UK startups raise $6.8 billion in VC funding during January-May 2024

UK startups raise $6.8 billion in VC funding during January-May 2024

The UK startups witnessed the announcement of a total of 497 venture capital (VC) deals during the first five months of 2024, while the disclosed funding value of these deals stood at $6.8 billion. This represents a 1.6% year-on-year (YoY) growth in VC funding value during January-May 2024, despite the deal volume registering a YoY decline of 17.3%, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that a total of 601 VC deals were announced during January-May 2023, whereas the disclosed funding value of these deals stood at $6.7 billion.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The decline experienced in deal volume in the UK during January-May 2024 was in line with the global trend, wherein top markets such as the US and China also witnessed a fall in the number of deals. Meanwhile, the improvement in terms of value recorded during the first five months of 2024 could be attributed to the announcement of two billion-dollar deals (valued more than or equal to $1 billion) in May.”

Some of the notable VC funding deals announced in the UK during January-May 2024 included around $1 billion worth of funding secured by Wayve, $1 billion capital raising by Abound, $431 million worth of funding raised by Monzo, $112 million capital raising by Exohood Labs, $110 million funding secured by Skyports, and $110 million capital raising by Build A Rocket Boy, among others.

Bose adds: “The UK stands as the top European market for VC funding activity and was also among the top five markets globally both in terms of VC deals volume and value during January-May 2024.”

The UK accounted for a 7.2% share of the total number of VC deals announced globally during the first five months of 2024, while its share of the corresponding disclosed funding value stood at 6.5%.

Note: Historic data may change in case some deals get added to previous months because of a delay in disclosure of information in the public domain