The UK has become the third country to have a tech sector which has surpassed the $1 trillion valuation mark – featuring 13 ‘decacorns’ – according to Dealroom data analysed for the Digital Economy Council.
42 regional unicorns – including 12 in the North of England such as Matillion, AO, Wejo, Radius Payment Solutions and Sky Betting and Gaming – have underpinned the success of the country’s tech ecosystem.
It has made the UK’s sector the third, following that of China and the US, to hit this landmark valuation, spearheaded by decacorns including Revolut, Markit, Admiral Group, eToro, and Deliveroo – which recently announced the opening in Manchester of its largest office outside the capital.
Other Northern unicorns named in the research include Interactive Investor, ITM Power, Instil Bio, TransUnion UK, THG and GBG plc. There are also 100 futurecorns outside London “laying the groundwork for future success across the country.”
The 13 decacorns, those companies valued at more than $10 billion, are the country’s highest-valued – and puts the UK ahead of Germany with six, and Sweden which has four.
The UK also has 14 companies expected to hit decacorn valuation very soon, currently valued at between $5 billion and $10 billion. Respectively, Germany and France have five and three companies in the same position.
The figures are set to be announced by Chris Philp (pictured at this month’s Digital City Festival), Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy, today in an appearance at the West Midlands Tech Review in Birmingham.
They also show that the fastest growth of the UK tech sector took place between 2020 and 2021, when it increased in size by 42%.
Philp said: “Our tech industry has gone from strength to strength, overtaking the rest of Europe and entering the history books as the third country ever to reach this milestone.
“We’re working hard to make the UK the best place in the world to found, grow or float tech businesses – whether they’re early-stage startups or global innovators – ensuring they have the best talent, investment and regulation to thrive.”
Gerard Grech, Chief Executive of Tech Nation, added: “This is a watershed moment for UK tech. The industry has gone through difficult global challenges and come out stronger than ever.
“Ten years ago people said there weren’t enough startups in the UK. Five years ago people said there weren’t enough scale-ups. Every day, innovative and experimental tech companies are being launched across the UK that will grow into the next generation of unicorns and decacorn and we at Tech Nation are committed to supporting and fuelling these high-potential businesses across the whole country.”
