Venture capital funding fled U.S. and China for Britain in 2019

Venture capital funding fell significantly in the U.S. and China last year, but boomed in the U.K., rising to a record $13.2 billion, according to a report prepared for the British government by industry group Tech Nation and research firm Dealroom.

Why it matters: The U.K. saw a significant increase in the number of deals and amount of money pledged by venture capital firms, far outpacing other European economies, with half the total funding coming from firms and investors based in the U.S. and Asia.

Details: U.S. investors including Benchmark, Sequoia and Insight Partners have all invested in U.K. companies in 2019, the report said.

• London was the fourth most-invested location in the world, trailing the Bay area, Beijing and New York.

But, but, but: While the U.K. saw a significant increase in VC activity and leads European countries in funding, it still badly trails both the U.S. and China in terms of number of deals and total invested.

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