UK startup funding in 2011
European tech funding raised by UK startups during 2011.
In 2011, 262 startups in the UK closed 282 funding rounds and raised €901M in equity funding (excluding debt and grants). Debt rounds added €11M. Software was the most active sector, and Index Ventures was the most active investor. Data as of 6 Nov 2026.
Equity funding
€901M
excl. debt & grants · +€11M debt
Funding rounds
282
Companies
262
Top sector
Software
UK: last three years
change vs the year before| Year | Equity | Change | Rounds | Change | Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | €480M | -36.5% | 158 | +15.3% | €1.1M |
| 2010 | €633M | +31.8% | 189 | +19.6% | — |
| 2011 | €901M | +42.4% | 282 | +49.2% | €11M |
Rank in Europe
#1
30.0% of European funding
Debt financing
€11M
1.3% of total
Top-10 round share
45.5%
of disclosed capital
Funding by month
€ raised vs rounds, by monthUK — funding by month, 2011 — interactive chart.
Data table
| Funding | Rounds | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | €40M | 25 |
| Feb | €163M | 26 |
| Mar | €16M | 16 |
| Apr | €121M | 31 |
| May | €54M | 14 |
| Jun | €81M | 25 |
| Jul | €8.8M | 19 |
| Aug | €89M | 22 |
| Sep | €68M | 30 |
| Oct | €175M | 25 |
| Nov | €67M | 33 |
| Dec | €30M | 16 |
Top sectors
by € raisedUK — top sectors by capital, 2011 — interactive chart.
Data table
| UK — top sectors by capital, 2011 | |
|---|---|
| Marketing | €152M |
| Fintech | €145M |
| Healthtech | €112M |
| Cloud | €96M |
| Software | €90M |
| E-commerce | €80M |
| Energy | €73M |
| Media | €71M |
Stage mix
by € raisedUK — stage mix, 2011 — interactive chart.
Data table
| UK — stage mix, 2011 | |
|---|---|
| Growth/Late | €232M |
| Other | €197M |
| Series B | €147M |
| Series C | €109M |
| Early VC | €97M |
| Series A | €52M |
| Series D+ | €37M |
| Seed | €29M |
| Debt | €11M |
| Grant | €228k |
Exits & M&A
14 Acquisition · 5 Buyout · 2 IPO21 exits · €4.6B disclosed.
| Trader Media Group | Buyout | Oct 2011 | €2.0B |
| BioVex | Acquisition | Jan 2011 | €909M |
| Google DeepMind | Acquisition | May 2011 | €480M |
| NaturalMotion | Acquisition | Apr 2011 | €479M |
| Mergermarket | Buyout | Jan 2011 | €458M |
| Pilat Media | Acquisition | May 2011 | €76M |
Largest equity rounds
by disclosed amount, 2011| Company | Stage | Date | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wonga | Series C | Feb 2011 | €85M |
| Six Degrees Group | Other | Oct 2011 | €83M |
| Nexeon | Growth/Late | Aug 2011 | €46M |
| CellNovo | Series B | Feb 2011 | €35M |
| Adapt | Growth/Late | Oct 2011 | €35M |
| EVIIVO | Growth/Late | Apr 2011 | €34M |
| Oxford Nanopore Technologies | Series D+ | Apr 2011 | €28M |
| Enecsys | Series B | May 2011 | €28M |
| Shazam | Series C | Jun 2011 | €22M |
| Media Ingenuity | Growth/Late | Apr 2011 | €20M |
Largest debt rounds
debt financing, 2011; not in the equity total| Company | Stage | Date | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| WorldStores | Debt | Jun 2011 | €11M |
Top investors
most active in 2011, by deal count- Index Ventures8 deals
- Octopus Ventures8 deals
- Oxford Capital Partners6 deals
- Eden Ventures5 deals
- Accel5 deals
- The North West Fund4 deals
- Atomico4 deals
- Northstar Ventures4 deals
- Kima Ventures4 deals
- Pentech Ventures4 deals
Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer · data as of 6 Nov 2026 · licence CC BY 4.0 · Methodology