Member Article

London tech firms attract record US investment in 2014

London-based tech firms attracted $795.2 million from US investors in 2014, more than doubling the previous record figure from 2012 of $296 million.

According to new figures compiled by London & Partners, the Mayor’s promotional company for the capital, show that investment from the US into the UK as a whole also set a new record of $1.35 billion, compared to the previous record of $582 million received in 2012.

The Mayor is currently on a six-day visit to the US East Coast aimed at strengthening ties between London and the US.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: The mayor will also reveal that one of the capital’s rising FinTech stars, Digital Shadows, has closed an $8m funding round led by US firm Storm Ventures to fund the cyber security firm’s growth in the US.

“The market for cyber security services in the US is huge currently and businesses face exactly the same challenges as they do in the UK,” Digital Shadows chief executive Alastair Paterson told City A.M.

“We are already working with multinational clients from London but the two new offices will enable us to service them better and win new business in the US.”

Johnson will reveal that London’s tech sector overall raised $1.4 billion in venture capital funding last year, based on figures from CB Insights and London & Partners, meaning over half of the funds raised came from US investors.

“As the digital capital of Europe, London is clearly the place to create fast-growing tech companies, and our flourishing tech sector has caught the eye of US investors,” said Johnson.

In recent weeks alone London’s money transfer service TransferWise and song identifier app Shazam have both reached $1 billion valuations, raising $58m and $30 million respectively.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .