UK innovation – 2025 review

The story of the UK innovation economy in 2025, in data. The full year round up, created in partnership with HSBC Innovation Banking.

Key findings

• UK startups raised $23.6B of venture capital in 2025, up 35% on 2024 and more than Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands combined.
• The UK innovation economy is worth a combined $1.3 trillion, seven times its 2015 value, with 58% of that value in companies founded since 2010.
• UK AI startups raised $7.9B in 2025, up 80% on 2024 and an all-time high, with a record $2.7B raised in Q4 alone.
• The UK's cumulative total of unicorns and $1B+ exits reached 200 in 2025, with 16 unicorns added during the year, seven of them AI companies.
• Five of Europe's top 10 universities by deep tech and life sciences spinout value creation are in the UK, with Cambridge leading on $39.3B of enterprise value.