Startup Life/Funding/Places/ Paris and Berlin narrow the VC gap with London London tech companies continue to pull in the most VC investment but rival cities are catching up. By Maija Palmer 11 January 2019 \Startup Life Founders: Here’s what you need to know about European SPACs By Karam Filfilan 26 March 2021 Startup Life/Funding/Places/ Paris and Berlin narrow the VC gap with London London tech companies continue to pull in the most VC investment but rival cities are catching up. By Maija Palmer 11 January 2019 London’s tech companies attract more than twice as much venture capital investment as ones in rival cities across Europe, according to figures published this week by London and Partners, the city’s promotional agency (based on numbers from Pitchbook). Here’s how London looks compared to some of its nearest rivals: Source: Pitchbook and Sifted So far, so good. It would seem that Brexit uncertainty has not dented investors’ appetite for London-based tech. But is it an unambiguously good news story for London? Actually, investment in London has fallen in the last year, from $2.5bn in 2017 to $1.8bn in 2018 – a 29% drop – while investment in Paris and Berlin has grown. Source: Pitchbook and Sifted So perhaps some of the fears about Brexit are pulling startups and investors out of the UK. But then 2017 was arguably an exceptional year for tech fundraising in London, with a number of super-sized deals including Improbable (£391m); Deliveroo (£364m); TransferWise (£211m) and Funding Circle (£81m). Take a slightly longer timescale and London still seems, overall, to be on a strong upward trajectory: Source: Pitchbook and Sifted Although Paris and Berlin are catching up, London is far more dominant in VC investment than it was in 2013 and 2014, when it was playing second fiddle to Berlin. Stockholm’s downward-trending VC investment numbers are the other thing that jump out from this chart. In 2016 it looked set to challenge London for the VC crown, but the drop-off over the last few years has been dramatic. Want the best of Sifted in your inbox? Our newsletter brings you the latest, greatest stories on startup Europe. Sign up Terms of Use Related Articles Clubhouse has revealed the German tech scene’s lack of diversity By Miriam Partington in Berlin Click here to read more A third of UK unicorns founded by ethnic minorities By Kai Nicol-Schwarz Click here to read more Not everyone can become an entrepreneur in Europe By Marie Mawad in Paris Click here to read more Only 21% of tech unicorns are led by women, report shows By Freya Pratty Click here to read more Get the best of Sifted in your inbox By entering your email you agree to Sifted’s Terms of Use Sign up to \Future Proof Sifted’s weekly \Corporate Innovation roundup email By entering your email you agree to Sifted’s Terms of Use Most Read 1 \Deeptech Europe is making faster cars and better batteries than Tesla 2 Member \Startup Life Enter the era of the digital nomad 3 \Deeptech Quantum Motion unveils 9-second silicon qubit 4 Member \Startup Life Meet the fast-growing N26 ‘mafia’: the employees turned entrepreneurs 5 Member \Consumer 12 startups nibbling at Deliveroo that investors are watching closely
Clubhouse has revealed the German tech scene’s lack of diversity By Miriam Partington in Berlin Click here to read more