Deeptech in the UK (Q4 2024) (Jolt Capital)

Summary

• Over the past 10 years, more than €180b of accumulative capital has been invested in UK companies across sectors for approx. +27k deals.p.6
• The Deeptech space accounts for approx. [50]% of the total investment universe in the United Kingdom.p.6
• Computing & AI companies attract the highest share of deals in both VC and growth rounds, representing around 16% of the total number of deals.p.7
• The share of UK growth rounds reached around 14% of the number of deals in 2023, up from less than <8% on average prior to 2021.p.7
• The Hidden Universe in the UK comprises more than 30k companies that have not raised or disclosed equity funds from VC/PE investors since 2000.p.13
• Small and medium-sized UK companies with [11-250] FTEs file +50% of the active patents.p.15

Key insights

1. Over €180b of accumulative capital was invested across +27k deals in UK companies over the past 10 years.p.6
2. Computing & AI companies attract around 16% of total deals across VC and growth rounds.p.7
3. Computing & AI and Life Science registered 463 growth deals in 2023.p.7
4. Around 60% of identified UK Deeptech companies have not received or disclosed equity funding since 2000.p.13
5. The Hidden Universe represents a stock of more than 30k companies, of which 10% reach medium business size ([51-250] FTEs).p.13
6. UK small and medium-sized enterprises ([11-250] FTEs) generate over +50% of active patents.p.15
7. The UK innovation ecosystem experiences a slowdown in patent growth for key technologies including semiconductors, nanotechnology, and chemicals.p.16
8. UK small and medium-sized companies ([11-250] FTEs) account for an increasing share of high-quality IP.p.18
9. High-quality IP is distributed across both VC/PE backed companies and the Hidden Universe.p.19