UK takes top spot in Europe, Israel for GenAI startups, says Accel

The United Kingdom is home to the biggest number of generative AI (GenAI) startups across Europe and Israel, followed by Germany and Israel, according to a study by venture capital firm Accel.

 

Accel analysed 221 GenAI startups and found that 30 per cent were founded in the UK, 14 per cent in Germany, and 13 per cent in Israel, with France home to 11 per cent and the Netherlands 6 per cent.

 

GenAI is artificial intelligence capable of generating text, images, videos or other data, based on models developed using huge quantities of information.

 

Britain’s top universities, its track record in forming AI company Deepmind in 2010, and investment from US tech giants in the country have all helped to bolster its status in AI.

 

Despite this, GenAI companies founded in France lead the way in raising funding, attracting $2.29 billion, followed by the UK on $1.15 billion, Accel said.

 

Paris-headquartered Mistral, widely considered a European rival to OpenAI, last week raised 600 million euros ($644 million) at a valuation of 5.8 billion euros.

 

“When looking deeper at these companies roots, we begin to see where the main GenAI talent hubs exist in the region and the common paths founders take,” said Accel partner Harry Nelis.

 

A quarter of the startups have at least one founder who has worked at Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, DeepMind, Meta, or Microsoft, and more than a third have held positions at academic institutions, he said.

 

First Published: Jun 20 2024 | 8:18 AM IST