UK AI startups have raised $2.4bn (£1.7bn) in enterprise capital funding within the first half of the yr, marking the best share of VC funding for the sector on report.
AI firms represented 30% of all enterprise capital funding secured by British firms within the first half of 2025, up from the 13% share recorded a decade earlier, in response to evaluation from HSBC Innovation Banking and Dealroom.
Among the many prime rounds for the sector thus far this yr had been Synthesia’s £146m Collection D, ElevenLabs’s £184m Collection C and the £440.8m raised in DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs’s first exterior spherical.
The report tracked a complete of 179 funding rounds for the UK AI sector thus far in 2025, with startups based mostly in London making up 68%, although it famous exercise past the capital was selecting up.
“It’s massively thrilling to see AI funding gathering tempo, as new and diversified use instances with real-world impression proceed to emerge, from breakthroughs in personalised drugs to smarter logistics and monetary companies,” mentioned HSBC Innovation Banking chief govt Simon Bumfrey.
“What’s particularly encouraging is the range of revolutionary AI startups throughout the UK – not simply in established tech hubs, however in cities and cities nationwide.
“On the identical time, the UK’s innovation financial system continues to indicate resilience, attracting vital capital throughout all development levels, and firmly holding onto its place as Europe’s main tech hub regardless of broader geopolitical uncertainty.”
Different prime innovation sectors for VC funding thus far in 2025 embody well being tech and fintech, each elevating $2.3bn (£1.7bn) respectively and enterprise software program, which raised $1.9bn (£1.4bn).
The analysis famous that complete VC funding within the UK hit $8bn (£5.9bn) within the first half of the yr, up 3% from the second half of 2024 and nearly triple the quantity raised in 2015.
This determine locations the UK firmly on the prime of Europe, in contrast with the $4.4bn (£3.2bn) raised in Germany and the $3.2bn (£2.3bn) in France. In complete, the UK commanded a 30% share of complete European VC funding prior to now yr so far.
The UK has now produced 188 unicorns, with latest entrants together with streaming service Mubi and quantum agency Oxford Ionics.
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