About The Data City
The Data City helps organisations understand what companies actually do. We built our platform to clear the fog around how the modern economy gets classified, so investors, government teams, and analysts can see it as it actually is.
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Leeds, England, The Data City is a global data provider and SaaS platform built to fix a problem baked into economic data for decades: most business data still relies on classification systems and manual research that don’t reflect how modern companies operate.
The problem with SIC codes
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes were never built for how the economy works today. They’re assigned once, at incorporation, and rarely updated. A company working in AI, Net Zero, or FinTech can end up filed under a decades-old code that has nothing to do with what it actually does. Multiply that across the economy, and you lose the ability to find, measure, or invest in the sectors that matter most.
How Industry Engine solves it
Industry Engine, The Data City’s platform, classifies companies in real time using website text and machine learning, not by what SIC code was assigned when a company was set up. That’s the basis for our Real-Time Industrial Classifications (RTICs): Over 500 sector classifications covering emerging and fast-moving industries, from AI and FinTech to AgriTech and Net Zero, updated continuously as sectors evolve.
Platform users build their own classifications and company lists with Smart Lists, explore individual companies in EXPLORE, spot trends in ANALYSE, and compare sectors side by side in COMPARE. Data comes from a mix of our own classification work and third-party sources, including Companies House, Lightcast, Creditsafe, Specter, Innovate UK, and 360Giving.
Our story
In 2017, the founders of The Data City ran into the limits of SIC codes first-hand. Our CEO, Alex Craven, noticed that his own digital agency, and others doing the same work, weren’t showing up in digital agency lists. The reason: there was no SIC code for what they did.
That gap became the starting point for The Data City. Alex and the founding team built RTICs and Industry Engine to solve the problem properly, not just for digital agencies, but for every emerging sector traditional classifications miss.
Who we work with
Government departments, local authorities, financial institutions, investors, policy teams, and academic institutions use The Data City to get accurate, up-to-date insight for decisions that matter: where to invest, where to focus policy, and where the next wave of growth is happening.
Where we operate today
The Data City started with deep coverage of the UK economy, and that’s still where our data runs deepest. But the mission has always been bigger than one country. Today we deliver products and datasets across the US, France, Ireland, and Germany too, with more markets on the way.
Our mission
The Data City’s mission is to build the new global industrial classification system: replacing outdated codes with data that reflects how companies actually work, wherever they are.Last modified on August 12, 2026
