The headline numbers are substantial. These 1,000 firms have collectively raised £20.2 billion, command valuations exceeding £45 billion, and in 2025 employed more than 35,000 people.
We also found that:
The UK’s strength is in application. The top three sub-sectors for companies in the AI index to be operating in include: business services, followed by financial services and health. The Index shows companies embedding AI into workflows, products, and services across the economy. This matches what the founders told us: the UK can win at the application layer.
London’s dominance is striking. 649 of the 1,000 firms — 65% — are headquartered in the capital. London-based startups account for £14 billion of the £20 billion raised, or 70% of total funding. There is no doubt that the capital continues to attract the majority of talent and capital.
Software is racing ahead of hardware. 968 software firms versus 74 hardware companies. A funding ratio of more than 10:1. The UK’s strengths appear not to be clusters of hardware companies, but of wider penetration of AI into existing sub-sectors in the application layer. Indeed, whether this is rational specialisation or strategic vulnerability will likely depend on your view of where value will accrue as the stack matures.
The state is a minor player. £456 million in grants against £20 billion in private funding means the government is providing just 2.2% of capital.