A new report published by the European Patent Office (EPO) sheds light on the investors who are vital for the successful commercialisation of cutting-edge inventions. The UK ranks first in Europe in terms of total funding and number of transactions, with over £186 billion invested between 2000 and 2023 alone. The UK also has more operating investors than France, Germany and Spain combined.

"Startups play a crucial role in commercialising disruptive ideas with great potential to drive progress. However, as highlighted in Mario Draghi’s report, many innovative companies face financial obstacles to grow within Europe,” said EPO President, António Campinos. “This funding gap hinders the transformation of innovation into scalable startups, driving entrepreneurs to seek opportunities abroad. Bridging this gap is crucial to revitalising sustainable growth across Europe."

The report introduces a new metric, the Technology Investor Score (TIS), which measures the percentage of companies in an investor's portfolio that have filed patent applications. Leveraging this metric designed to identify investors specialising in tech, the study reveals that 88% of European investors have portfolios including companies with patents. In addition, 8% have portfolios with more than half of their companies holding patents, demonstrating a particularly strong engagement with patenting startups.

UK as a powerhouse for tech investors

The UK alone accounted for 42,576 transactions, with a total funding of £186 billion over the period of 2000-2023, significantly ahead of other European countries. France, Germany and Spain also show high levels of patent-backed investment, with 44,752 cumulative transactions and £175 billion invested over the same period. All this demonstrates the promising growth potential of technological specialisation.

Innovate UK leads as Britain’s top investor

Between 2000 and 2023, Innovate UK stands out as the leading contributor to tech investment in the UK, accounting for 5,781 transactions and achieving a TIS of 0.337. Innovate UK is closely followed by Tech Nation and Crowdcube, which, together with Innovate UK, have driven a combined total of 8,326 tech investment transactions during this period. This trio plays a pivotal role in shaping the tech investment landscape, underscoring their collective influence and support for innovation within the industry.

NHS contributes heavily as a public-body tech investor

The NHS contributes heavily to public-body investors specialising in technology funding in terms of the highest TIS among the big investors. The NHS is followed closely by The Defence and Security Accelerator, The Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Business. Academic investors are also well-represented as technology specialists. Notable examples include Oxford University’s Innovation in the UK and Fraunhofer Venture in Germany.

European tech investment primarily driven by major public programmes

The report highlights a funding gap in Europe compared with the United States, where the strong involvement of public investors in the early stages of technology is matched by equivalent support from private investors at an advanced stage. Among private investors in Europe’s top 100 most central positions, 62% focus on early-stage funding, while only 22% specialise in late-stage funding, underscoring the limited capital available in Europe for scaling up technologies and bringing inventions to market. In contrast, private investors account for 98 of the top 100 most central investors in the US network of co-investors, with over half specialising in late-stage companies, reflecting stronger private support for scaling high-tech companies.

Addressing Europe's startup financing challenges

The comprehensive mapping of tech investors provided in the study is part of the EPO’s wider effort to support SMEs and startups in Europe. As a complement to the study, the EPO’s Deep Tech Finder has been updated with a new filter for discovering investors. This will help startups find the most suitable investors for their specific company profile based on criteria such as type of round, country or technology field. This update expands the functionalities of the Deep Tech Finder, a free tool which already enables users to easily find more than 10,000 European startups, spin-outs and universities with patent applications at the EPO.