UK women-led startups keep funding steady as acquisitions rise
The United Kingdom has an evolved startup ecosystem, with over 73,000 active tech companies, of which more than 4,600 are led by women. The region ranks third globally for startups led by women. However, funding for women-led tech companies in the UK has seen a downward trend since its peak in 2021 at $2.9 billion. Ongoing economic challenges, such as rising inflation and geopolitical conflicts, have impacted investments.
The UK’s women-led tech ecosystem secured $1.8 billion in funding in 2024 and 2023, reflecting an 18% drop from $2.2 billion in 2022.
Early-stage funding rose to $1.5 billion in 2024, marking a 36% and 25% increase from $1.1 billion in 2023 and $1.2 billion in 2022, respectively. This stage accounted for 83.3% of the total funding in 2024. Late-stage funding worth $162 million was observed in 2024, a decline of 64% and 73% from $451 million in 2023 and $592 million in 2022. Seed-stage funding decreased by 17% to $166 million in 2024, from $199 million in 2023 and a 53% fall from $352 million in 2022.
The funding was primarily driven by small-ticket rounds in 2024. There was only one $100 million+ funding round in 2024 compared to two in 2023 and three in 2022. Abound raised $1 billion in a Series B round, accounting for 77% of the total funding in the FinTech sector.
Fintech, enterprise applications, and retail were the top-funded sectors in 2024. Fintech companies secured $1.3 billion in funding in 2024, an increase of 60% and 52% from $812 million in 2023 and $855 million in 2022, respectively. The Enterprise Applications segment raised $364 million in 2024, a 6% and 46% decline from $389 million in 2023 and $679 million in 2022. The Retail sector witnessed a funding drop to $329 million in 2024, down 31% from $476 million in 2023 and 18% lower than $400 million in 2022.
A significant amount of exit activity was observed in terms of acquisitions, which rose to 39 in 2024 from 26 in 2023 and 39 in 2022. Thoma Bravo’s acquisition of Darktrace for $5.32 billion was one of the prominent deals during the year. However, none of the tech startups led by women went public in 2024, against one each in 2023 and 2022.
London ($1.6 billion), Oxford ($81 million), and Cambridge ($26 million) were the cities that received the highest funding in 2024, with London alone accounting for 87% of total funding.
In 2024, Techstars, Ada Ventures, and SFC Capital took the lead in seed-stage investments. BGF, Clean Growth Fund, Molten Ventures were the most active early-stage investors in 2024, while Vitruvian Partners was the top late-stage investor.
The UK government has introduced several initiatives to foster innovation and growth among women-led businesses. Investing in Women Code (IWC) was launched in 2019 to address the funding gap for women-led startups. UK Export Finance (UKEF) has partnered with organizations such as Female Founder Finance to provide financing support for scaling businesses. The UK also offers Annual Funding Competitions, providing £75,000 grants and business support to female entrepreneurs in SMEs.
Despite the funding challenges, the UK’s women-led tech ecosystem continues to show resilience, with early-stage funding seeing an upward trend. Government initiatives and investor support remain crucial in driving the growth of women entrepreneurs in the tech industry.
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