UK startups closed the final week of 2025 on a strong funding note, raising £1.07 billion between December 29 and January 2, with greentech, fintech and AI-led companies attracting the bulk of investor interest. Large energy deals, regulation-ready fintech platforms and targeted AI bets shaped the funding landscape.
Greentech Leads with Mega Energy Deals
Greentech emerged as the clear winner, driven by capital-intensive energy and infrastructure plays. Kraken secured a massive £1 billion round led by D1 Capital Partners, as it prepares to demerge from Octopus Energy Group and scale its AI-powered utility operating system globally.
Meanwhile, Venterra raised £40 million to expand offshore wind project delivery across the UK and Europe, highlighting sustained investor appetite for renewable energy execution at scale.
Fintech Bets Focus on Compliance and Infrastructure
In fintech, funding leaned toward regulation-ready platforms amid tightening European rules. ANNA Money raised £10 million in growth debt to scale its AI accounting tools ahead of Making Tax Digital reforms, while Nodu secured £1.1 million to build compliant stablecoin rails for banks and fintechs as MiCA regulation approaches.
AI, Software and Deeptech See Targeted Rounds
AI-first startups continued to draw selective backing. Deltabase raised £1 million for enterprise workforce intelligence, while Ranking Copilot secured £110,000 to automate legal submissions. Consumer tech firm Nothing raised over £6 million from community investors to advance its AI-native operating system.
In deeptech, Sofant Technologies raised £6.25 million to commercialise satellite communication hardware, and ScrubMarine secured £740,000 to develop autonomous hull-cleaning robots.
