1. UK and global
Fintech
investment trends
& start-ups to
watch
Gerard Grech
Discover Global Network
London
April 2023

2. The information, views
and opinions in this
presentation were
collected and presented
independently of
Discover and do not
necessarily represent
Discover’s views
2

3. Founder and Chief Executive of Tech Nation
Co-author of the UK Government’s FinTech
Review in 2022
Member of the UK Government Digital Economy
Council
Member of the World Economic Forum Digital
Board
My experience
30% of all tech unicorns ever created in the
UK have graduated from one of its programs
90% of 1300 are scaling fast in the last 9 years
22% of $157Bn raised from UK start-ups in the
last 9 years graduated from one of our
programs
15x ROI to the UK Government & State

4. Source: Tech Nation, Year in Review 2023
Venture Capital investment in 2022 by country
$24 Bn
$30 Bn
$49 Bn
$234 Bn
Cumulative tech unicorns and $1B exits
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
122 UK
62 Germany
34 France
32 Sweden
25 Netherland
22 Switzerland
13 Spain
Start-ups guide European tech trends
44% of seed stage investment is in the US, 36% in Europe
and 20% in Asia and South America

5. Source: Tech Nation, Year in Review, 2023
Venture is a good bellwether of tech trends.
Overall funding is down, in line with market conditions.

6. Source: Innovate Finance 2023
While global FinTech investment was down 30%, it was
significantly higher than in 2020
Top 5 investment markets: US, UK, India, Singapore, Germany

7. Source: Innovate Finance 2023
Top 10 deals globally and in the UK
(A spread of focus on payments, crypto, b2b banking, buy
now/pay later, business banking)
Largest investment rounds into
UK fintech companies in 2022
Largest investment rounds into
global fintech companies in 2022

8. Source: CBInsights 2022
Fintech is maturing, with many sub verticals

9. Source: RoseCut, Nutmeg, Minted, 2023
Digital Wealth

10. Source: Monzo, Revolut & Wise 2023
Digital Banking

11. Source: GoCardless & Checkout.com 2023
Payment processing

12. Source: Yapily & Plaid 2023
Open Banking & embedded finance

13. Source: Fluency & Blockchain.com 2023
Central Bank Digital Currencies & Digital Securities

14. Source: SumUp & Paddle 2023
Payment and infrastructure

15. Source: Onfido, Comply Advantage and Remote 2023
Regulation and compliance Tech (RegTech)

16. Source: Zilch & Klarna 2023
Buy now, pay later

17. Source: Many Pets & Tractable 2023
Digital Insurance
£357M raised

18. • Expect an increase in M&A activity
• Lots of dry powder waiting to back the next wave of start-ups
• From Open Banking to Embedded & Seamless Finance
• AI and ML are being used to improve fraud detection, personalise customer
experience and automate processes
• FinTech maturing fast in some markets, with multiple sub verticals
• B2B investment is outpacing B2C investment
• Collaboration between FinTechs and traditional financial institutions is
increasing, bridging the gap
• Reg Tech is a fast growing trend, helping financial institutions comply with
regulations inc. automated reporting, ID verification & anti-laundering compliance
Conclusions

19. Thank you
for listening

20. The UK tech start-up sector has grown 16x in the last decade
Source: Tech Nation, Year in Review 2023