5. Virti

Founder: Alexander Young
Founded: 2018
Website: virti.com

Tech startups usually sound pretty futuristic, but Virti really does seem like something out of a sci-fi novel.

Started by trauma and orthopaedic surgeon Alex Young, the idea grew out of his personal medical training experience and the paradoxical need for safe, controlled assessment in an authentic learning session.

So, Young created Virti. Using virtual and augmented reality, coupled with AI, Virti brings users into difficult to access environments and securely assesses them under pressure to improve their performance and patient safety.

Virti brings users into difficult to access environments and securely assesses them under pressure to improve their performance and patient safety

Barely three years old, this startup has achieved unprecedented growth over the past year. In 2020-2021 Virti grew revenues by almost 1000%, tripled its team size and closed a £7.3m Series A investment in a highly competitive round.

In recognition of this achievement, Virti was named one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions in 2020, and the system is currently being used for physician training and patient education, including by the NHS. However, Virti also has early customers in oil and gas, aviation and corporate training, demonstrating its future scale potential beyond healthcare markets.

Virti was named one of TIME Magazine's Best Inventions in 2020

As with any of our top 100, it’s not all about the figures (impressive as they undeniably are). Virti also stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide free COVID-19 training across the NHS and in the US, receiving approval from Health Education England – the first ever VR/AR company to do so.

Virti has proven its worth in the healthcare training market. Now, we can’t wait to watch them turn their VR dream into a cross-sector reality..