Hurun UK Under40s 2026
In association with Alibaba Cloud
Recursive's Tim Rocktäschel and Josh Tobin, Synthesia's Victor Riparbelli and Steffen Tjerrild, INEOS's George Ratcliffe and Revolut's Donato Lucia lead the 2026 Hurun UK U40s
The Hurun Research Institute today releases the 2026 Hurun UK U40s, recognising 179 individuals: 94 winners for 2026 and 85 previous winners still eligible by age and company valuation. The businesses they founded, lead or help run are worth a combined US$338.9 billion.
The 2026 U40s in numbers — 2026 winners and qualifying past winners together:
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The 94 winners comprise 66 FirstGen founders, eleven NextGen leaders and 17 senior executives
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The 2026 FirstGen winners have built companies worth US$38 billion, including 15 now worth US$1 billion or more
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The eleven NextGen winners are taking on family businesses worth US$77.8 billion
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The 17 senior-executive winners help run companies worth at least US$149 billion. Revolut, represented by VP of Technology Donato Lucia, is valued at US$115 billion — the most valuable company ever to appear on a Hurun UK Uth list
Across the full list:
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179 people: 149 FirstGen founders, 13 NextGen leaders and 17 senior executives, connected to US$338.9 billion of business value
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31 distinct founder-built companies worth US$1 billion or more, represented by 45 FirstGen individuals; across all categories, 68 people are linked to billion-dollar businesses
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22 women, including 14 of the 94 new awardees — among them Alice Bentinck (Entrepreneur First), Olivia Ferdi (TRIP) and Susie Ma (Tropic Skincare)
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21 built their businesses without a university degree, including dropouts; Cambridge leads the degree count with 19, followed by Oxford on 16 and Imperial on nine
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37% of FirstGen founders were born outside the UK — the highest recorded international share in the series
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More than 180,000 jobs across connected businesses, including around 104,500 in NextGen companies, 47,500 in founder-built businesses and 28,200 at senior executives’ employers
[London: 12 November 2026]:
The Under40s is the fourth and most senior list in the Hurun UK Uth Series. Read with the inaugural Under25s, Under30s and Under35s, it completes a 330-person guide to young British enterprise, from teenage founders to the people taking corner offices and responsibility for family businesses.
The 2026 list arrives two weeks after Chancellor John Healey's Autumn Budget of 28 October. A proposed Founders' Relief would apply a 10% capital-gains-tax rate to up to £10 million of qualifying lifetime gains for disposals from 6 April 2027, while a £5 billion uplift to the British Business Bank's financial capacity is aimed squarely at the scale-up cohort represented here.
The top of the list: three types of success
The FirstGen founders: from frontier AI to global consumer brands
Tim Rocktäschel and Josh Tobin lead the 2026 FirstGen cohort with Recursive, valued at approximately US$4.65 billion after raising US$650 million. Rocktäschel, a UCL professor and former DeepMind research lead, and Tobin, who previously led OpenAI's deep-research work, co-founded the company with U35s winner Tim Shi. Recursive operates from dual hubs in London and San Francisco and is pursuing AI systems that can improve themselves.
Victor Riparbelli and Steffen Tjerrild follow with Synthesia, the AI video-generation company they founded in London in 2017. Used by most of the Fortune 100 and valued at US$4 billion, it is one of Britain's flagship AI application businesses. Both founders graduate to the U40s after winning the U35s in 2024.
Behind them are Chad Edwards of CuspAI (US$2.6 billion), Dhaval Patel of Universal Partners (US$1.9 billion), Chris Pedregal of Granola (US$1.5 billion), Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck of Entrepreneur First (US$1.3 billion), and Carl Pei of Nothing (US$1.3 billion). Pei co-founded OnePlus at 24 and launched Nothing in London in 2020, creating a global consumer-electronics challenger from a British base.
Source: Hurun Research 2026
Across the full U40s class, the 31 founder-built billion-dollar companies also include ElevenLabs, Wayve, Blockchain.com, Lendable, Improbable, Olix, GoCardless, Marshmallow, Copper.co, Zenobē Energy, Paddle, Gymshark, Castore, Cleo, Beamery and Moniepoint. The 31 companies are represented by 45 FirstGen people; across all categories, 68 people on the list are linked to billion-dollar businesses.
The NextGen: taking on US$77.8 billion of family business
Eleven NextGen leaders join the 2026 winners list. George Ratcliffe, President of INEOS Automotive Americas, represents the next generation at the chemicals-to-automotive group founded by his father, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, chairs the US$12.7 billion Grosvenor Estate. Michael Murray has been CEO of Frasers Group since May 2022, running the US$4.4 billion retail empire built by his father-in-law Mike Ashley.
They are joined by Haider Choudrey of Bestway Group, Lydia Forte of Rocco Forte Hotels, Timothy Goodwin of Goodwin PLC, Thomas Hartland-Mackie of City Electric Supply, Bernard Langley of Langley Holdings, India Rose James of Soho Estates, Charles Shortt of DCS Group and Will McMahon of Kendal Nutrition. Across the full class, 13 NextGen leaders are taking on family businesses worth US$79.8 billion and employing around 104,500 people.
The senior executives: a new class arrives
Seventeen senior executives make the 2026 winners list, helping run companies worth at least US$149 billion. Donato Lucia succeeded Vlad Yatsenko as Revolut VP of Technology on 1 July 2026 at the US$115 billion fintech. Ethan Tandowsky joined US$22 billion ElevenLabs as CFO on 8 September after a decade at Adyen. Ashley Paulus is VP and Head of Revenue for the UK and EEA at US$12 billion Checkout.com.
Four executives from Wayve — Kaity Fischer, Dan McCloskey, Sarah Gates and Simone Fabris — show the depth of leadership at Britain's AI champions. They are joined by Tara Ryan of Monzo, Declan Ferguson of Starling Bank, Craig Watson of Synthesia, Carly Natalizia of Gymshark and Max Jaderberg, who became President of Isomorphic Labs in January 2026 after leading AlphaFold 3 drug-design work.
What the whole class tells us
A global talent pool. Among FirstGen founders 37% were born outside the UK. They include Carl Pei, born in Beijing and raised in Sweden; Sten Saar from Estonia; Hristo Borisov and Boyko Karadzhov from Bulgaria; Dexory co-founders Andrei Danescu, Oana Jinga and Adrian Negoita from Romania; Tomas Gogar from Czechia; Rafel Jordà Siquier from Spain; and Sai Shivareddy from India. This is international talent building from Britain, not a caveat to the British success story.
University is a launchpad, not a requirement. Cambridge leads with 19 graduates, followed by Oxford on 16 and Imperial on nine. Yet 21 people built their businesses without a degree, including university dropouts. They include Christian Owens and Harrison Rose of Paddle, Josh Hart of YuLife, James Dacombe of Olix and Thomas Beahon of Castore. The average founder started at 26; those without degrees often started earlier.
Second and third acts are now visible. Tomas Gogar sold Rossum to Coupa in May 2026; Alex Macdonald and Zia Yusuf sold Velocity Black to Capital One; Virraj Jatania’s Pockit acquired Monese; and Alex Cardona exited Codat and is building Recorder. The U40s captures founders not only at scale, but at the point where exits recycle experience and capital into new companies.
Beyond London. PrettyLittleThing's Umar and Adam Kamani built their fashion brand in Manchester, where Nicholas Mealey built ConnexAI. Cambridge anchors a deeptech cluster from CuspAI to Nyobolt, while other stories run from Wrexham and Bromsgrove to Oxfordshire and Glasgow.
The U40s through the years. This is the second edition of the Hurun UK U40s. The first edition in 2024 had 110 winners.
How the U40s complete the four-list series.
The U40s are the series’ most senior and most valuable list, accounting for more than half of the 330 unique individuals named across the four lists. Read with the U25s, U30s and U35s, they complete a series spanning 387 list appearances representing 330 distinct individuals, from teenage founders to established business leaders. The younger lists reveal the pipeline; the U40s show where that pipeline can lead.
Lessons from the U40s
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For the UK government: this report is evidence that your policies are working. The EIS/SEIS regime, the Global Talent Visa, and the Regulatory Sandbox have created the third-largest startup ecosystem on the planet. The UK is attracting the world’s best founders. The next challenge is ensuring the UK remains the best place in the world to scale a company — so that the founders who choose Britain continue to choose Britain as they grow. This requires maintaining the competitive tax regime that attracted them, building domestic late-stage capital capacity so scaleups do not have to sell to American buyers, and reforming the London IPO pipeline so that the UK’s most successful companies list at home rather than in New York.
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For young entrepreneurs: these 179 individuals are your role models. The average unicorn founder was 35 when they started their company — you do not need decades of experience to build something extraordinary.
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For investors worldwide: this is a curated pipeline across AI, fintech, consumer and family business, with 31 founder-built billion-dollar companies on one list. The opportunity is not only to back the next startup, but to provide late-stage capital, governance and international connections that help companies scale in Britain rather than exit prematurely.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report, said:
“Read together, the U25s, U30s, U35s and U40s give government and investors the clearest overview of Britain’s next generation of business leadership: 330 unique individuals, from teenage founders to senior executives and family-business successors. The U40s alone include 31 founder-built billion-dollar companies and 17 senior executives at some of Britain’s most important scale-ups. As our Unicorn Index shows, international talent is central to this success. The challenge now is to help these companies scale, list and stay in Britain — and to make sure the people building tomorrow’s HSBCs, AstraZenecas and Shells are recognised and backed today.”
About the categories. The U40s recognises three types of achievement: FirstGen founders (149 of the 179 people), NextGen family-business leaders (13) and senior executives (17).
Methodology. The Hurun UK U40s recognises individuals aged 40 or under at 1 September 2026 who founded or co-founded a UK-based business worth at least US$100 million; hold an operational leadership role in a family business and manage sales or investments of at least US$200 million; or hold a senior executive role, such as CEO, CFO, VP or equivalent, in a company worth at least US$1 billion. For the first time in 2026, each list also identifies previous winners who remain eligible by age and company valuation. Businesses marked below a former valuation without a current disclosed figure are excluded from the combined totals.
Appendix — The stories of the 2026 U35s Winners
The 94 2026 winners: 66 FirstGen founders, eleven NextGen family-business leaders and 17 senior executives. Stories are alphabetical by family name within each category; grouped co-founders remain together.
The FirstGen founders
Rory Blundell co-founded Gravitee, the API-management and event-streaming platform that has raised more than US$125 million, including a US$60 million Series C from Sixth Street in May 2025. Before Gravitee he led SnapLogic's EMEA field technical operations; earlier he founded Velinko. At 40, he is a first-time winner on the oldest edge of the list.
Hristo Borisov & Boyko Karadzhov co-founded Payhawk, the spend-management company valued at US$1 billion. The Bulgarian pair — a former Director of Product Management at Progress (Telerik) and a Telerik software engineer respectively — founded the company in 2018 and made it one of Europe's few fintech unicorns.
Edmond Boulle co-founded Orbital, the legal-AI company whose software automates real-estate transactions. An Oxford law graduate, he co-founded the company in 2018 with Will Pearce, a 2026 Hurun UK U35s winner.
Mike Branney co-founded Oh Polly, the Glasgow-based fast-fashion brand valued at US$100 million. A Strathclyde graduate, he was working on a PhD in wind-energy systems when he turned to fashion e-commerce, co-founding the company in 2015.
Alex Cardona co-founded Codat, the business-data API company, serving as COO until exiting in 2023. An Oxford graduate, he is now building Recorder.
Michael Chen founded Nuclera, the Cambridge biotech company valued at US$450 million that is digitising drug discovery with its eProtein Discovery platform. Born in Cambridge to a British-Chinese family and a Cambridge graduate, he spent a decade in academic research before founding the company in 2013.
Matt Clifford & Alice Bentinck co-founded Entrepreneur First, the talent-investor valued at US$1.3 billion in its March 2026 funding round. Both former McKinsey consultants — Clifford a Cambridge graduate, Bentinck from Nottingham — they started EF in 2011 and have since helped launch hundreds of companies. Clifford also chairs ARIA and authored the government's AI Opportunities Action Plan.
Andrei Danescu, Oana Jinga & Adrian Negoita co-founded Dexory, the warehouse robotics and data-intelligence company valued at US$294 million. The Romanian-born trio — educated at Coventry, Cranfield, King's College London and Politehnica Bucharest — founded the company in 2017 and now run its autonomous robots in warehouses across Europe and the US.
Matt Davis & Gauthier Van Malderen co-founded Perlego, the digital textbook subscription service valued at US$277 million. Davis, a Warwick graduate, and Van Malderen, a Belgian-born Cambridge graduate who previously founded and sold Teenage Tourist, started the company in 2016. Both previously won the U30s 2022 and U35s 2024.
Kevin de Patoul is the Belgian-born co-founder and CEO of Keyrock, the digital-asset market maker valued at US$1.1 billion. A Université catholique de Louvain graduate, he co-founded the Brussels-London company in 2018.
Mikela Druckman co-founded Greyparrot, the London AI waste-analytics company valued at US$60 million. An NUS graduate, she was previously Chief Commercial Officer at augmented-reality company Blippar before founding Greyparrot in 2019.
Reiss Edgerton & Kristian Edgerton co-founded AYBL, the Bromsgrove-based womenswear brand valued at US$65 million, launching it from their living room in 2018 without university degrees. Reiss previously won the U30s 2022 and U35s 2023; Kristian, 32, the U30s 2022 and U35s 2023.
Chad Edwards founded CuspAI, the Cambridge AI-for-materials company valued at US$2.6 billion. Raised in a Welsh farming village and a Manchester graduate, he was previously VP of Strategic Partnerships at quantum-computing company Quantinuum before founding CuspAI in 2024.
Huss El-Sheikh is co-founder and CEO of 9fin, the AI analytics platform for debt markets valued at US$1.3 billion. A Bristol aerospace engineering graduate, he was an engineer at Deutsche Bank before co-founding the company in 2016 with Steven Hunter, a 2026 Hurun UK U35s winner.
Olivia Ferdi & Daniel Khoury co-founded TRIP, the drinks brand valued at more than £200 million that created the CBD-and-adaptogens relaxation-drinks category. Both Cambridge graduates and former lawyers — Ferdi at Allen & Overy and Farfetch, where she was principal legal counsel — they founded the company in 2019. Ferdi graduates to the U40s after winning the U35s 2023.
Matthias Geeroms founded Lighthouse, the Belgian-born Ghent graduate building a billion-dollar-plus property-technology business from London. He was previously a transfer-pricing specialist in the Belgian federal tax administration before founding the company in 2012.
Karl Gilbert & Jinden Badesha co-founded Raylo, the technology subscription platform valued at US$190 million. Gilbert, from Belfast and a Durham economics and finance graduate, was an early member of Funding Circle's capital-markets team; Badesha, a Durham engineering graduate, spent four years at Funding Circle. They founded Raylo in 2019.
Kevin Glynn & David Nolan co-founded Butternut Box, the fresh-dog-food company valued at US$660 million. Glynn, born in Ireland and a UCD graduate, was a Goldman Sachs trader; Nolan, a Surrey graduate, was a Goldman sales-trader. They founded the company in 2016.
Tomas Gogar founded Rossum, the AI document-processing company acquired by Coupa in May 2026. Born in Prague and educated at the Czech Technical University, he founded Rossum in 2017 — and now joins the list of U40 founders finishing a first act in style.
Alex Groombridge & Jean de La Verpilliere co-founded Echion Technologies, the Cambridge spin-out valued at £133 million whose niobium-based materials power fast-charging batteries. Groombridge, a Cambridge engineering researcher, and De La Verpilliere, a French-born CentraleSupélec graduate, spun the company out of Cambridge research in 2017. Both previously won the U35s 2024.
Josh Hart & Sam Fromson co-founded YuLife, the life-insurance company reimagined around wellbeing, valued at US$800 million. Hart, who did not go to university, previously co-founded Chelsea Apps Factory; Fromson is a Cambridge graduate, former hedge-fund analyst and qualified rabbi. They founded YuLife in 2016.
Kieran Holmes-Darby & Joel Holmes-Darby co-founded Excel Esports in 2014, when Kieran was 19 and studying law at Lancaster. Both left before the 2023 GIANTX merger; the approximately £100 million valuation refers to the merged group, not a current independent Excel business. Kieran, 30, is among the youngest winners on this year's list and is now general manager of Los Ratones, while remaining a minority GIANTX shareholder. Both brothers previously won the U30s 2022 and U35s 2024.
Virraj Jatania is founder and CEO of Pockit, the financial-services app built for underserved customers, valued at US$100 million. His family arrived in the UK from Uganda in 1972, and he co-founded Pockit in 2014 before acquiring fellow fintech Monese in October 2024.
Umar Kamani & Adam Kamani co-founded PrettyLittleThing in Manchester in 2012, when Umar was 24, building it into a billion-dollar fashion brand within the Kamani family retail empire founded by their father, Boohoo co-founder Mahmud Kamani. Umar leads the Kamani Group; Adam runs the family's property arm. Adam builds without a university degree.
Abbas Kazmi founded Collegiate Capital and the Sabah.fund, the London investment businesses he launched after leaving BlackRock. Raised in Dubai and an Oxford graduate, he previously won the U35s 2024.
Susie Ma founded Tropic Skincare, the ethical beauty brand valued at US$127 million, starting out at 15 selling homemade body scrubs at Greenwich Market to help her mother pay the bills. Born in Shanghai in November 1988 and raised in Australia before settling in London at 13, she graduated from UCL and came third on The Apprentice in 2011 — yet still secured a £200,000 investment from Lord Sugar for half the business. In April 2023 she bought back his stake to regain full ownership, and the company — built on a community of 38,000 selling ambassadors — turned over £68m in 2024 at £8.7m pre-tax profit. Worth £100m on the 2026 Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List, she appeared as a guest Dragon on Dragons' Den in 2026. New to the U40s in 2026; previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 winner.
Alex Macdonald & Zia Yusuf co-founded Velocity Black, the digital concierge sold to Capital One in 2023 for £233 million. Macdonald, a Manchester graduate, has since moved on to new ventures; Yusuf, born in Bellshill, Scotland to Sri Lankan parents, was a Goldman Sachs executive director before co-founding the company in 2014 — and is now chairman of Reform UK. Hurun honours the achievement of building the business.
Freddy Macnamara founded Cuvva, the short-term car-insurance app valued at US$100 million. Raised in rural Scotland and an Edinburgh graduate, he founded the company in 2014 to reinvent insurance for occasional drivers.
Alexandra Margolis co-founded carwow, the car-buying marketplace valued at US$320 million / £250 million in July 2024. Born in Sweden and raised in London, and a Nottingham graduate, she was previously at fashion brand Aubin & Wills before co-founding the company in 2013.
Nicholas Mealey is co-founder of ConnexAI (formerly Connex One), the Manchester customer-experience AI company valued at US$400 million. He co-founded the business in 2013 with his brother Richard Mealey, a 2026 Hurun UK U30s winner.
Nick Miller founded Fresha, the booking and payments platform for the beauty and wellness industry, valued at more than US$1.2 billion. He co-founded the business in 2015 and has scaled it into one of the UK's largest vertical-software companies.
Ella Mills founded Deliciously Ella, the plant-based food and wellness brand valued at US$64 million. Born in London and a St Andrews graduate, she started the business as a blog while ill at university and has since built it into a national grocery brand. She previously won the U35s 2024.
Dhaval Patel founded Universal Partners, the currency and payments business with revenues of £1.5 billion, valued at US$1.9 billion. He began his career at Santander and was a top salesperson at a currency firm before founding the company in 2017. A U35s 2024 winner, he now progresses up the Uth ladder — building without a university degree.
Chris Pedregal founded Granola, the AI notepad for meetings valued at US$1.5 billion. A Stanford computer-science graduate from the United States, he previously founded education app Socratic, which was acquired by Google. He co-founded Granola with Sam Stephenson, a 2026 Hurun UK U35s winner.
Carl Pei founded Nothing, the London consumer-electronics company valued at US$1.3 billion. Born in Beijing and raised in Sweden, he co-founded smartphone maker OnePlus at 24 before starting Nothing in 2020 — leaving the Stockholm School of Economics without a degree — and has built one of the few credible global challengers to Apple and Samsung from a London base.
Antton Peña co-founded Flock, the data-driven insurance platform for drone and commercial fleets valued at nearly US$60 million. Born in Spain's Basque Country, he studied at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art before founding the company in 2016.
Carles Reina founded Baobab Ventures, a London–Barcelona solo-GP venture fund that announced a US$15 million debut fund in November 2025 to back pre-seed and seed-stage AI, robotics and defence startups. Born in Spain and a Reading graduate, he previously led early commercial growth at ElevenLabs and has backed 74 startups since 2017, including as an early investor in Revolut and ElevenLabs.
Victor Riparbelli & Steffen Tjerrild co-founded Synthesia, the AI video-generation company valued at US$4 billion and used by most of the Fortune 100. Riparbelli, the Copenhagen-born CEO, previously built startups inside the Founders studio; Tjerrild, the COO, was an investment manager at Kukula Capital before co-founding the company in London in 2017. Both graduate to the U40s after winning the U35s 2024.
Tim Rocktäschel & Josh Tobin co-founded Recursive, the London superintelligence-research company valued at US$4.65 billion. Rocktäschel is a UCL professor and former DeepMind research lead whose team built the Genie world models; Tobin previously led OpenAI's deep-research and Codex work. They founded Recursive with Tim Shi, a 2026 Hurun UK U35s winner.
Sten Saar is the Estonian-born co-founder and CEO of Zego, the commercial motor insurtech he founded in London in 2016 after an early operations role at Deliveroo. Valued at US$1.1 billion, Zego was one of the UK's earliest insurtech unicorns.
Aniruddha Sharma founded Carbon Clean, the carbon-capture company valued at US$750 million. Born in India and an IIT Kharagpur graduate, he co-founded the company in 2009 and has taken its CycloneCC technology into commercial deployment.
Nicolas Sharp is co-founder and CEO of Attio, the AI-native CRM company with US$116 million of total funding. A Newcastle computer-science graduate, he co-founded the company in 2019 with Alexander Christie, a 2026 Hurun UK U35s winner.
Sai Shivareddy is founder and CEO of Nyobolt, the ultra-fast-charging battery company valued at US$1 billion and built on his Cambridge PhD research. Born in India, he co-founded the company after a decade of battery research.
Rafel Jordà Siquier is the Spanish-born founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, the space-tech company valued at US$320 million that designs, builds and operates satellites from its base at Harwell, Oxfordshire. An aerospace engineer by training, he founded the company in 2015.
Henry Smith founded Cecil Wright & Partners, the superyacht brokerage he established in Monaco in 2013 after a military career and a spell in banking. The firm has brokered around £900 million of yacht sales, making it one of the most successful young brokers in the industry.
Stephen Towe founded Leo Cancer Care, the company valued at US$280 million that is developing upright proton-beam cancer radiotherapy. A Sussex graduate, he spent five years at Swedish radiotherapy firm Elekta leading an imaging team before founding the company in 2016.
Ross Upton, PhD founded Ultromics, the Oxford spin-out valued at US$115 million that uses AI to diagnose heart disease from ultrasound scans. A cardiac sonographer by training, he built the company from his Oxford doctoral research.
Reece Wabara founded Manière De Voir, the Manchester streetwear brand valued at more than £70 million. Born in Bromsgrove, the former professional footballer — a Manchester City academy product with more than 100 EFL appearances — built the business without a university degree after hanging up his boots. He previously won the U30s 2022 and U35s 2024.
Stephen Whitworth co-founded incident.io, the incident-management platform valued at US$400 million that helps tech teams respond to outages. A Queen Mary graduate, he founded the company in 2021 after leading engineering at Monzo.
Matthew Wilson founded Omnipresent, the remote-work employer-of-record company valued at US$120 million. An Oxford graduate, he previously co-founded supply-chain company Veratrak and now runs Jack & Jill. He previously won the U30s 2022, U30s 2023 and U35s 2024.
The NextGen leaders
Haider Choudrey is CEO of Bestway Group, the wholesale and pharmacy business with turnover above £5 billion. The third-generation leader — son of Lord Zameer Choudrey — trained as a chartered accountant at KPMG, joined Bestway in 2012 and became CFO in 2018. A Cambridge graduate born in London.
Lydia Forte represents the next generation at Rocco Forte Hotels, the luxury hotel group founded by her father, Sir Rocco Forte. Born in London in 1987 and an Oxford modern-history graduate, she serves as the group's director of food and beverage, working alongside her brother Charles Forte, a 2026 Hurun UK U35s winner.
Timothy Goodwin is executive chairman of Goodwin PLC, the Stoke-on-Trent engineering group valued at US$1.8 billion. A sixth-generation family member born in 1990, he has chaired the FTSE 250 company since 2019. He previously won the U35s 2024.
Hugh Grosvenor chairs the Grosvenor Estate, the US$12.7 billion property group he inherited as 7th Duke of Westminster in 2016. Born in London in 1991 and a Newcastle graduate, he worked at bio-bean and across the family business before taking the chair. He previously won the U35s 2024.
Thomas Hartland-Mackie is executive chairman of City Electric Supply, the electrical-distribution business valued at US$1.5 billion. From the Kenilworth family behind the business, he joined as a trainee under his grandfather and became CEO at 20, building without a university degree.
India Rose James represents the next generation of the Soho Estates property empire built by her grandfather, Paul Raymond. Born in 1991 and educated at the City & Guilds of London Art School, she is founder and director of the Soho Revue contemporary art gallery. She previously won the U35s 2024.
Bernard Langley is a group executive director of Langley Holdings, the Retford-based engineering group valued at US$1.4 billion with revenues of €1.3 billion. The son of chairman Tony Langley, he joined the family firm straight from school at 19 and was managing director of Oakdale Homes at 20. His brother William Langley is a 2026 Hurun UK U35s winner.
Will McMahon represents the next generation at Kendal Nutrition, the Cumbrian family business behind Kendamil infant formula, valued at nearly US$70 million. From Kendal and educated at University College Dublin and Stanford, he has helped turn the family company into one of Britain's fastest-growing baby-food brands.
Michael Murray has been CEO of Frasers Group, the US$4.4 billion retail empire built by his father-in-law Mike Ashley, since May 2022. Brought up in Doncaster and a Reading graduate, he ran his own property-development firm before joining the group. He previously won the U35s 2024.
George Ratcliffe represents the next generation of INEOS, the chemicals-to-automotive group founded by his father, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. He serves as President of INEOS Automotive Americas, having joined the group as Commercial Director in 2023. INEOS reports approximately US$50 billion of annual revenue.
Charles Shortt is chief design officer and a director of DCS Group, the Banbury-based FMCG distribution business valued at US$445 million. The son of founder Denys Shortt and a UCL graduate, he joined the family firm in 2014. He previously won the U35s 2024.
The senior executives
Simone Fabris is VP of Product & Delivery at Wayve, the US$8.6 billion self-driving AI company, where he leads Embodied AI product development. Born in Italy and educated at Politecnico di Milano and the University of London, he joined Wayve from Amazon.
Declan Ferguson is an executive director at Starling Bank, the US$3.2 billion digital bank founded in 2014.
Kaity Fischer is VP of People at Wayve, the US$8.6 billion self-driving AI company. Born in London and a Michigan graduate, she leads the people organisation at one of the UK's most valuable AI companies.
Ben Ford is Chief Financial Officer of Moneybox, the savings and investment app valued at US$700 million. Born in London in 1988, he joined the company in 2016.
Sarah Gates is VP of Global Affairs at Wayve, the US$8.6 billion self-driving AI company. An Imperial College PhD, she joined from the civil service.
Helen Greul is SVP of Engineering at PolyAI, the voice-AI company valued at US$750 million. She previously led engineering for Spotify's open-source Backstage platform and was VP of Engineering at Multiverse.
Max Jaderberg became President of Isomorphic Labs, Alphabet's AI drug-discovery company, in January 2026, having been Chief AI Officer and a founding member of the team in 2021. An Oxford engineering graduate with a PhD from the Visual Geometry Group, he co-founded Vision Factory — acquired by Google in 2014 — and at DeepMind led the Open-Ended Learning team behind AlphaStar and the AlphaFold 3 drug-design work.
Sam Knott built his career at Marshmallow, rising to VP Growth at the US$2 billion insurtech. A Kent graduate and former Dyson global e-commerce director with marketing roles in Japan and the US, he has since March 2025 been Chief Marketing Officer of travel startup Heidi.
Donato Lucia is VP of Technology at Revolut, the US$115 billion fintech, where he succeeded co-founder Vlad Yatsenko as the company's technology chief. Born in London in 1988 and educated at Politecnico di Milano, he succeeded co-founder Vlad Yatsenko on 1 July 2026, taking responsibility for the engineering organisation behind Revolut's global expansion.
Dan McCloskey is VP of Hardware at Wayve, the US$8.6 billion self-driving AI company, where he leads hardware and functional-safety teams. Born in San Francisco in 1990 and educated at Virginia Tech, he was previously at Apple.
Carly Natalizia is Chief Commercial Officer of Gymshark, the gymwear brand valued at US$1.45bn in 2020. Born in Solihull and a Lancaster graduate, she joined in 2022 as VP Marketing from The Very Group, where she was CMO, following more than 15 years in financial services.
Ashley Paulus is VP and Head of Revenue for the UK and EEA at Checkout.com, the US$12 billion payments company, where he has spent more than six years in senior commercial roles. Born in London in 1988, he is a Cambridge graduate.
Tara Ryan is Chief Experience Officer at Monzo, the US$5 billion digital bank, where she leads the people and customer-experience function. Born in London and a Swansea English-literature graduate, she joined the bank in its early years.
Chris Sampson is a senior executive at Marshmallow, the US$2 billion insurtech. A Cambridge graduate born in London in 1988, he was previously at Pragma Consulting and Zipcar.
Ethan Tandowsky joined voice-AI company ElevenLabs as CFO in September 2026. The American-born executive spent a decade at payments group Adyen, where he helped lead its 2018 IPO and served as CFO from 2023 as the company grew from 400 to 5,000 people. ElevenLabs, the company he now helps steer, was valued at US$22 billion in a September 2026 tender offer led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price.
Craig Watson is VP of Product at Synthesia, the US$4 billion AI video-generation company, where he leads development of its AI-powered video products. He joined the company in London after a decade in product roles.
Matt Welle is CEO of Mews, the hotel-technology platform valued at US$1 billion. Born in Amsterdam and educated at Hotelschool The Hague, he previously spent over a decade at Hilton across London, Johannesburg and Prague before joining Mews, founded in 2012.
Appendix B — Previous winners still eligible by age and company valuation for the U40s
The 85 previous winners still eligible are previous Hurun UK Uth winners who still meet the U40s age and business-value tests. They are not new 2026 winners on this list. Entries are alphabetical by family name and include their previous Hurun UK list years.
Ruhul Amin co-founded Onfido. Born in London, he was previously an IT analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities and at Fidessa. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Joe Andrews co-founded Aztec, the privacy-focused Ethereum network valued at US$400 million. An Imperial graduate born in 1991. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Charles Armitage founded Florence, the healthcare-staffing platform valued at US$126 million. An NHS surgeon and locum doctor before founding the company in 2016, he was born in May 1989. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Laurence Bargery co-founded AccuRx, the communication platform used across NHS primary care and valued at US$300 million. A Cambridge first-class natural-sciences graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Phil Beahon co-founded Castore, the sportswear brand valued at US$1.3 billion. Raised on the Wirral and a Newcastle graduate, he was at Deloitte and played semi-professional cricket. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Thomas Beahon co-founded Castore with his brother Phil. Born in Liverpool, he was a Tranmere Rovers youth footballer who left school at 16 and built the business without a university degree. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Ed Beccle co-founded Glorify. Born in Hong Kong, he previously founded Grasp, acquired by Hintsa Performance, and holds no university degree. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022 and U40s 2024 winner.
Fateha Begum co-founded Dare Global Holdings, the London commodities and energy-trading business with revenues above £250 million. Born in London in 1987. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
David Benigson founded Signal AI, the media-intelligence company valued at US$700 million. Raised in north-west London and a Manchester graduate, he worked at his parents' executive-search firm before starting the business in 2013. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Eliot Brooks co-founded Thriva, the at-home blood-testing company valued at US$40 million. An Oxford economics graduate born in 1991. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 winner.
David Campbell represents the next generation at SureScreen Diagnostics, the Derby family diagnostics business valued at US$150 million. The son of founder Jim Campbell, born in October 1989. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Henry Costa co-founded Glorify, the faith and wellbeing app valued at US$230 million. UK-born, born in 1987. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Sebastien Cross co-founded BeZero Carbon, the carbon-ratings agency valued at US$250 million. A Warwick and Sheffield graduate born in 1991, he began his career as a Bank of England economist. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
James Dacombe founded Olix, the optical AI-chip company valued at US$3.3 billion after a US$312 million raise in August 2026. From Harrogate, he founded neurotechnology company CoMind at 17 as a Thiel Fellow before turning to chips; he holds no university degree. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2024 winner.
Alexandre Dalyac co-founded Tractable, the AI computer-vision company for accident and disaster recovery. Born in France and an Imperial graduate, he was an early Lazada employee and a hedge-fund quant. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Freya Dawson represents the next generation at Dawsongroup, the Milton Keynes vehicle-hire family business valued at US$1.5 billion. Born in June 1987. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Jhai Dhillon co-founded Simmer with his brother Simmy. Also from Hitchin, born in April 1995, he too skipped university. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2023 and U35s 2024 winner.
Simmy Dhillon co-founded Simmer, the direct-to-consumer food business, with his brother Jhai. From Hitchin, he is a University of Bristol economics graduate. The business has an internal valuation above £100 million and reported £36.1 million of revenue for the year to January 2025. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2023 and U35s 2024 winner.
Chris Donnelly co-founded Lottie, the care-home marketplace, after selling Verb Brands, the agency he founded at 21. A Wellington College alumnus, he holds no university degree. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 winner.
Bocheng Du founded HungryPanda, the food-delivery platform for Chinese diaspora communities worldwide, valued at approximately US$500 million post-money in September 2024. Born in China and a Huddersfield graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Christian Facey co-founded AudioMob. From Bedford and a Kingston graduate, he was a strategist at Google and a science partner at Meta before co-founding the company in 2020. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022 and U35s 2023 winner.
Dominic Falcao founded Deep Science Ventures, the London venture builder for deep-science companies. A York PPE graduate born in 1991, he previously ran Imperial College's venture programmes. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 winner.
Ben Francis founded Gymshark, the gymwear brand valued at US$1.45bn in 2020, from his parents' garage in Bromsgrove while at Aston University. One of the most followed young business figures in the country, he remains a previous winner still eligible by age and company valuation for the U40s, rather than a 2026 winner. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022, U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Jianshu Gao co-founded HungryPanda. Born in China and a metallurgy PhD, he helped build the delivery platform into a near-unicorn serving diaspora communities worldwide. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Tom Gearing co-founded Cult Wines, the wine-investment company managing more than US$270 million of assets. A Nottingham graduate born in 1987, he started the business with his father in 2007 after university. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
David Goate co-founded Marshmallow, valued at US$1.2 billion in its 2021 fundraising. An East Anglia graduate born in London in 1988. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Tom Grogan co-founded Lemon Pepper Holdings, the Wingstop UK franchise operator, selling a majority stake to Sixth Street in December 2024 in a deal valuing the business above £400 million. Born and raised in Solihull, he built the business without a university degree. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Jacob Haddad co-founded AccuRx. Born in 1991 and an Imperial graduate, he built the NHS messaging platform with Laurence Bargery. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
George Heaton co-founded Represent, the Horwich-based streetwear brand valued at US$160 million, starting the label as a college project at Salford University. Born in 1993. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Mike Heaton co-founded Represent with his brother George. From Horwich, Greater Manchester and a Manchester graduate, born in January 1991. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
James Hind co-founded carwow, the car-buying marketplace valued at US$320 million / £250 million in July 2024. Born in London in 1986 and a Nottingham graduate, he previously founded Carbuzz and worked as a ski guide. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Barney Hussey-Yeo founded Cleo, the AI financial assistant valued at US$1 billion. From Sheffield and a Sheffield graduate, he was a data scientist at Wonga before joining Entrepreneur First. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Felix Ike co-founded Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt), the Lagos-London fintech serving African businesses and valued at US$1 billion. Born in Nigeria and a first-class computer-science graduate of the University of Lagos. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Eamon Jubbawy co-founded Onfido, the identity-verification company sold to Entrust for US$650 million in 2024. UK-raised and an Oxford graduate, he was previously at Credit Suisse. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Vishal Karia founded Affinity Fragrances, the fragrance business that placed him on the Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List 2026 with £122 million estimated wealth. UK-born with Indian heritage, he left school at 17 and built the business without a university degree. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Eric Liu Kelu co-founded HungryPanda, the food-delivery platform valued at US$500 million. Born in China and a Nottingham graduate, he remains a previous winner still eligible by age and company valuation for the U40s, rather than a 2026 winner. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022, U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Alex Kendall co-founded Wayve, the US$8.6 billion self-driving AI company. Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, and a Cambridge graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Alexander Kent-Braham co-founded Marshmallow with his twin Oliver. Born in London in 1991 to a British-Jamaican family, he is a Kent graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022, U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Oliver Kent-Braham co-founded Marshmallow, the US$2 billion insurtech, with his twin brother. From south-west London, he attended Bristol Business School. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022, U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Martin Kissinger founded Lendable, the fintech valued at US$4.6 billion. Born in Germany, educated at LSE, and formerly an entrepreneur-in-residence at Rocket Internet. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Daniel Knight founded Kinetic Games, the Southampton studio behind Phasmophobia — one of the best-selling indie horror games in the world — valued at US$150 million. From Southampton, he built the debut title largely alone. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2023 winner.
Alex Latham founded Chip, the savings and investment app valued at US$265 million, and serves as its CEO. From the West Country and an Exeter PPE graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 winner.
Colette Laxton co-founded The Inkey List, the skincare brand valued at US$100 million. From Nottingham and a Reading graduate born in 1986, she spent ten years at Boots in branding and marketing roles before launching the business in 2018. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Peter Lipka co-founded Improbable. An Imperial computing graduate, he was previously at Goldman Sachs. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Alex Lovén founded Net World Sports, the Wrexham-based sports-equipment retailer valued at US$330 million, from his parents' semi-detached house in Shropshire in 2009. Born in October 1987, he holds no university degree: he left school at 17, worked in a local builders' merchant, saved £13,000 and spent it all on a shipping container of sports nets. Seventeen years on, the company's Forza-branded goals stand at Premier League grounds including Manchester United's Old Trafford and Newcastle's St James' Park, it supplies FIFA tournaments, and it operates from a 50-acre, £25m headquarters complex in Wrexham — with a new 300,000 sq ft warehouse in Ohio marking a full-scale American push. Accounts filed in November 2026 show turnover of £85.4m in the year to September 2025, with pre-tax profit up from £16.8m to £19.2m. Worth £263m on the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List — ahead of Harry Styles and Anthony Joshua — Lovén was named Wales' richest young person in 2024 and awarded an MBE in 2023 for services to the economy, international trade and the Wrexham community. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Daniel Marsden co-founded Lounge Underwear with his wife Melanie. From Birmingham, he skipped university to build the business. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Melanie Marsden co-founded Lounge Underwear, the Birmingham intimates brand, with her husband Daniel. A Cardiff graduate from Birmingham, born in 1992. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022, U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Ben Maruthappu founded Cera, the technology-enabled home-care company valued at US$500 million, with annualised revenues above US$300 million. Born in London and an Oxford medical graduate, he co-founded the NHS Innovation Accelerator. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Giuseppe Mazza founded Engitix, the biotech applying extracellular-matrix science to drug discovery. Born in Italy, he took a UCL PhD in tissue engineering before founding the company in 2016. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Steven Meersman founded Zenobē Energy, the EV and battery-storage company valued at US$1.5 billion. Born in Belgium and educated at KU Leuven, he was previously Trafigura's global head of deals desk. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Charlie Morgan co-founded AU Vodka. The Swansea-born son of a Swansea City director, he dropped out of Southampton University and famously spent his youth as the club's ball boy. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022, U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Lewis Morgan co-founded Gymshark and later AYBL, selling his Gymshark stake in 2020 at a US$1.45bn valuation. From Bromsgrove and a school friend of Ben Francis, he is a University of Worcester graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022, U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Nikola Mrksic co-founded PolyAI, the conversational voice-AI company valued at US$750 million. He grew up in Belgrade, Serbia, and was the first hire at VocalIQ, acquired by Apple. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Herman Narula co-founded Improbable. Born in India and now a UK citizen, he is a Cambridge graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Eccie Newton co-founded Karma Kitchen with her sister Gini, raising £252 million in a 2020 Series A — one of the largest real-estate investment rounds in the UK food sector. An LSE MSc graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Gini Newton co-founded Karma Kitchen, the shared-kitchen group. A Bristol graduate, she previously co-founded the Karma Cans catering business with her sister Eccie. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022 and U40s 2024 winner.
Wilfrid Obeng co-founded AudioMob, the in-game audio-advertising company valued at US$110 million. Born in London and a Sussex graduate, he held technology roles at J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs before joining Google as a strategist. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022 and U35s 2023 winner.
Christian Owens founded Paddle, the SaaS payments company valued at US$1.4 billion. He built websites for local businesses from age 12 and grew up in Corby, Northamptonshire — without a university degree. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Paul Pamment co-founded Lendable and is now building Bactobio. Born in London in 1987, he was Lendable's co-founder and CTO. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Marisa Poster co-founded PerfectTed, the matcha energy-drink brand valued at £140 million after an October 2025 round led by Felix Capital. She grew up in New York, studied at the University of Pennsylvania and moved to London to build the company. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2024 winner.
Jackson Quinn co-founded AU Vodka, the Swansea-founded spirits brand valued at US$130 million. UK-born and raised in Swansea, he is a Portsmouth business-management graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022, U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Ayman Rahman co-founded Dare Global Holdings. A British UCL economics graduate born in 1991, he is an energy and commodities trader. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Razvan Ranca co-founded Tractable, the AI computer-vision company for accident and disaster recovery. Born in Romania and an Edinburgh graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Tommy Ricketts co-founded BeZero Carbon and serves as its CEO. Born in New Zealand and raised in London, he is an Edinburgh economic-history graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Matt Robinson founded GoCardless, the US$2.1 billion payments company, and property platform Nested. An Oxford graduate who began his career at McKinsey, he is now also a partner at Accel. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Harrison Rose co-founded Paddle with Christian Owens, starting the company at 18 straight from A-levels without a university degree. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Herman Sahota co-founded Wingstop UK with Tom Grogan, retaining a minority stake alongside Sixth Street. UK-born with Punjabi heritage, he was previously in real estate and private equity. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Abakar Saidov co-founded Beamery, the talent-acquisition platform valued at US$1 billion. Born in Dagestan, Russia, and a Warwick graduate, he was previously a Goldman Sachs analyst. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Sultan Saidov co-founded Beamery with his brother Abakar. Also from Dagestan and an Oxford graduate, he was a commodities trader at Goldman Sachs. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Jakob Schwarz co-founded Lendable and Zable. A Cambridge graduate born in London in 1988. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Thom Seddon founded Elevate (formerly Telcom), the Manchester connectivity and managed-services group. A Leeds civil-engineering graduate born in 1990, he started the business in 2014. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Amar Shah co-founded Wayve. A Cambridge graduate, he was previously a Goldman Sachs quant and NASA machine-learning researcher. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Peter Smith founded Blockchain.com, the crypto wallet and exchange valued at US$7 billion at its last private valuation reported in 2026, and now preparing a US IPO. Born and raised in England and a University of London graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Jaz Singh founded Innovation Agritech Group in 2017, building vertical-farming systems. From a UK farming family with land in Punjab, he studied business and finance in Birmingham. The business is valued at approximately US$64 million. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2024 winner.
Alex Solomou founded LBG Media, the AIM-listed publisher behind LADbible valued at US$242 million. Born in Stockport to a family of Cypriot heritage, the Leeds graduate remains the company's largest shareholder. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Mati Staniszewski co-founded ElevenLabs, the voice-AI company valued at US$22 billion in a September 2026 tender offer led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price. Born and raised near Warsaw, Poland, and an Imperial graduate. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2024 winner.
Harry Stebbings founded 20VC, the venture fund and The Twenty Minute VC podcast he started at 18 without a university degree. The London-born investor has raised more than US$800 million across his funds and is one of Europe's most-listened-to investors. Previously a Hurun UK U30s 2022 and U35s 2023 winner.
Pei-Hao Su co-founded PolyAI. Born in Taiwan, he studied at National Taiwan University and took his Cambridge PhD to Apple before co-founding the company. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Dmitry Tokarev founded Copper.co, the digital-asset infrastructure company valued at US$2 billion. Born in Russia and an Imperial graduate, he was previously a quant and CTO at Dolfin Financial. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Yaniv Toledano is co-founder and CEO of Qogita, the wholesale-goods marketplace valued at US$400 million. Born in Israel and educated at Harvard, he founded the company in 2021. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Victoria van Lennep co-founded Lendable. Born in Belgium, educated at Oxford, and formerly at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U4-0s 2024 winner.
Tsung-Hsien Wen co-founded PolyAI. Born in Taiwan and a Cambridge PhD graduate in dialogue systems. Previously a Hurun UK U40s 2024 winner.
Rob Whitehead co-founded Improbable, the metaverse-infrastructure company valued at US$3.3 billion, while studying computer science at Cambridge. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Zachary Williamson co-founded Aztec. A UK-born Oxford DPhil who previously worked at CERN. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
Dylan Zhao Zhiheng co-founded HungryPanda with Eric Liu and the founding team, helping build the platform into a near-unicorn serving Chinese-diaspora communities worldwide. Born in China in 1993, he too remains a previous winner still eligible by age and company valuation for the U40s, rather than a 2026 winner. Previously a Hurun UK U35s 2023 and U40s 2024 winner.
About Hurun Inc.
Promoting Entrepreneurship Through Lists and Research
Oxford, Shanghai, Mumbai
Established in the United Kingdom in 1999, Hurun is a research and media group that promotes entrepreneurship through its lists and research. Hurun is the world's largest provider of unicorn and young founders lists, as well as rich lists, valuing around 20,000 businesses and entrepreneurs every year. Hurun's lists generated 8 billion brand views in 2025, mainly in China and India.
Hurun is best known for the Hurun Global Rich List, the Hurun Global Unicorn Index and the Hurun Uth Series — the Under40s, Under35s, Under30s and Under25s — which began in 2017 and today runs across China, India and the UK.
For further information, please contact:
Alexandra Sanne/ Porsha Pan
For business cooperation, please contact:
Ada Shan, Hurun representative in the UK & Europe
07539018042
Do you know a candidate for the 2027 Hurun UK Under40s? The 2027 list will recognise individuals born after 1 September 1986: FirstGen founders of businesses worth US$100m or more; NextGen leaders managing sales or investments within a family business of US$200m or more; and Senior Execs (VP or C-suite) at businesses worth US$1bn or more. If you know of candidates for the 2027 Hurun UK Uth Series, please contact Alexandra at press@hurun.co.uk.
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