Ten scaleups, which between them secured 20 per cent of total UK tech VC investment at USD3.5 billion drove UK tech in 2020, according to Tech Nations’ latest report on the state of the UK tech sector.
Octopus Energy, Arrival, Cazoo, Gymshark, infobip, Gousto and Hopin were the seven unicorns to achieve unicorn status in 2020, bringing the UK’s total unicorn count in 2020 to 80. An additional six unicorns have already been created so far in 2021: Blockchain, Kymab, PPRO, Touchlight Genetics, Starling Bank and Zego. Online events platform Hopin, which raised USD150 million in 2020, has gone on to raise a further USD400 million Series C round from Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst with a valuation of USD5.65 billion.
Valued at USD585 billion, startups and scaleups more than doubled their collective value since 2017. Germany, which is the second most valuable European scaleup ecosystem, was valued at USD291 billion. London-based electric vehicle startup Arrival, together with green energy provider Octopus Energy secured the biggest rounds for UK impact startups in 2020 – at USD400 million and USD577 million respectively.
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