage across United Kingdom. Topic labels describe recorded classifications and can include broad context.
10,510 papers in the recorded worldwide scope.
Tone counts: 9,963 positive · 502 neutral · 45 negative.
Landmark: Covalent adaptable networks: smart, reconfigurable and responsive network systems
Landmark: Amorphous polyphosphate, a smart bioinspired nano-/bio-material for bone and cartilage regeneration: towards a new paradigm in tissue engine
Landmark: A review of stimuli-responsive shape memory polymer composites
Common problems researchers identify · 0125.5% of this theme group
Smart environment (18) · Smart material (69) · Building automation (11) · Architectural engineering (14)
Smart structures and material technologies in architecture applications
Smart Materials and Structures: State of the Art and Applications
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 23.7 |
| 2023 | 26.7 |
| 2024 | 21.0 |
| 2025 | 30.8 |
Common problems researchers identify · 0219.3% of this theme group
Piezoelectricity (18) · Carbon nanotube (8) · Nonlinear system (5) · Structural health monitoring (7)
Advanced Materials for Energy Harvesting and Soft Robotics: Emerging Frontiers to Enhance Piezoelectric Performance and Functionality
An investigation into size‐dependent dynamic thermo‐electromechanical response of piezoelectric‐laminated sandwich smart nanocomposites
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 567.0 |
| 2023 | 542.9 |
| 2024 | 434.7 |
| 2025 | 506.1 |
Common problems researchers identify · 0315.1% of this theme group
Magnetorheological fluid (10) · Actuator (21) · Self-healing hydrogels (13) · Artificial muscle (7)
Multifunctional soft machines based on stimuli-responsive hydrogels: from freestanding hydrogels to smart integrated systems
Hydrogels in Soft Robotics: Past, Present, and Future
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 515.7 |
| 2023 | 514.0 |
| 2024 | 470.1 |
| 2025 | 585.1 |
Common problems researchers identify · 0413.8% of this theme group
Smart polymer (17) · Polymer (19) · Smart material (42) · Nanotechnology (19)
Polymer-based smart materials by printing technologies: Improving application and integration
Smart polymer brushes and their emerging applications
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 864.8 |
| 2023 | 844.3 |
| 2024 | 729.8 |
| 2025 | 614.3 |
Common problems researchers identify · 0513.3% of this theme group
Nanotechnology (47) · Smart material (48) · Nanometre (4) · Nanomaterials (5)
Smart Materials for Microrobots
Responsive principles and applications of smart materials in biosensing
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 6017.8 |
| 2023 | 6037.6 |
| 2024 | 6407.6 |
| 2025 | 5059.3 |
Common problems researchers identify · 067.3% of this theme group
3D printing (18) · Morphing (8) · Biofabrication (5) · Polymer (6)
Developments in 4D-printing: a review on current smart materials, technologies, and applications
4D printing: Fundamentals, materials, applications and challenges
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 330.6 |
| 2023 | 357.2 |
| 2024 | 405.8 |
| 2025 | 481.6 |
Common problems researchers identify · 075.7% of this theme group
Shape-memory alloy (24) · SMA* (11) · Shape-memory polymer (9) · Nickel titanium (4)
Application and Development of Shape Memory Micro/Nano Patterns
Micromechanics and Modelling of Adaptive Shape Memory Composites
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 188.9 |
| 2023 | 195.6 |
| 2024 | 215.0 |
| 2025 | 202.7 |
Cautions · 0149.4% of this theme group
Smart material (27) · Nanotechnology (9) · Nanomaterials (6) · Tissue engineering (3)
Green Nanomaterials for Smart Textiles Dedicated to Environmental and Biomedical Applications
Dental Smart Materials
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 6023.0 |
| 2023 | 6043.2 |
| 2024 | 6414.6 |
| 2025 | 5079.5 |
Cautions · 0222.4% of this theme group
Piezoelectricity (8) · Actuator (9) · Composite material (6) · Hysteresis (4)
An experimental investigation on the health monitoring of concrete structures using piezoelectric transducers at various environmental tempe
Electrical and electromechanical characteristics of LTCC embedded piezoelectric bulk actuators
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 3685.0 |
| 2023 | 3604.8 |
| 2024 | 3287.4 |
| 2025 | 2458.5 |
Cautions · 0314.1% of this theme group
Shape-memory polymer (4) · Viscoelasticity (2) · Morphing (2) · Magnetorheological fluid (2)
Advances in additive manufacturing of shape memory polymer composites
Thermomechanical and shape memory properties of thermosetting shape memory polymer under compressive loadings
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 96.3 |
| 2023 | 88.3 |
| 2024 | 78.3 |
| 2025 | 103.4 |
Cautions · 0414.1% of this theme group
Shape-memory alloy (11) · SMA* (6) · Nickel titanium (3) · Damper (3)
Sensitivity of Seismic Applications to Different Shape Memory Alloy Models
Investigation on The Seismic Behavior of Steel MRF with Shape Memory Alloy Equipped Connections
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 186.3 |
| 2023 | 192.5 |
| 2024 | 211.1 |
| 2025 | 199.6 |
Opportunities · 0124.8% of this theme group
Smart material (955) · Nanotechnology (295) · Architectural engineering (48) · Internet of Things (41)
Magnetically responsive intelligent fibers: nano-engineered materials and multifunctional integration for advanced applications
Advanced Smart and Multifunctional Polymer Materials
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 6023.4 |
| 2023 | 6045.2 |
| 2024 | 6419.5 |
| 2025 | 5065.6 |
Opportunities · 0224.5% of this theme group
Polymer (182) · Composite number (132) · Photochromism (48) · Fabrication (113)
Photoplastic\nTransformation Based on Dynamic Covalent\nChemistry
Graphene/Phase\nChange Material Nanocomposites: Light-Driven,\nReversible Electrical Resistivity Regulation via Form-Stable Phase\nTransitio
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 1847.4 |
| 2023 | 1847.2 |
| 2024 | 1769.8 |
| 2025 | 1842.9 |
Opportunities · 0315.4% of this theme group
Shape-memory alloy (766) · Shape-memory polymer (338) · SMA* (232) · Nickel titanium (55)
Shape Memory Polymer Composite Actuator: Modeling Approach for Preliminary Design and Validation
Shaping shape‐memory
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 188.9 |
| 2023 | 195.6 |
| 2024 | 215.0 |
| 2025 | 202.7 |
Opportunities · 0411.5% of this theme group
Actuator (565) · Soft robotics (127) · Artificial muscle (78) · Elastomer (136)
Scalable functionalized liquid crystal elastomer fiber soft actuators with multi-stimulus responses and photoelectric conversion
Smart Bioinspired Actuators: Crawling, Linear, and Bending Motions through a Multilayer Design
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 306.3 |
| 2023 | 295.7 |
| 2024 | 243.0 |
| 2025 | 303.3 |
Opportunities · 0510.1% of this theme group
Piezoelectricity (446) · Piezoelectric sensor (59) · Piezoresistive effect (52) · Energy harvesting (67)
Piezoelectric composite cements: Towards the development of self-powered and self-diagnostic materials
Effective mechanical properties of piezoelectric–piezomagnetic hybrid smart composites
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 168.3 |
| 2023 | 171.8 |
| 2024 | 160.4 |
| 2025 | 198.2 |
Opportunities · 068.9% of this theme group
Self-healing hydrogels (370) · Self-healing (71) · Nanotechnology (142) · Smart material (148)
Smart/stimuli-responsive hydrogels: Cutting-edge platforms for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications
Eco-Friendly, Self-Healing Hydrogels for Adhesive and Elastic Strain Sensors, Circuit Repairing, and Flexible Electronic Devices
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 6142.9 |
| 2023 | 6168.3 |
| 2024 | 6553.4 |
| 2025 | 5274.8 |
Opportunities · 074.8% of this theme group
Magnetorheological fluid (234) · Magnetorheological elastomer (93) · Damper (60) · Elastomer (96)
Research and Applications of MR Elastomers
Combined magnetic and mechanical sensing of magnetorheological elastomers
| Year | Share index |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 53.8 |
| 2023 | 47.1 |
| 2024 | 35.3 |
| 2025 | 45.5 |
Orientation shares compared with 25,000 papers in the reference sample.
| Research orientation | This field | Reference sample |
|---|---|---|
| Breakthrough | 41.4% | 26.2% |
| Promising | 34.9% | 37.4% |
| Descriptive | 16.3% | 17.1% |
| Problem-identifying | 4.2% | 9.8% |
| Comparative | 2.1% | 4.1% |
| Cautionary | 0.9% | 4.5% |
| Critical | 0.2% | 0.9% |
Counts and shares refer to the stated research pool. A low count describes how much of that research is recorded here, not the absence of a real-world concern.
| Concern / example paper | Papers | Share | Raised as a problem | Worldwide share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy & surveillanceMaking Smart Regions Smarter: Smart Specialization and the Role of Universities in Regional Innovation Ecosystems | 7 | 0.08% | 2 (28.6%) | 0.08% |
| Bias & fairnessA simple smart composite using fiber Bragg grating sensors for strain and temperature discrimination | 2 | 0.02% | 0 (0.0%) | 0.02% |
| Energy & datacenter footprintEnergy-Saving Smart Windows with HPC/PAA Hybrid Hydrogels\nas Thermochromic Materials | 1 | 0.01% | 0 (0.0%) | 0.01% |
| Water use | 0 | 0.0% | 0 (%) | 0.0% |
| Carbon & emissions of compute | 0 | 0.0% | 0 (%) | 0.0% |
| Hardware, e-waste & supply chain | 0 | 0.0% | 0 (%) | 0.0% |
| Labour & data work | 0 | 0.0% | 0 (%) | 0.0% |
| Safety & misuse | 0 | 0.0% | 0 (%) | 0.0% |
| Concentration of compute power | 0 | 0.0% | 0 (%) | 0.0% |
Institution and researcher rankings use citations to their covered work. Research scope: worldwide. This may be broader than the company geography.
Published patent filings in the recorded source window.
Company counts, hiring and disclosed funding across the recorded hubs.
53.9% across the displayed hubs
11 companies hiring · $650.6M disclosed funding
Explore companies in London ↗
13.6% across the displayed hubs
2 companies hiring · $171.2M disclosed funding
Explore companies in Cambridge ↗
7.8% across the displayed hubs
1 companies hiring · $112.3M disclosed funding
Explore companies in Manchester ↗
6.5% across the displayed hubs
1 companies hiring · $62.9M disclosed funding
Explore companies in Bristol ↗
6.5% across the displayed hubs
2 companies hiring · $141.4M disclosed funding
Explore companies in Oxford ↗
5.2% across the displayed hubs
0 companies hiring · $22.7M disclosed funding
Explore companies in Nottingham ↗
3.2% across the displayed hubs
0 companies hiring · $70.2M disclosed funding
Explore companies in Glasgow ↗
3.2% across the displayed hubs
1 companies hiring · $52.7M disclosed funding
Explore companies in Leeds ↗Clear definitions for making better comparisons.
It measures the tracked company ecosystem, recorded funding, hiring and other available evidence. It is not a market-size estimate.
No. A company can belong to several segments, so segment counts and funding can overlap.
A dash or unavailable panel means the current reviewed source snapshot does not support that figure.
Company ecosystem snapshot: 3 September 2026. Funding is recorded in USD; filed accounts retain their stated currency and reporting basis. Each section identifies its own coverage. The news and research behind these sections is explorable in Prism.
Canonical landscape ↗