Last year London tech new businesses raised a record $25.5bn (£18.55bn), making it the fourth-most elevated city for VC venture around the world.
The UK capital sits behind San Francisco ($98.5bn), New York ($47.5bn) and Greater Boston ($29bn) for VC venture.
Research by business development office London and Partners and startup information firm Dealroom shows that megarounds of $100m or more and high-profile exits impelled London up the VC venture rankings.
There were a record 64 megarounds in 2021 – a sign that London’s tech sector is maturing as such rounds typically take place in later-stage scaleups.
Among the largest London tech raises in 2021 were the $800m raised by fintech Revolut and $900m for clean energy supplier Octopus Energy.
London fintechs attracted the largest amounts with $11.6bn – but there was strong growth for telecoms, health and impact tech startups in 2021.
At a national level the UK sits behind the US, China and India for VC tech investment.
“These record figures mark a significant moment for London, and a milestone in the UK’s growth as a world-leading tech nation,” said Russ Shaw CBE, Founder of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates. “
London, the "thumping heart" of UK tech
Originators and financial backers working beyond London could see the London venture figures in an unexpected way. Barring London, tech firms across the whole UK raised a joined $14.3bn - simply over portion of the capital siphoned into the capital.
David Foreman, overseeing overseer of Manchester-based VC Praetura Ventures, recently let UKTN know that a "obsession with London's tech area is removing speculation from other UK regions".
Others see it in an unexpected way, with Gerard Grech, establishing CEO of Tech Nation, depicting London as the "pulsating heart" of the UK.
This view is shared by Saul Klein, general accomplice and fellow benefactor of London-based investment firm LocalGlobe.
"The capital interfaces tech groups like Cambridge, Oxford and Manchester to Paris and Amsterdam and then some," Klein said.
London-based VCs raised a record $9.9bn last year, representing 35% of all new European VC assets in 2021.
Prominent assets incorporate the $3.1bn raised by Index Ventures, the $600m raised by Balderton and the $550m raised by 83North.
The vertical direction looks set to go on in 2022, with US financial backers specifically expected to keep emptying VC cash into the UK tech new businesses.