UK Venture Capital Funding - 2024 Forecast
Record investments in AI and climate tech led to a VC funding boom in the second half of 2023.
A recent report by HSBC and Dealroom showed that venture capital (VC) investment surged by 46% in the second half of 2023, after a slowdown in the first half of the year.
Looking at the data:
- £16.9 billion in total was raised by UK startups from VC funds. Of this:
- £4.9 billion (29%) was invested in climate tech.
- £3.7 billion (22%) was invested in artificial intelligence (AI).
- The UK remained the third-largest tech ecosystem in the world and the largest in Europe.
- UK startups attracted more VC funding than their counterparts in France and Germany combined. The UK is home to 40% of all European venture capital funding.
- There are an estimated 168 UK-based unicorns, with 63 of these yet to exit, representing a combined value of £143 billion.
The outlook for 2024 remains strong.
According to HSBC, "Among other factors, the positive outlook for 2024 is driven by this steady rise in VC investment, varied startup sectors, consistent unicorn creation, and the diverse geographical spread of entrepreneurship in the UK."
