London is one of the world’s leading hubs for impact tech, according to new figures from London & Partners and Dealroom.co.
Their figures show that the UK capital is attracting large amounts of VC investment into start-ups addressing one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
VC investment into London-based impact tech start-ups has grown by almost 800% since 2015. This year is set to be a record year for London’s impact tech companies, which received $1.2bn (£900m) in VC investment from January to October, already matching 2019 levels.
London’s impact firms have also secured 429 deals between 2015 and 2020, more than any other city globally.
While European investors still contribute the majority of investment into London’s impact companies, interest from North American investors has been increasing year-on-year. Funding rounds including at least one North American investor have made up $234m of VC investment so far this year, up from $85m in 2018. This equates to a fifth of all VC investment into London’s impact start‑ups.
Funding rounds for London impact companies involving North American investors in 2020 include a $118m growth equity round into Arrival by Blackrock, a $80m Series B round for Compass Pathways and $25m of Series C funding for Tractable.
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