英国创新——2025年回顾

January 2026 Image: Gemini Nano Bananarepresenting Isomorphic Labs 2025 in UK tech VC investment grew35% in 2025 UK tech is worth acombined $1.3T UK reaches 200unicorn milestone UK startups raised $23.6Bin 2025 (compared to$17.5B in 2024) markingthe first increase in VC The UK has now produced200 unicorns and $1B+exits. The combined value ofthe UKʼs innovationecosystem has grown 7x 16 unicorns were added tothe UK total in 2025. Megarounds droveinvestment growth, with2025 the strongest yearsince the 2021–22 peak. Fintech led the way;Revolut had the largestround at $2B. “Our 2025 UK Innovation Update, produced in partnership with Dealroom, showsthat momentum in the UKʼs innovation economy has firmly returned, deliveringits strongest performance since 2021. The positive signals we saw in Q3continued into the final quarter of the year, with UK startups raising $23.6B in2025, up 35% year on year. This is even higher than the annualised projection($23.1B) we shared in our last update, and cements the rich source of value tech “In 2025, we have seen renewed mega-round activity and strength across every stage of the funding cycle,from early-stage ventures through to growth and late-stage scale-ups. This resurgence reinforces globalconfidence in the UK as a home for ambitious, scalable innovation, reflecting belief both in the nextgeneration of UK founders and in established companies with global ambition. This breadth of activity is adefining feature of a mature ecosystem, making a significant contribution to jobs and economic growth The same breadth is evident at the sector level. Fintech and Health once again stood out as leading sectors,where the UK has built an enviable position over many years and continues to shape the future of theseindustries globally. This was complemented by a record year for AI investment, with capital flowing intoboth AI infrastructure and applied AI businesses. The growing maturity of AI use cases across healthcare,financial services, media and industry highlights sustained investor appetite for UK companies with proven Deep tech and life sciences remain central to this strength, underpinned by the UKʼs world-leadinguniversities and a track record of collaboration between academia, founders and investors. In fact, half ofthe Europeʼs top ten universities by deep tech and life science spinout creation are in the UK. The result is astrong pipeline of innovation grounded in scientific excellence and commercial ambition. The UK has also demonstrated that, with sustained investment, it is a unicorn factory. Passing the landmarkmilestone of 200 unicorns ($1bn valuation or exit) and reaching 239 thoroughbreds ($100m+ revenue)matters. These companies fuel a powerful flywheel, seeding new startups as talent and experience arerecycled across the ecosystem. Together, these trends tell a clear story: the UK innovation ecosystem is scaling with confidence, resilienceand depth. At HSBC Innovation Banking, we are proud to support the founders, investors and institutionsdriving this next phase of growth. UK tech in numbers $1.3TUK innovationecosystem value$1.2T in 2024 1.8M 200Unicorns Founded orHQʼd in the UK184 in 2024 Jobs created 80% at companiesunder $200M valuation 1.1KVC-backed Spinoutsin Deep Tech and LifeSciences $23.6BUK VC raised in 2025$17.5B in 2024 35%VC investment growthsince 2024 UK startupsraised $23.6Bin 2025 UK Venture Capital by stage» view online ▊$0–1m (pre-seed)▊$1–4m (seed)▊$4–15m (series A)▊$15–40m (series B)▊$40–100m (series C)▊$100–250m(mega rounds)▊$250m+ (mega+) VC investment is up 35% on2024, from $17.5B, andgrowing again for the firsttime in four years. The UK innovationeconomy is wortha combined$1.3 trillion, 58% of the ecosystem valuecomes from companies 32% comes from Fintech, 13%from Health and 20% from Deep “2025 was a healthy year for Deep Tech,characterised by maturation of markets unlockedby ʻDeep Tech 1.0ʼ technologies as well as the “In Quantum, we saw a spike in market consolidation (includingIonQʼs $1.1bn acquisition of Oxford Ionics) as well as increasing VCactivity further up the ʻquantum stackʼ (e.g. networking,applications, security). AI continued to dominate the airwaves, buttop investors worked to form more sophisticated theses upstreamand downstream of model innovations (e.g. data centre power, Looking ahead, we expect 2026-30 will see the rise of newmega-themes: critical minerals, ultra-humanistic AI,bioengineering, the space economy, superconductors andgeneral-purpose robotics. The UK remainsthe #1 countryin Europe byVC investment The UK raised more thanGermany, France, Switzerlandand the Netherlands 36 megarounds of $100M+ drove investment growth in 2025, making it thestrongest year since the 2021–22 peak; investment grew at every stage in 2025 The biggest UKventure capital The largest rounds were raisedacross varied tech sectors andapplications, from fintech toquantum computing, AI The largest round in 2025