Britain reaches milestone of 100 tech companies worth $1bn

The UK now joins the US and China as the only nations to have triple digit tech unicorns globally. According to new data from Dealroom and Tech Nation, it is the first country in Europe to reach 100, with more tech unicorns than Germany (42), France (22) and the Netherlands (18) combined.

The UK’s 100th tech unicorn, Tractable, is an AI startup building computer vision tools, announced a $60m Series D raise, which takes the company’s valuation to $1bn. It joins the likes of Scotland’s travel search engine Skyscanner, Durham-based challenger bank Atom Bank, and Cambridge-based cybersecurity company Darktrace.

Collectively, the UK’s 100 tech unicorns have raised almost $32bn in VC investment, across multiple tech sub-sectors, including e-commerce, insuretech, and cyber security and energy. Around 34% of UK tech unicorns are fintech companies, 14% healthtech, 8% travel and transport tech, 5% foodtech, and 4% gaming.

The UK is the second most common destination after France for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe, a report from Ernst & Young has said. As to be expected, the US remains the UK’s biggest source of foreign investment, but perhaps more interestingly, the UK is the most popular global location for Indian FDI; securing more than 50% of the projects they generate in Europe. As the sixth largest economy in the world, due to be the third biggest by 2031, Britain is set to continue benefitting from the rise and rise of India.

Nayan Gala, founder of JPIN VCATS, comments on this incredible achievement:

“Britain has always been a world-leading tech hub, with a thriving small business community to match – and this achievement only reaffirms this. As India continues to grow as a modern economic powerhouse, particularly when it comes to tech-heavy digital industries, it will continue looking to Britain as a key destination for investment.

The UK and India have always had a close relationship, and now the UK has left the EU and is looking for opportunities further from home, they are set to get closer. These developments are mutually beneficial – and it goes to show how important finalising Britain and India’s free trade agreement is.”