United Kingdom
Sponsored by
Introduction
Over the past decades, the United Kingdom (UK) has become one of the world’s most established startup ecosystems thanks to a variety of factors including a wealth of world class education hubs, a thriving job market, and a beneficial regulatory environment.
The UK startup ecosystem is now worth over $1.1T, making the UK the 3rd most valuable startup ecosystem globally.
On a global scale, the UK ranks 3rd globally for VC investment, is home to over 150 unicorns as well as 25k+ funded startups.
Venture Capital
On a global scale, the UK ranks 3rd globally for VC investment with London being one of the top global hubs for startups and venture capital, attracting over $20B in VC investment in 2022.
UK startups raised $21.3B in 2023, the third highest total on record, after just the outlier years of 2021/22.
By region
Emerging and high growth regions
UK entrepreneurship is distributed throughout the country. Investment is growing fastest in the West Midlands, Glasgow and NI.
VC investment distribution across the UK
Greater London continues to make up the larger share of the total VC investment, driving 70% of total investment in 2022 though this trend has
By stage
UK startups raised $21.3B in 2023, the third highest total on record, after just the outlier years of 2021/22.
VC investment has been growing again as of H2 2023. Investment was up 46% in the second half of 2023, compared to the period Jan-Jun.
Below we break venture capital into three distinct stages:
- Startup stage ($0-15M rounds)
- Breakout stage ($15-100M rounds)
- Scaleup ($100M+ rounds).
This provides more consistent and timeless segmentation of the startup & venture capital landscape (more so than self-reported round labeling, which are applied inconsistently, especially between business cycles).
Early stage
Early-stage investing has remained active, filling the startup pipeline in the UK.
Access early-stage funding rounds into UK startups here on the Dealroom platform.
Breakout stage
Breakout stage investment is just above pre-pandemic levels.
Access breakout-stage funding rounds into UK startups here on the platform.
Scaleup stage
Access scaleup-stage funding rounds into UK startups here on the platform.
By industry
In 2023, Energy surpassed Fintech to be the UK’s most funded startup sector for the first time though Fintech has regained its regular top spot in 2024 again
Leading tech segments
Electric mobility, EV battery and Autonomous mobility were the top funded UK startup segments in 2023.
Climate tech accounted for 29% of all UK VC investment in 2023 - $6.2B, an all-time high.
Explore the latest tech segments into investment trends into UK startups seen in the chart below.
Sources of capital
Over half of VC investment has come from sources outside of Europe such as the US and Asia.
Explore this investment data here on the Dealroom platform.
Over the past decade, VC firms have consistently made up between 40-50% of total funding into the UK startup ecosystem.
Other sources of VC investment into the UK comes from corporates, private equity firms, angel investors amongst others.
Explore this data here on the Dealroom platform.
Investors
UK-based venture capital investors have raised over $25B in the last three years.
The UK is the centre of the European venture market, home to 40% of the continent’s venture capital, and London is the European base of choice for top international funds.
The UK investor talent pool is deeper than ever, and VCs are raising 20x what they did 20 years ago.
Top Investors
Explore the data for the most active investors into the UK startup ecosystem as well as the most active UK based investors here on the Dealroom platform.
New Funds raised
UK VCs have more dry powder than ever before. Over $25B raised in the last three years.
Explore the data on new VC firms headquartered in the UK here on the Dealroom platform.
Unicorns
The UK startup ecosystem has minted 150+ unicorns and is home to 200+ future unicorns.
After the peak in new unicorn creation in 2021, the creation of both new unicorn and future unicorns has slowed down significantly, signalling that new unicorns are once again becoming rare beasts.
International comparisons
Country benchmarking
The UK's startup ecosystem ranks 3rd globally in terms of VC investment raised, a position it has maintained since 2019 with the exception of 2021.
The UK leads in the European continent for VC investment, raising over double the amount compared to its closest European counterpart, France.
It's important to note that despite the challenging economic climate and the negative growth in VC investment compared to 2021, the UK ecosystem showed improved resilience when compared to half of the top 10 largest ecosystems including the United States, China and Germany.
City Benchmarking
London is the #1 funded tech ecosystem in Europe. Benchmark London against other leading European tech hubs in the chart below.
Related content
Reports: UK tech ecosystem year in review
Reports: Browse all existing UK reports on Dealroom
Dealroom Data: Explore all UK startups and scaleups
Dealroom Data: Explore all UK funding rounds