Monday 18 May 2026 12:00 am
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Sunday 17 May 2026 11:38 am
Nearly half of all UK AI funding rounds last year came from first-time raises
Britain’s AI sector pulled in a record £8.3bn of investment last year, as global investors raced to back the country’s next generation of AI firms, with London tightening its grip as Europe’s leading tech hub.New research from Barclays Eagle Labs found funding into UK AI companies surged in 2025 after a sluggish period for venture capital markets, driven by growing demand for businesses building everything from AI infrastructure to legal software.The figures shows just how quickly AI has become one of Britain’s hottest investment stories, as investors scramble to avoid missing the next Deepmind-style breakout success.London remains firmly at the centre of the rush, with nearly three quarters of Britain’s AI fintech companies based in the capital, according to the report.The boom has been fuelled by a flood of global capital chasing AI growth stories, particularly businesses seen as capable of supplying the infrastructure behind the technology rather than simply consumer-facing apps.This includes companies building the computing power, software systems and data architecture needed to support the rapid expansion of generative AI.For investors, Britain increasingly looks like one of the few places outside Silicon Valley producing AI firms with genuine global scale ambitions.The report found nearly half of all UK AI funding rounds last year came from first-time raises, suggesting a fresh wave of startups is entering the market even as competition for talent and capital intensifies.Investors chase Britain’s next DeepmindThe Barclays Eagle Labs AI 100 cohort – a list of Britain’s fastest-growing AI businesses – has collectively raised £11.3bn and now generates £734m in annual revenue while employing more than 8,500 people. Software businesses dominate the rankings, reflecting investor appetite for companies capable of monetising AI tools quickly as businesses rush to integrate automation and generative AI into everyday operations.Abdul Qureshi, head of Barclays Business Banking, said: “The UK has no shortage of world-class AI innovation. The challenge is turning those breakthroughs into sustainable global businesses.”The investment surge also reflects the growing importance of AI to wider financial markets.Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company earlier this year as investors piled into firms supplying the computing infrastructure behind AI models, while Microsoft, Amazon and Google continue spending tens of billions expanding global data centre capacity.London-listed investors and pension funds are increasingly under pressure not to miss the trend.The UK government has also moved aggressively to position Britain as a destination for AI capital, including plans for a new Sovereign AI Unit aimed at supporting domestic firms and preventing valuable intellectual property from moving abroad too early.But despite London’s dominance, regional growth is accelerating too, with the North West’s AI sector has expanded faster than London’s since 2019, according to the report, albeit from a much smaller base, as clusters focused on advanced manufacturing and industrial AI begin to emerge outside the capital.
