According to the dealroom data quoted by the Financial TimesBritish start-ups collected only £ 16.2 billion last year, much less than the more than £ 65 billion that has been collected by their counterparts in Silicon Valley in Silicon Valley in the same period. In fact, the US seems to be moving further every year. In 2024, 57% of the worldwide financing of venture capital went to our startups – the first time that the share has exceeded 50% in more than a decade, per dealroom.
This growing gap is part of a long-standing trend that UK founders have taken note of, the FT reports, and it is a reason to consider many to move abroad.
“Recognized that most venture financing comes from the US, we have set ourselves up as a Delaware Corporation, the preferred and trusted structure for American investors,” said Mati Staniszewski, co-founder of the London-based AI Company Elevenlabs, in an interview with the FT.
Barney Hussey-Yeo, founder and CEO of the AI-start-up Cleo, told the FT that he has been spending in San Francisco four months a year and seriously is considering a permanent step. “You get a certain size where there is no capital in the UK and the problem gets worse,” he said. “To be honest, the UK is quite f *** D if it does not agree [the problem]. “