2022 has been a tale of two halves for UK startups.
$21.5bn was raised in the first six months of the year — just shy of the record $22.3bn raised in the second half of 2021 — as megarounds rolled in and VCs seemed oh-so-happy to splash their cash.
Then came the downturn, and investor caution washed over the global tech sector. During the second half of 2022 (up to December 14), just $8bn has been pumped into UK startups, according to Dealroom.
So, what have been the key stories across one of the most topsy-turvy years in UK tech? Sifted looks back through its 2022 coverage to bring you the most important moments.
Big rounds dried up
The first half of the year saw some whopping raises from UK startups, with fintechs landing the biggest of the lot. Checkout.com raised a $1bn Series D — the biggest round of the year — while GoCardless picked up $312m and Lendable £210m.
Outside of fintech, Euan Blair (son of former UK PM Tony) raised $220m for his edtech Multiverse, and consumer electronics manufacturer Nothing and speedy grocery company Zapp both picked up $200m. All in all, 14 tech companies raised rounds of more than $200m.
roughly 25 edible insect companies in the UK, as application costs — including an £80k toxicology report — for a novel food to the FSA can be out of reach for smaller startups. While some have clubbed together to submit an application — like the 25 edible insect companies that make up the Woven Network collective — it could still take 18 months to get approval. The FSA more recently announced that transitional rules would be applied, easing the path for bug-based startups to get their critters into supermarkets.
But leaving the EU has not been all bad news for UK startups, and post-Brexit Britain is also becoming something of a haven for psychedelic startups. It stems from the UK’s new drug licensing authority — the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) — which makes communication between other important bodies in the regulatory process, like the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), far easier.
“Without the MHRA and without Brexit, I think we would have been several months behind on our side,” Dr Malcolm Barratt-Johnson, chief medical officer at Albert Labs — which Iisted on the Canadian Securities Exchange in March — told Sifted.
roughly 25 edible insect companies in the UK, as application costs — including an £80k toxicology report — for a novel food to the FSA can be out of reach for smaller startups. While some have clubbed together to submit an application — like the 25 edible insect companies that make up the Woven Network collective — it could still take 18 months to get approval. The FSA more recently announced that transitional rules would be applied, easing the path for bug-based startups to get their critters into supermarkets.
But leaving the EU has not been all bad news for UK startups, and post-Brexit Britain is also becoming something of a haven for psychedelic startups. It stems from the UK’s new drug licensing authority — the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) — which makes communication between other important bodies in the regulatory process, like the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), far easier.
“Without the MHRA and without Brexit, I think we would have been several months behind on our side,” Dr Malcolm Barratt-Johnson, chief medical officer at Albert Labs — which Iisted on the Canadian Securities Exchange in March — told Sifted.
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