A report from financial advisory firm i5invest has confirmed that the UK tech scene is the most vibrant, dynamic, and progressive on the continent. Not only is the UK tech scene enjoying record levels of investment, but in the UK, 1 in 8 jobs are in the tech sector.
UK tech. Unicorn success.
Its analysis highlights that UK tech companies made up 38% of the combined valuation of European unicorns in 2021. This figure was the highest in Europe.
As we know, the US houses many of the globe’s largest and most influential tech firms. It created 340 new unicorns last year compared to the UK’s 116.
However, it was the UK’s rate of growth that is the most impressive. The growth rate of UK tech unicorns rose to more than twice its US counterpart last year.
Looking through a wide lens, Europe’s combined unicorn growth rate reached 400% in 2021. By comparison, the growth rate across the US was 124%.
Studying the report more closely, it transpires that it was the UK that was the largest contributor to the total valuation of European tech unicorns. 41 new British firms reached a value of more than $1bn in 2021.
Fintech leads the charge.
The most valuable of the UK tech sectors remains Fintech. It received record levels of investment over 2021 at $11.6bn.
Of all the UK fintech, it was giants Checkout.com and Revolut that achieved the highest value within the sector. Checkout.com topped the listings with a value of $40bn.
The future looks bright.
One of the newest members of the Unicorn club was payments firm, GoCardless. It received a £230m round of funding just last month that pushed its total value to £1.55bn.
Already this year, the UK has seen several other UK firms reach Unicorn status. Mobile gaming developer, Tripledot Studios is one of these. Following a funding boost of $116m, it hit a value of $1.4bn in February.
What’s next?
According to the report, two other areas which are promising Unicorn territory for 2022 are AI and Big Data.
These two sectors go hand in hand and are the facilitators of great digital change. Organisations across every sector are using these transformative disciplines to scale their offerings, improve customer care, and take their businesses to the next level.
The possibilities that AI and Big Data hold are endless. We can expect to see huge success for those businesses that are disrupting these fields. Of course, these disciplines are not mutually exclusive. For example, AI has the potential to push banking and fintech to new limits.
Interested in how the UK will disrupt AI in 2022? Read our blog How the UK will become AI superstars.
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