When artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Quantexa hit unicorn status, the London-based company said it was a chance to embark on a major growth push.
In April 2023, Quantexa was minted a billion dollar ‘unicorn’ after closing a $129m (£99.4m) funding round at a valuation of $1.8bn (£1.4bn).
Quantexa, which uses AI to analyse financial firms’ data sets to help them manage risk, earmarked the fresh cash for beefing up its coffers to fund growth and potential deals.
Since then, it has followed through on that promise.
Quantexa now employs more than 750 employees globally across 15 locations and has over 15,000 users.
In March this year it struck a partnership with Microsoft to make its AI platform available on the tech giant’s Azure marketplace and announced plans to bring the platform to mid-sized banks in the US.
Earlier this summer it also announced a partnership with US firm Databricks.
It is on track to reach £80m in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of 2024 as the market for its AI platform has ballooned to £400bn, according to a Gartner study commissioned by Quantexa.
More than a year on from joining the exclusive unicorn club.
So, what is next for Quantexa?
More of the same, according to chief executive Vishal Marria – but quicker.
“Frankly, you know, we’ve done incredibly well to get to where we are today,” he told City A.M.
“We want to continue building a big business and being that trusted partner.”
Vishal Marria, Quantexa CEO
Quantexa counts HSBC, Bank of New York Mellon and the British government among its roster of clients.
“Being that trusted partner to solve some of those most complex problems really excites me and excites my company and my people here at Quantexa. We want to make that bigger.
But Marria, who is “laser focused” on growth, believes the UK needs to do more to encourage its “entrepreneurial spirit”.
“What we need to really decide here in the United Kingdom is: do we want to be a country which is great at starting companies and supporting in that startup phase, but then we are willing and happy for those companies to take their HQ status or take their business to the Americas or other countries to then scale that business there?
“Or, do we want to be a country that supports start up businesses, but also supports them in scaling and taking them through that journey from 50 million, 100 million to 200, 300, 500 million, to getting to a billion in revenue?”
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Marria said there are a number of ways the British government could help support businesses which are hitting 100 plus million in revenue and growing, especially around liquidity in the public and private markets.
“I think the ability to ensure more liquidity in the market is going to be a critical component because when you bring in more liquidity…that really does unlock many things.”
He added that attracting experienced people and talent to the UK is vital, as is changing the cultural mindset.
“How do we get that culture into the business environment, around ensuring that we are keeping HQ’d British tech companies here and allowing them to grow here. I think that’s going to be more of a cultural thing and a cultural mindset change,” Marria explained.
Although Marria has previously said he has no plans to follow some of his peers to the US, he has not ruled it out. To propel its own ambitions to scale,Quantexa has also said it could consider an IPO in a couple of years and is currently exploring acquisitions.
In 2023 it acquired Aylien, an Irish natural language processing software firm with an estimated $9.1m (£7m) in sales, for undisclosed terms.