London again topped the European league table for tech investment in 2018 by some distance.
The UK capital attracted almost double the investment of nearest rival Berlin after 拢1.8 billion was funnelled into its firms.
That is almost three-quarters the total funding into UK technology businesses in 2018, which amounted to 拢2.5bn.
However the total fell short of the record investment in 2017 of 拢2.99bn across the UK and 拢2.45bn in London.
According to the data, compiled for London & Partners by PitchBook, Berlin attracted 拢937m 鈥� almost double the previous year鈥檚 total 鈥� while Paris also significantly grew its tech funding to 拢797m.
Total VC funding in European tech dropped slightly with 拢10.44bn raised compared with 拢10.47bn in 2017.
Alliot Cole, CEO of Octopus Ventures 鈥� one of the largest early-stage investors in Europe with a portfolio worth more than $1.3bn 鈥� said the news was 鈥渇antastic鈥� for London.
鈥淚nternational confidence in our investment ecosystem remains strong,鈥� Cole said.
鈥淭his data鈥檚 great insight is the maturing of the UK鈥檚 position as the number one place in Europe to scale businesses with global potential.
鈥淲e must continue to provide the funding, talent and infrastructure that will enable home grown businesses to build on the UK鈥檚 position as a market leader in growing companies that can truly change the world.
鈥淲hen looking at the future of money, the future of industry and the future of healthcare, the opportunity for the creation of extraordinary businesses has never been stronger.鈥�
FinTech investment across the UK amounted to 拢1.2bn thanks in part to the fast growth of digital banks such as Revolut and Monzo while artificial intelligence investment rose 47 per cent to 拢736m.
Eileen Burbidge, a partner at venture capital firm Passion Capital, told Reuters that London鈥檚 status as a financial centre was at the heart of the investment.
鈥淲e get a lot of calls and inquiries from investors in the US and Asia looking for FinTech opportunities,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n FinTech, AI and a few other sectors such as life sciences and robotics, London genuinely leads the world.鈥�