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Kigen wins Business Weekly Technology Scale-Up Award 2026
CAMBRIDGE, UK, 17 September 2026 – Kigen has been named Technology Scale-Up of the Year at the 36th Business Weekly Awards, recognizing the company’s growth and expanding international adoption of its eSIM and iSIM security technology.
The award was presented on 16 September at an invitation-only reception at Queen’s College, Cambridge, following a field of 44 shortlisted companies from the Cambridge technology and life sciences ecosystem. The evening was presided over by Business Weekly Editor in Chief Tony Quested, who has championed Cambridge innovation for more than three decades, with Professor Tim Minshall, Dr John C Taylor Professor of Innovation and Head of the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge, as guest speaker.
Picture credits: Photograph by Phil Mynott
Both reflected on the opportunity for Cambridge businesses to take home-grown innovation further into international markets – a theme evident across awardees collaborating throughout Europe, China, Japan and North America.
Cambridge is already one of the world’s most concentrated technology clusters. The UK Department for Business and Trade values its technology ecosystem at $222 billion – 18% of the entire UK tech ecosystem – and ranks Cambridge second globally for unicorns per capita, behind only the Bay Area. The UK Government’s 2026 Semiconductor Sector Study separately describes Cambridge as a “globally leading semiconductor research and design ecosystem,” with globally significant chip-architecture expertise.
That strength increasingly sits at the intersection of computing and life sciences, and is extending into Physical AI and intelligence at the edge. As more intelligence moves into physical products, cybersecurity and trusted connectivity must increasingly be designed into them from the outset.
From Cambridge technology to global deployment
Kigen’s recognition follows a year of strong commercial expansion. The company has now delivered more than 50 million IoT eSIMs, while its technology is increasingly being designed into products with long operational lives across consumer, industrial, and critical infrastructure markets.
Kigen was ranked No. 37 in The Sunday Times 100 Tech 2026 hardware league, with The Sunday Times citing 45.73% annual sales growth over three years. Business Weekly has also recognized Kigen within its Killer50 cohort, while Counterpoint Research continues to place Kigen among the global Leaders in eSIM enablement.
This growth is increasingly visible in physical products. Leading smartwatch manufacturers have adopted Kigen eSIM and iSIM technology as premium wearables add both LTE and satellite NTN connectivity, catering to demand for safety, messaging, and emergency services directly on the wrist. Connectivity can be embedded during manufacturing, reducing regional product variants while building security into the product from the design phase. Garmin’s fēnix 8 Pro, among other cellular models, for example, now combines LTE-M and satellite connectivity for messaging and interactive SOS services.
The same security model is scaling into critical infrastructure. Kigen’s eSIM technology is now natively designed into products from five leading water and gas smart-meter manufacturers. In North America, the Lower Colorado River Authority is using Kigen SIM technology across communications infrastructure spanning 68 Texas counties and more than 70,000 square miles, while Evergy – serving 1.7 million customers in Kansas and Missouri – is deploying Kigen eSIM technology as it expands a private LTE network already covering 100 sites and thousands of connected devices.
Kigen has also expanded its work with China Mobile International earlier this year, announcing it at MWC Shanghai. Parent China Mobile reported 1.48 billion IoT card connections in 2025 and describes its AIoT platform as the world’s largest connection-management platform. Kigen and CMI are working on secure eSIM activation and lifecycle management for manufacturers taking connected products into international markets.
A particular focus is on long-lived products subject to emerging cybersecurity requirements. Kigen’s latest eSIM architecture enables remotely managed eSIM OS security updates, helping manufacturers meet lifecycle reporting obligations under the EU Cyber Resilience Act, that came into effect since 11th of September 2026.
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Next: connected vehicles
Kigen is now extending that approach into automotive, passenger transport and industrial fleets, where connectivity may need to remain operational for 15 years or more.
Europe’s eCall rules already require emergency connectivity in new passenger-car and light-commercial vehicle types, with 4G/5G packet-switched eCall required for new vehicle types from January 2026. A 2026 European Commission study estimates that 64 million existing EU vehicles could eventually lose eCall functionality if legacy 2G/3G networks close without coordinated migration.
India presents a parallel opportunity: its AIS-140 framework requires connected vehicle-location tracking and emergency-alert capabilities across public-service vehicles. Kigen estimates the addressable commercial vehicle base for these safety-led applications at approximately 7–10 million vehicles.
Vincent Korstanje, CEO of Kigen, said:
“Cambridge has an extraordinary ability to turn deep technology into products the world depends on. For Kigen, scaling means taking that innovation into millions of real products – from watches and smart meters to critical infrastructure and, increasingly, vehicles. Passing 50 million IoT eSIM deliveries is an important milestone, but the bigger opportunity is making trusted, updateable connectivity part of every product from the moment it is made.”
Tony Quested, Editor in Chief, Business Weekly commented on the award:
“Kigen represents what the Technology Scale-Up Award is designed to recognize: Cambridge-developed technology translating into strong commercial growth and international impact. Its progress across major global markets shows the ambition we want to see from this region – building here, collaborating internationally, and competing on a world scale.”
Congratulations to all exceptional companies recognized. The full list of winners can be found here.
