The UK tech sector has reached a $1.6 trillion (£1.2 trillion) valuation, according to The Tech Nation Report 2026 launched today on the AI stage at London Tech Week.
Published by Tech Nation, part of Founders Forum Group, the report shows UK AI startups raised more than $11bn (£8.2bn) in venture capital in the first half of 2026, surpassing last year’s record total in just six months.
AI now accounts for 32% of the £1.2 trillion total – more than double its share five years ago.
In the past three years, AI in the UK has grown three times faster than France and two times faster than Germany. The UK now ranks third globally for AI talent with a workforce of 56,000 and more than 10,000 researchers.
One in two UK tech founders say the rise of major AI platforms is creating new opportunities in their industry, and 30% say their business would not exist without AI. Around 40% have launched entirely new products or services because of AI, and 32% have built domain-specific AI agents. Only 9% have made redundancies.
On the flip side, 30% of founders describe AI as a bubble, and one in four founders say the rise of OpenAI and Anthropic is forcing them to change strategy. Interestingly, 30% are actively reducing their reliance on third-party platforms by building their own AI tools.
Beyond the capital, the East of England, Scotland and the North East are seeing the most significant AI growth. The South is leaning toward AI in software, health and biotech, while the North is more focused on industrial AI.
Finance, pharma and biotech are emerging as the UK’s clearest AI growth sectors, while energy and defence tech are seeing the fastest workforce expansion. More than 680 new AI startups launched in 2025 alone.
The report combines Dealroom data with a survey of 1,300 founders conducted by Tech Nation, with economic modelling conducted by Thema AI.
“Homegrown AI champions – ElevenLabs, Granola, Nscale, Synthesia, Wayve and more – are expanding globally and driving the growth of a UK tech sector now valued at $1.6 trillion (£1.2 trillion),” says Carolyn Dawson, CEO of Founders Forum Group and Tech Nation.
“The UK is Europe’s number one AI ecosystem, ranks third globally for AI talent, and our AI sector is growing twice as fast as our European counterparts. The task now is to work together – across government, industry and the startup ecosystem – to ensure the UK leads in an era of AI transformation moving at a pace, scale and level of impact like we’ve never seen before.”
