London’s technology sector attracts greater investment than ever before
London’s technology firms are attracting more venture capital financing than ever before, as investors rush to fund in tomorrow’s major global companies.
More than US$682m (£462m) venture capital financing was secured by the capital’s technology companies during the first three months of the year, more than at any point in the past. The amount is more than was received during the entirety of 2012, and marks a 66pc increase compared to Q1 2014, according to promotional company London & Partners. The previous record was $411.6m in the fourth quarter of 2014.
WorldRemit, a London-based company that enables online money transfers, raised the most funding in the period, securing a $100m round led by Technology Crossover Ventures.
Fashion retailer Farfetch, augmented reality advertising firm Blippar and music technology company Shazam were among the other firms to announce significant funding details.
Ambarish Mitra, chief executive and co-founder of Blippar, said the company was well on its way to a billion dollar valuation thanks to London and the support provided by the Government.
“The city has been a springboard for Blippar to open 10 offices in six countries and grow threefold year-on-year since we started three and a half years back,” he said.
“We’ve recently raised $45m in Series C funding, which will further accelerate our breakthrough in technology and our fast growth. We have enjoyed great support from the British Government throughout our rapid global ascent to date and give credit to them for introducing policies favourable for British tech startups.”
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