There are now over 105 unicorns in the UK
The UK tech sector is set for another year of record investment in 2021.
Following an influx of £13.5bn worth of venture capital during the first half of the year, the UK now has 105 ‘unicorns’, otherwise known as a business valued at over $1bn.
Out of the 105, 20 reaches unicorn status in the first half of 2021, including Tractable, Depop and Zego.
To highlight the rate of growth, between 1990 and 2014, 20 unicorns were created.
The £13.5bn investment record is thanks to a number of “mega fundraising rounds” by UK tech companies, including £578m raised by challenger bank Revolut, £289m by cyber security platform Snyk, and £1bn by car sales platform Cinch, among others.
Ion Fratiloiu, Head of Sales at Yobota, said: “These latest figures reflect the resilience of the UK’s tech industry, even in the face of huge uncertainty. It is promising, yet unsurprising, to see that fintechs make up 11 of the 20 businesses that reached unicorn status in the first six months of 2021. Indeed, the UK now finds itself at the cutting edge of fintech innovation, having gone from strength to strength in recent years.”
“The accelerated move to digital during the pandemic has naturally created new opportunities for investment and growth over the past 18 months. At the same time, customers’ changing habits have encouraged businesses to explore their capabilities and implement new features to adapt to growing trends – Monzo and Revolut’s recent move into the buy now, pay later (BNPL) space is just one prime example of this.”
“Ambitious tech businesses across the UK will certainly play an important role in helping to rebuild the economy, and we will no doubt continue to see these companies breaking many more funding records in the years to come.”