---
title: "Which UK Cities and Sectors Get the Most Startup Funding in 2026?"
url: "https://bizztor.com/news/uk-cities-sectors-most-startup-funding-2026/"
author: "Bizztor"
author_url: "https://bizztor.com/author/bizztor/"
date_published: "2026-10-17T22:26:00.000Z"
date_modified: "2026-10-17T22:47:41.541Z"
category: "News"
description: "London took 78% of the €19.9bn UK startups raised in 2026. Bizztor analysed 637 rounds to show which cities and sectors lead, and why."
publisher: "Bizztor"
---

# Which UK Cities and Sectors Get the Most Startup Funding in 2026?

> London took 78% of the €19.9bn UK startups raised in 2026. Bizztor analysed 637 rounds to show which cities and sectors lead, and why.

**London startups raised €15.6bn of the €19.9bn in non-debt funding that UK startups secured between 1 January and 16 October 2026, or 78% of the total.** Cambridge came a distant second with €1.7bn. By sector, AI raised the most money at €3.9bn, while software closed the most deals.

These are the latest UK startup funding stats for 2026. Bizztor analysed all 637 equity and grant rounds that [Tech.eu Funding Explorer](https://funding.tech.eu/geographies/uk/2026) recorded for UK startups this year, after removing debt. Amounts are in euros, as Tech.eu reports them. At the mid-October exchange rate, €19.9bn is about £16.8bn.

London's lead is no surprise. The more useful findings sit underneath it: who raises outside the capital, what a typical round looks like at each stage, and how much of the total rests on a handful of deals.

## Which UK city gets the most startup funding in 2026?

London, by a wide margin. Startups based in the capital closed 441 of the 637 rounds, 69% of all deals, and took 78% of the money.

**Chart: London took 78% of UK non-debt startup funding in 2026**
Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer, non-debt rounds, 1 Jan to 16 Oct 2026. Analysis: Bizztor

| Label | Value (%) | Share | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| London | 78.3% | 78% | 441 rounds, €15.6bn |
| Cambridge | 8.4% | 8.4% | 35 rounds, €1.7bn |
| Oxford | 2% | 2% | 16 rounds, €405m |
| Rest of the UK | 11.3% | 11% | 145 rounds, €2.2bn |

[Download the data (CSV)](https://bizztor.com/data/uk-cities-sectors-most-startup-funding-2026/chart-1.csv)

Nine of the ten largest rounds this year went to London companies. They include [Isomorphic Labs' Series B for its AI drug design engine](https://bizztor.com/news/isomorphic-labs-raises-2-1-billion-series-b-to-scale-ai-drug-design-engine/) at €1.8bn, Nscale's €1.7bn Series C and Wayve's €1.0bn round.

Add Cambridge and Oxford to London and the so-called golden triangle accounts for 492 rounds and €17.6bn. That is 89% of all the money UK startups raised this year, spread across just three cities out of the 60 towns and cities in the data.

## Which cities outside London raise the most?

Cambridge is the clear number two, with 35 rounds and €1.7bn. Its largest were CuspAI's €394m Series B and CMR Surgical's €355m growth round.

**Chart: Outside London, Cambridge raised four times as much as any other city**
Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer, non-debt rounds, 1 Jan to 16 Oct 2026. Analysis: Bizztor

| Label | Value (€m) | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cambridge | €1,663m | 35 rounds |
| Oxford | €405m | 16 rounds |
| Reading | €317m | 3 rounds |
| Harwell | €300m | 1 round |
| Edinburgh | €220m | 14 rounds |
| Bristol | €197m | 11 rounds |
| Manchester | €123m | 17 rounds |
| Cardiff | €119m | 7 rounds |
| Milton Park | €117m | 1 round |

[Download the data (CSV)](https://bizztor.com/data/uk-cities-sectors-most-startup-funding-2026/chart-2.csv)

Oxford follows with €405m across 16 rounds, ahead of Edinburgh (€220m, 14 rounds) and Bristol (€197m, 11 rounds). Manchester closed 17 rounds, more than any city outside London except Cambridge, but they were smaller and added up to €123m.

| City | Rounds | Raised | Median round |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| London | 441 | €15.6bn | €6.8m |
| Cambridge | 35 | €1.7bn | €10.2m |
| Manchester | 17 | €123m | €3.5m |
| Oxford | 16 | €405m | €13.2m |
| Edinburgh | 14 | €220m | €10.2m |
| Bristol | 11 | €197m | €7.4m |
| Cardiff | 7 | €119m | €2.9m |
| Sheffield | 7 | €42m | €5.2m |
| Glasgow | 7 | €37m | €2.9m |

The median column tells a story the totals hide. A typical Oxford round was €13.2m, and a typical Cambridge or Edinburgh round €10.2m. In London it was €6.8m.

Part of the reason is that London has far more very early deals. A third of London rounds (33%) were pre-seed or seed, against 22% outside the capital. Cambridge and Oxford also lean towards healthtech and deep tech, sectors that usually need more capital before they earn revenue.

Reading shows up with €317m, but almost all of it is one deal: Oxford Quantum Circuits' €301m Series C. Harwell and Milton Park, two Oxfordshire science parks, make the top ten on a single large round each.

## How much funding reaches Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Very little. England accounts for 603 rounds and 97.6% of the money. Scotland raised €283m across 23 rounds, Wales €119m across seven and Northern Ireland €82m across four.

**Chart: England raised 97.6% of UK startup funding in 2026**
Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer, non-debt rounds, 1 Jan to 16 Oct 2026. Analysis: Bizztor

| Label | Value (%) | Share | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| England | 97.6% | 98% | 603 rounds, €19.4bn |
| Scotland | 1.4% | 1.4% | 23 rounds, €283m |
| Wales | 0.6% | 0.6% | 7 rounds, €119m |
| Northern Ireland | 0.4% | 0.4% | 4 rounds, €82m |

[Download the data (CSV)](https://bizztor.com/data/uk-cities-sectors-most-startup-funding-2026/chart-3.csv)

Put another way, Ineffable Intelligence's €936m seed round in April was almost twice the combined total for all three devolved nations, which came to €484m.

Edinburgh carries Scotland, with 14 of its 23 rounds, including legal tech startup Wordsmith's €60m Series B. Belfast's biggest round was Cloudsmith's €62m Series C. In Cardiff, the largest was a €93m raise for semiconductor maker IQE.

## Which sectors attract the most startup funding in 2026?

AI raised the most, €3.9bn across 76 rounds. Healthtech (€3.4bn) and fintech (€2.5bn) follow, each with 85 rounds.

**Chart: AI raised the most UK startup funding in 2026, software closed the most deals**
Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer, non-debt rounds, 1 Jan to 16 Oct 2026. Analysis: Bizztor

| Label | Value (€bn) | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AI | €3.9bn | 76 rounds, largest: Ineffable Intelligence |
| Healthtech | €3.4bn | 85 rounds, largest: Isomorphic Labs |
| Fintech | €2.5bn | 85 rounds, largest: Ebury |
| Transportation | €1.4bn | 14 rounds, largest: Wayve |
| Software | €1.4bn | 123 rounds, largest: Granola |
| Semiconductors | €0.94bn | 9 rounds, largest: Olix |
| Deeptech | €0.72bn | 27 rounds, largest: Oxford Quantum Circuits |
| Cleantech | €0.69bn | 28 rounds, largest: CuspAI |
| Cybersecurity | €0.58bn | 26 rounds, largest: Cambridge Aerospace |
| Defence | €0.5bn | 12 rounds, largest: Cambridge Aerospace |

[Download the data (CSV)](https://bizztor.com/data/uk-cities-sectors-most-startup-funding-2026/chart-4.csv)

Software had the most deals by a distance, 123 in total. With a median round of €4.8m, though, it sits outside the top four on money. AI and fintech rounds were larger, with medians of €8.1m and €8.7m.

The AI figure needs a caveat. Tech.eu files each company under its main sector, so Isomorphic Labs sits in healthtech, Wayve in transportation and Nscale in cloud, even though all three build AI. Counted as a theme across every sector, AI is far bigger: [HSBC Innovation Banking and Dealroom](https://www.hsbcinnovationbanking.com/en/resources/uk-innovation-update-h1-2026) put UK AI startup funding at $12.6bn in the first half of 2026 alone, nearly three quarters of all UK venture capital.

Where each sector raises also differs. 89% of AI rounds and 88% of fintech rounds went to London companies. Healthtech is split almost evenly, with 51% in London and Cambridge as its second home.

Semiconductors run the other way. Only three of the nine chip rounds were in London, while the rest went to companies such as CamGraPhic in Cambridge and Oxford's Salience Labs, which raised a [Series B for its photonic AI chips](https://bizztor.com/news/salience-labs-125m-series-b-photonic-ai-chips/) this week.

## Why do a few deals decide the rankings?

Because a handful of very large rounds hold most of the money. The ten biggest rounds of 2026 account for 42% of all disclosed funding, and the 33 rounds above €100m account for 64%.

**Chart: The 10 biggest rounds hold 42% of UK startup funding in 2026**
Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer, non-debt rounds, 1 Jan to 16 Oct 2026. Analysis: Bizztor

| Label | Value (%) | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Top 10 rounds | 42% | 42% |
| Next 23 rounds over €100m | 22% | 22% |
| Other 554 rounds | 36% | 36% |

[Download the data (CSV)](https://bizztor.com/data/uk-cities-sectors-most-startup-funding-2026/chart-5.csv)

At the other end, 254 rounds were under €5m. They made up 43% of all disclosed deals but only 2.9% of the money.

Single deals swing whole sectors. Isomorphic Labs' Series B is just over half of healthtech's total, and Wayve's round is 74% of transportation's. Take Isomorphic out and healthtech falls from €3.4bn to €1.6bn.

So when a report says a city or sector "raised the most", check how many deals sit behind the number. It is the same caution that applies to many of the [headline UK startup statistics for 2026](https://bizztor.com/guides/uk-startup-statistics/).

## How big are UK funding rounds at each stage?

The median pre-seed round in 2026 was €1.6m and the median seed round €4.5m. Series A rounds came in at €15.3m, Series B at €39.0m and Series C at €52.8m.

**Chart: Median UK startup round size by stage in 2026**
Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer, non-debt rounds, 1 Jan to 16 Oct 2026. Analysis: Bizztor

| Label | Value (€m) | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pre-Seed | €1.6m | median of 78 rounds |
| Seed | €4.5m | median of 110 rounds |
| Series A | €15.3m | median of 79 rounds |
| Series B | €39m | median of 34 rounds |
| Series C | €52.8m | median of 23 rounds |

[Download the data (CSV)](https://bizztor.com/data/uk-cities-sectors-most-startup-funding-2026/chart-6.csv)

The jump from seed to Series A is the steepest, at more than three times the size. Seed was also the busiest named stage, with 110 rounds, followed by Series A (79) and pre-seed (78).

The count narrows quickly after that, to 34 Series B rounds and 23 Series C rounds. These medians are a fair benchmark if you are setting a target for your own raise, and our guide to [building a startup pitch deck in 2026](https://bizztor.com/guides/creating-startup-pitch-deck-in-2026/) covers how to present that number to investors.

## Is UK startup funding slowing in the second half of 2026?

The money has slowed, but the deals have not. UK startups raised about €2.4bn a month in the first half of the year, and €1.5bn a month in July, August and September.

**Chart: UK startup funding by month in 2026: May peaked at €4.9bn**
Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer, non-debt rounds, 1 Jan to 16 Oct 2026. Analysis: Bizztor

| Label | Value (€bn) | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | €0.92bn | 63 rounds |
| Feb | €2.7bn | 81 rounds |
| Mar | €2.7bn | 70 rounds |
| Apr | €1.9bn | 71 rounds |
| May | €4.9bn | 67 rounds |
| Jun | €1.5bn | 64 rounds |
| Jul | €1.6bn | 69 rounds |
| Aug | €1.4bn | 52 rounds |
| Sep | €1.4bn | 62 rounds |
| Oct (to 16th) | €0.93bn | 38 rounds |

[Download the data (CSV)](https://bizztor.com/data/uk-cities-sectors-most-startup-funding-2026/chart-7.csv)

Deal flow held up far better, at about 69 rounds a month in the first half and 61 in the third quarter. The typical round actually grew, from a median of €6.0m in the first half to €7.6m in the third quarter.

What fell away were the mega-rounds. May alone brought in €4.9bn, led by Isomorphic Labs, Ebury, Recursive Superintelligence and ElevenLabs. No month since has reached €1.7bn.

## Who is backing startups outside London?

Public and regional investors do much of the work. Innovate UK appeared in 26 rounds this year, more than any other investor, and the British Business Bank in 21.

Outside London, the most frequent backers were PXN Ventures (12 rounds), Innovate UK (12), Scottish Enterprise (11), the British Business Bank (10), Northern Gritstone (10) and Mercia Ventures (10).

Bizztor counted how many rounds included at least one of seven public or regionally focused investors: Innovate UK, the British Business Bank, Scottish Enterprise, Northern Gritstone, PXN Ventures, Mercia Ventures and Foresight Group. They appeared in 29% of rounds outside London, against 7.5% in London.

That support is still growing. The British Business Bank has just [committed £180m to six AI and deep tech funds](https://bizztor.com/news/british-business-bank-commits-180m-to-six-ai-and-deeptech-funds/).

## What do the latest UK startup funding stats mean for founders?

If you are building outside London, treat the public and regional funds as your first ring of investors, not a fallback. More than one in four regional rounds this year included one of them.

Benchmark your raise against the median, not the average. The mean UK round in 2026 was €33.8m because of a few giant deals, while the median was €6.2m.

Raising in late 2026 is not as hard as the monthly totals suggest. Deal numbers and typical round sizes held up through the summer. What disappeared were the billion-euro outliers.

If you work in AI or fintech outside the capital, expect to spend time in London. Almost nine in ten rounds in both sectors went to London-based companies, so that is where most of the investors writing those cheques sit.

## How we analysed the data

The source is Tech.eu Funding Explorer's dataset of UK funding rounds dated 1 January to 16 October 2026, downloaded on 17 October 2026 through its free API. The data is licensed CC BY 4.0.

We removed 16 debt rounds worth €11.7bn, mostly data centre financing, which left 637 equity and grant rounds across 620 companies. Fifty rounds had no disclosed amount: they count towards deal numbers but not towards totals or medians.

Locations are as Tech.eu records them, with three exceptions. Nscale, Wayve and FNZ are listed outside London in the data but are headquartered in London, so we moved them.

Tech.eu gives no named series for 277 rounds, which sit outside the stage medians. Sector totals overlap slightly because 14 rounds carry two sector tags. The sector chart leaves out cloud and telecom, each driven by a single large round. All amounts are in euros at European Central Bank rates.

_Bizztor tracks UK startup funding every week. Follow [Bizztor on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/bizztorcom/) to see new rounds as they land._

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Source: https://bizztor.com/news/uk-cities-sectors-most-startup-funding-2026/