Computer Weekly’s startup protection in 2021 used to be formed by prolonged-term but unevenly dispensed success of the UK’s startup ecosystem, moreover to its partial recovery from the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.
Let’s state, while many stories touched on the file-atmosphere investment raised by UK tech startups, others confirmed this investment used to be highly concentrated in a quite tiny more than just a few of London-based mostly fully mostly scaleup companies.
Despite the prolonged-term boost of the ecosystem – with one tech business being created every 30 minutes – the authorities used to be also forced to bid fairness stakes in bigger than 150 startups on tale of the pandemic.
Other stories eager in inform corporations, reminiscent of Glitch which signed a collective bargaining settlement with its white-collar workers, and participants working to make the United International locations’ Sustainable Constructing Dreams (SDGs).
Table of Contents
1. London got quarter of all European tech funding in 2020
On the very start of the year, it used to be revealed that London-based mostly fully mostly technology startups got $10.5bn of venture capital (VC) investment in 2020, accounting for a quarter of all European tech funding.
The learn, performed by market intelligence company Dealroom and investment company London & Companions, confirmed that a main chunk of the investment, $4.3bn, went to London’s financial technology (fintech) companies, while $1.9bn went to companies creating challenge tool technologies – an 82% expand on the outdated year.
The figures marked a main expand from the capital raised by London companies in 2017 and 2018 – $7bn and $5.9bn, respectively – and came almost about eclipsing the file $10.7bn raised in 2019.
2. UK ‘impact startups’ elevate £2bn in 2021
UK technology startups addressing diverse of the United International locations’ Sustainable Constructing Dreams (SDGs) raised £2bn in 2021, up from £1.7bn in 2020
Funding in these companies, in general acknowledged as “impact startups”, has elevated by 127% since 2018, and the UK now has virtually 900 startups and scaleups working all the blueprint in which through a huge more than just a few of technologies.
These corporations maintain a mixed worth of £50bn and make exhaust of bigger than 35,000 americans, with plenty of the capital raised going to corporations engaged on trim vitality and diverse local weather alternate-connected technologies.
Collectively, local weather tech corporations create up 65% of the deals signed by impact startups all the blueprint in which through 2021. Amongst these are companies reminiscent of inexperienced vitality provider Octopus vitality, which raised basically the most major funding round of any impact startup at £438m; electrical vehicle subscription platform ONTO, which raised £130m; and waste management and recycling company Plastic Vitality, which raised £123m.
Out of doorways of local weather tech, a more than just a few of UK impact startups are having a watch at how technology can abet solve global well being considerations. BenevolentAI, as an illustration, makes exhaust of mountainous files and deep studying to search more efficient medicines, while Huma lets in a long way away affected person monitoring to decrease sanatorium readmission charges in worldwide locations including the UK and Germany.
3. Glitch indicators collective bargaining settlement with unionised workers
Workers at tool startup Glitch signed a collective bargaining settlement with the company through their union, which claimed it used to be the well-known time this type of deal has been signed by white-collar tech workers within the US.
The settlement, which took blueprint on 28 February 2021 and may maybe well perhaps fair final 11 months, came a year after Glitch’s group voted to unionise beneath the Communications Workers of The united states’s (CWA) Native 1101 branch in March 2020.
The peril to bring Glitch workers into the CWA used to be fragment of the union’s Advertising campaign to Prepare Digital Workers (CODE-CWA), which launched in January 2020 to abet workers within the tech alternate blueprint up their vitality.
Even supposing the settlement – which is a legitimate contract between the union and Glitch – does no longer encompass one thing else about better wages, which may maybe well be “already generous” per a union spokesperson, it does encompass major protections for workers.
4. UK technology business created every 30 minutes in 2020
A novel technology business used to be created every half an hour all the blueprint in which through 2020, with virtually 19,500 registering in total all the blueprint in which throughout the UK, alternate figures revealed in March 2021.
Info analysed by alternate physique Tech Nation for the Department of Digital, Custom, Media and Sport (DCMS) – based mostly fully mostly on figures supplied by the Keep of business for National Statistics (ONS) and Companies Home – confirmed that 19,465 novel companies had been registered within the suggestions and communication sector between January and December 2020.
The expand within the assorted of technology companies coincided with a file year for venture capital (VC) investment, which seen UK-based mostly fully mostly technology companies elevate a total of $15bn – a main percentage of the $43.1bn raised by European corporations all the blueprint in which through 2020. On the other hand, plenty of the capital raised by UK companies ($10.5bn) went to those in London.
5. One-fifth of all UK tech investment went to supreme 10 scaleup companies in 2020
Per Tech Nation’s seventh annual story, supreme 10 technology scaleups got one-fifth of all UK venture capital (VC) investment all the blueprint in which through 2020.
Funding within the UK tech sector hit $15bn in 2020 – $200m better than the outdated file assign of residing in 2019 – but about 20% ($3.5bn) went to supreme 10 scaleups, eight of which may maybe well be London-based mostly fully mostly.
Handiest e-commerce business Gymshark and semiconductor manufacturer Graphcore may maybe well be found outdoors the capital, in Solihull and Bristol, respectively.
Seven of these companies – Octopus Vitality, Arrival, Cazoo, Gymshark, infobip, Gousto and Hopin – reached unicorn website online in 2020, which methodology they for the time being are every valued at bigger than $1bn.
6. UK tech sector grows tenfold in 10 years
The UK’s technology sector has considered a tenfold expand in both venture capital investment and the assorted of billion-greenback “unicorn” corporations (those valued at bigger than $1bn) all the blueprint throughout the final decade, per figures released in Also can by the authorities’s Digital Financial system Council and Dealroom.co.
Between 2010 and 2020, investment within the UK’s tech alternate grew from £1.2bn to £11.3bn, with most of this expand taking space since 2015 when investment used to be £4.1bn.
There has also been a tenfold expand within the assorted of unicorns, which elevated from eight in 2010 to 81 by the tip of 2020. A extra 10 unicorns had been created between the start of 2021 and Also can.
Out of these unicorns, 32 had been fintech companies, 14 eager in challenge tool and 13 had been in well being tech – sectors which maintain consistently attracted basically the most capital all the blueprint throughout the final decade.
7. UK authorities takes fairness shares in bigger than 150 startups
Info from the British Commerce Bank released in September revealed that the UK authorities has taken stakes in 158 high-boost startups after its Covid toughen loans remodeled into fairness.
Launched in April 2020 by finance minister Rishi Sunak to augment startups and loss-making corporations with the investment wished to close afloat all the blueprint in which throughout the pandemic, the Future Fund procedure’s investment came within the blueprint of convertible mortgage notes, giving the UK authorities fairness shares within the challenge when the funding is remodeled.
Tech-connected corporations on the checklist encompass Vaccitech plc, which co-invented the Covid-19 vaccine with the College of Oxford; Century Tech, an training platform that makes exhaust of man made intelligence (AI) to personalise studying for kids; gig ticketing app Dice FM; and Ripple Vitality, which lets in customers to rob shares in wind farms.
Per British Commerce Bank CEO Catherine Lewis La Torre, the Future Fund used to be integral to guaranteeing investment persisted flowing to high-boost startups, with bigger than £1bn of convertible loans being issued to virtually 1,200 companies in total.
8. UK tech sector heading within the right kind direction for yet any other file year of investment
The UK is creating practically $1bn “unicorn” technology business per week after inflow of £13.5bn venture capital (VC) funding within the well-known six months of the year, atmosphere the tech sector up for yet any other file year of investment in 2021.
The UK is now dwelling to 105 unicorns, 20 of which reached unicorn website online within the well-known six months of 2021 alone, including Tractable, Zego and Depop. By comparison, Tech Nation claims it took from 1990 to 2014 for the UK to produce its first 20 unicorns.
From these 20 corporations, 11 are financial technology (fintech) companies, which as a subsector attracted £4.2bn of the whole raised. After fintech, healthtech attracted the second top probably quantity (£2.7bn), followed by challenge tool (£1.3bn) and transportation (£1.1bn).
The assorted of skill future unicorns also elevated, from 132 corporations in Also can 2021 to 153 in basically the most up-to-date figures.
9. UK authorities announces security tech field fund winners
The UK authorities offered the 5 winners of its Security Tech Predicament Fund, who will every gain £85,000 to abet them attain their technical proposals for novel digital tools and functions to cease the spread of child sexual abuse field subject (CSAM) in encrypted communications.
Launched in September 2021, the field fund is designed to steal innovation in AI and diverse technologies that can scan, detect and flag illegal child abuse imagery without breaking cease-to-cease encryption (E2EE).
The fund is being administered by the Department for Digital, Custom, Media and Sport and the Home Keep of business, which can create extra funding of £130,000 on hand to the strongest initiatives after 5 months.
Digital minister Chris Philp beneficial Computer Weekly that CSAM-scanning used to be the greatest inherent exhaust of the technologies, and that the authorities wouldn’t mandate its exhaust previous this reason.
10. Tech startups turn to digital PR platform for media publicity
Early-stage technology startups within the UK are the exhaust of digital public members of the family (PR) platform Newspage to abet expand media visibility and gain extra funding.
Conceived all the blueprint in which throughout the UK’s first nationwide lockdown, Newspage lets in startups to produce and disseminate their possess publicity without the involvement of dear PR companies whose charges are prohibitive to many early-stage startups.
While Newspage is designed for exhaust by any tiny companies operating within the UK, basically the most up-to-date vertical its founders are concentrated on is technology startups.
“I’ve labored with plenty of tech startups which may maybe well be bootstrapping and maintain infrequently any cash – they attain to peer PR companies, it’s £1,000 a day or even £500 a day, but its previous their finances. Until they procure an angel investment or VC [venture capital] backing, they’re off the radar,” talked about co-founder Dominic Hiatt.
He added that the underlying conception of Newspage is to be a “port” for connecting media and records organisations with stories that would otherwise be complicated to procure, and that for startups themselves the platform can abet them elevate cash through elevated visibility.
