The reference point of Europe’s tech landscape, the UK tops virtually every chart and metric of the region’s startup universe.

Its 48 unicorns and 40,000 startups get the most funding, close the most deals, and realise the most exits than any other country across the continent. It’s an increasingly mature tech space capable of pulling its weight against other global ecosystems.

While growth rates have slowed down in line with global market turmoil, the UK’s ecosystem value jumped 42.8% in 2021, and is steadily approaching $1tn — as much as Germany, France and Sweden combined, and third worldwide, according to Dealroom.

Sifted ranked the most promising startups across the UK in a weighted selection of new entries, older faces and fast-growing hits.