UK AI fundraising hits record £4.56 billion in second quarter

Investment in UK AI firms reached £4.56 billion in the second quarter, according to Beauhurst, marking the strongest quarter on record for the sector by amount raised. The total was a 4.1 percent rise over the first quarter and nearly three times the £1.59bn raised in the same quarter a year earlier, equal to an 186.8 percent year-on-year increase.

Across all sectors, Beauhurst has so far tracked 1,070 equity deals for the second quarter, worth £8.01bn in total. AI companies represented about one in four of those deals, with 269 rounds in all, and accounted for 57 percent of invested capital. The total may increase as additional unannounced deals are identified in Companies House filings.

Beauhurst managing director Henry Whorwood described the quarter as a “landmark” for UK AI investment, citing activity across life sciences, AI infrastructure, financial services, advanced engineering and enterprise software. He said 80 percent of the total invested into UK AI was raised by just eight AI equity raises, with life sciences and health attracting the most investment by value. Isomorphic Labs had the largest fundraise at £1.47bn, alongside major deals involving Ineffable Intelligence, NScale, PhysicsX and Fractile.