London’s tech start-up investment doubled in 2021

2021 was a record year for global, European, and London tech investment, according to a report by business growth agency London & Partners and start-up data firm Dealroom.

2021 saw double the amount raised globally for start-ups that 2020 attained, which was an all-time high in itself – $675 billion was raised globally in 2021 with Europe among the fastest-growing regions, growing faster than both the US and China.

As a city, London was fourth worldwide for investment and unicorns in 2021. The UK is also fourth globally by country and is also first in Europe for investments.

London start-up investment peaked in 2021 with $25.5 billion, growing faster than the global average at 2.3x year on year.

London also ranks fourth globally for investment raised in 2021, whilst also creating 20 new unicorns in 2021 – more than any previous year for London. The city comes fourth after Bay Area, New York, and the Greater Boston Region.

Megarounds of $100 millon+ grew 3.4x in number in 2021, making up 60% of London funding.

Tech exit value also rapidly increased in London, hitting $88 billion in 2021, soaring from $4 billion in 2020. Plus, the combined value of London tech companies founded since 2000 passed half a trillion dollars in 2021. The most valuable included: neobank Revolut, food delivery app Deliveroo, and money transfer platform Wise.

Whilst London reaches late-stage maturity, there are also solid signs for future growth – London-based VC firms have record levels of dry powder available, having raised $9.9 billion in new funds in 2021 (35% of all new European funds in 2021).

New VC funds announced in 2021 include Index Ventures with $3.1 billion, Anthemis with $700 million, and Balderton with $600 million.

Additionally, Fintech is the most dominant sector in London funding, receiving 46% of investment in 2021 with $11.6 billion. Telecoms and Healthtech are also among the fastest-growing sectors.