In the first half of 2025, UK startups raised $7 billion total. The findings underscore that the UK is home to the largest tech ecosystem in Europe, with its tech sector reaching a combined valuation of $1.2 trillion in 2025.

The report, released today during London Tech Week and published in partnership with Snowflake, combines UK tech startup and investment data provided by Dealroom with Tech Nation’s proprietary survey data from 1,000+ UK tech leaders. While other European markets have stagnated, the UK tech sector is growing at a CAGR of 12.5% and is more than double the size of Germany and France’s tech sectors combined. The UK has produced 163 unicorn companies with 90% staying and scaling in the UK. One in four UK unicorns are fintech or enterprise SaaS companies and 70% are headquartered in London. 

The average time it takes a UK startup to go from launch to Series C has nearly doubled to 9.6 years since 2019. Early-stage startups, in particular, are taking longer to raise funding, with the average time from launch to Seed round increasing from 24 months (2 years) in 2019 to 40 months (3.3 years) today. In spite of the early-stage journey lengthening, UK unicorn companies are reaching unicorn status faster than before. The findings show UK unicorns founded between 2015 and 2025 reach unicorn status in fewer than 5 years on average, compared with around 8 years for companies founded in the previous decade.

Most founders feel the UK is a great place to start a company, but highlight clear opportunities to help companies scale and grow in the region. Founders featured in the report – from UK tech companies such as Allica Bank, Faculty, Beamery, bit.bio, and ZOE – called for policy initiatives including government intervention in funding markets, enhanced R&D tax credits to hire the best talent, digital infrastructure funding, and regulatory sandboxes to test new technologies would support the growth of UK startups.

For example, one in two UK founders surveyed say new government-backed funds and policies that better incentivise investors to invest in the UK would best support the growth of their businesses, and one in three growth-stage founders in the UK want pension fund investment reform to unlock access to growth capital. Meanwhile, one in two investors say enhanced tax incentives would make them more likely to increase their investment activity in the UK.

This new data comes at a timely juncture as the UK Government continues to focus on promoting economic growth, with initiatives like the Industrial Strategy and the AI Opportunities Action Plan indicating a sustained commitment to supporting the UK’s thriving tech ecosystem.

Further, the report also signals that the UK’s tech sector is diversifying from its historically strong sectors of fintech and SaaS, providing new opportunities for the ecosystem. Over the last year, deep tech startups raised the biggest rounds at early and late stage, while AI startups raised the biggest growth-stage rounds. Considering early-stage median round sizes for UK startups across 2024 and 2025, capital-intensive deep tech startups raised more than double the UK average, at $4.2 million, followed by climate tech startups at $3.5 million.

To read the full report and its findings, please visit https://report.technation.io/.

Carolyn Dawson OBE, CEO of Founders Forum Group, said: “The UK is home to the best tech ecosystem in Europe – the access to early-stage funding, talent, and innovation make it an excellent place to start a company, as evidenced by the hundreds of unicorns that we have grown. However, founders are telling us the same thing time and again: starting up isn’t the challenge – scaling is. If we want to retain global tech leadership, we need to urgently invest in the right opportunities to help founders not just launch, but thrive and scale right here in the UK.”

James Petter, GVP, EMEA, Snowflake, said: “At a pivotal moment in its evolution, the UK tech sector has built a thriving startup ecosystem, but the next chapter of British innovation depends on our ability to transform promising ventures into global powerhouses. Our hope is that the strategic use of data and AI will provide an essential growth-driver for startups across all sectors.”

The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said: "Britain may be a great place to start a business but concerns about access to capital and top talent mean too many entrepreneurs still aren’t sure if it’s the right place for them to scale. Now, I’m making it my personal mission to change their mind. We know that the success of our startups and scaleups will define our country’s path to prosperity in the decade to come. Together, we will make Britain a country that encourages innovation and rewards ambition – a country that every part of our tech sector is proud to call home."

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