· London leads the way for international tech investment over past decade
· Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune join London in top 20 global hubs for tech foreign direct investment
· Bengaluru isone of the fastest growing tech ecosystems
Over 100 Indian tech companies have travelled to London this week to explore investment and expansion opportunities in the UK capital. The companies from all over India have been hosted in London by London’s business growth agency, London & Partners. During their stay in London they will take part in the tenth anniversary of London Tech Week – the UK’s largest festival of technology and innovation. This year’s London Tech Week has been attended by over 30,000 people from 150 countries and was opened by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
The Indian companies attending the visit to London Tech Week will benefit from networking sessions with UK business leaders, investors and policy makers. This included a visit to the London Stock Exchange to experience a market closing ceremony and a reception with the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister Rt Hon. Oliver Dowden CBE MP. The companies will also attend the AI Summit and an event hosted at the High Commission of India. Companies travelling on the visit include some of India’s most exciting tech businesses such Tata Elxsi, Mphasis, Robosoft Technologies, PhantomFX, Xforia Global Talent, Spendflo, Sankey Solutions, Vajra Global Consulting, Virtual Height,VenPep Solutions.
Indian cities also see strong tech investment
Joining London in the top 20 cities for tech investment, India’s Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune have emerged as key destinations for tech foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the past 10 years. Bengaluru witnessed a remarkable 489 FDI projects in the last decade, followed by Hyderabad with 263 projects and Pune with 209 projects.
In addition to FDI, the number of unicornshas witnessed significant growth in both Bengaluru and Mumbai. In Bengaluru, the number of unicorns has surged from 3 in 2014 to an impressive 36 in 2023. Similarly, Mumbai has experienced a substantial increase, going from 1 unicorn in 2018 to 14 this year.
Furthermore, Bengaluru’s tech ecosystem value has witnessed an astounding 1512% increase over the past decade. The city’s thriving tech hub has grown from a value of $15.6bn in 2014 to $551.4bn in 2023– making it more valuable than some Europe’s largest tech cities, such as Berlin ($153.6bn) and Paris ($247.6bn).
London’s tech sector sees rapid growth over the last 10 years
London continues to be one of the top global destinations for tech companies looking to expand internationally, with fresh data from London & Partners showing the UK capital has attracted more new international tech companies than any other global city in the past decade. The fresh data shows that since London Tech Week was founded in 2014, London has recorded more than 1,700 tech foreign direct investment projects – more than the likes of San Francisco and New York1.
Despite a challenging global economic climate, London’s attractiveness as a top destination for international tech firms looking to setup an overseas operation remained resilient, with the latest data available showing that the UK capital ranked second globally for tech foreign direct investment in 2022. Last year, London attracted 175 new tech companies, more than Singapore (130), Berlin (101), and Paris (100) – and second only to Dubai (223)1.
Some of the world’s biggest tech companies continue to make long term investments in London, with notable investments including Google, Apple & Salesforce. Recently London has also seen international expansions from Indian AdTech giant InMobi, Chinese tech entertainment company, Tencent, and US fintech unicorn, Alloy.
London is the European capital of unicorns
Since the launch of the first London Tech Week in 2014, London’s tech ecosystem has matured into one of theleading hubs for producing start-ups and scale-up companies. According to data from Dealroom, the value of London’s tech ecosystem has grown exponentially in the past 10 years from $70bn in 2014 to $621.5bn in 2023. The UK capital is by far the highest valued ecosystem in Europe, ahead of the likes of Paris($247.6bn) and Berlin ($153.6 bn)2.
The growth of London’s tech scene over the past 10 years is also demonstrated by the increasing amount of venture capital being put into London companies – a total of $107bn has been raised by London tech firms since the year London Tech Week was first founded. In fact, VC investment into London has increased by over 800% since then, with total funding reaching $22.4bn, compared to the $2.4bn in 20142. Leading global VC firms such as Index Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia have recently established a significant presence or new funds in London.
London tech set for continued successbased on strengths in high growth sectors
London’s tech sector is set for a bright future, with latest data showing that despite a global slowdown in VC investment, the UK capital continues to attract significantfunding into technologies that are tipped for strong growth in the coming decade.
London has established itself as a world leader in fintech, with its fintech firms securing more investment last year than any other city.Funding into London fintech companies has grown rapidly in the past decade, increasing from $495m in 2014 to $9.9bn in 20222. In this time, London has created fintech unicorns such as Wise, Monzo and OakNorth Bank who have benefitted from the city’s leading position as a top global financial centre and access to tech talent.
With some of the world’s leading universities and life sciences research facilities, London’s health tech sector has also seen strong growth. VC funding into London’s health tech companies has grown from $113m in 2014 – to $1.5bn in 20222. London is home to over 165 VC funds specialising in life sciences and has produced exciting companies such as AccurxandKherion Medical that are creating technologies to transform the healthcare sector.
As a city, London has set an ambitious target to become a net zero carbon city by 2030. This is encouraging lots of entrepreneurs to play their part and has resulted in the growth of a climate tech cluster in London including companies such as Octopus Energy, Newcleo, and Carbon Clean Solutions. Investment into climate tech companies in London has increased from $127m in 2014 to $1.9 billion in 20222.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Over the past decade, our tech sector has grown to become an international success story, creating jobs and economic growth for all Londoners. This is highlighted by these new figures showing London remains a top destination for the very best international tech businesses. The tenth anniversary of London Tech Week is a great opportunity to celebrate our recent successes and I look forward to another decade of growth for our city’s tech sector, resulting in a better, more prosperous London for all.”
Hemin Bharucha, Director of India at London & Partners said: “We’re delighted to welcome over 100 Indian tech companies to London for London Tech Week. This will be thelargest ever delegation we’ve seen from Indiaand it demonstrates the attractiveness of London as a top destination for Indian tech companies looking to go global. Our figures show that London remains the top global destination for international tech companies but it’s also refreshing to see strong tech investment growth in Indian cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. Our shared strengths in innovation and entrepreneurship are creating lots of opportunities for tech companies to do business across both regions.”