Specialist insurance firm Inigo Limited is the best-funded start-up of 2020-21, a new study reveals.
Conducted by cloud accounting company Ember, the research analysed Crunchbase data to discover companies founded on and after 1st January 2020 and identify those with the highest total funding since their inception.
Topping the list with funding of £800m raised since their founding in 2020, Inigo Limited offers specialist insurances in several regions including property, energy and terrorism and political violence.
In second and labelled as “the first fully digital and algorithmically-driven Lloyd’s syndicate” is London-based insurance firm Ki Insurance. Originally announced in March 2020, the organisation offers subscription-based, algorithmic underwriting for a variety of risks. Since its inception, the company has gained $500m in total funding.
The third highest-funded start-up of 2020-21 is the industrial-scale bitcoin mining operator Genesis Digital Assets – also based in London. Launched in May of this year and with funding of $125,000,000 since inception, the firm recently released its Q2 reports, highlighting what it referred to as the “emerging role” of Ethereum and Decentralized finance (DeFi) in the industry.
London-based companies dominate the top 10 list of the best funded start-ups – seven of the ten firms included are registered to operate within the country’s capital.
The list also reveals considerable variety in the types of businesses that are generating high levels funding. There are five companies focusing on finance and insurance, alongside those operating in industries as diverse as food delivery and nanotechnology.
| Rank | Company | Company Location | Total Funding | Sector |
| 1 | Inigo Ltd. | Bracknell | $800,000,000 | FinTech |
| 2 | Ki Insurance | London | $500,000,000 | FinTech |
| 3 | Genesis Digital Assets | London | $125,000,000 | Blockchain |
| 4 | Zapp | Kent | $100,000,000 | Delivery Service |
| 5 | Cominds International | London | $69,000,000 | Business & Management Services |
| 6 | Heroes | London | $65,000,000 | E-Commerce |
| 7 | Purespring Therapeutics | London | $62,000,000 | Biotechnology |
| 8 | Smart Nano NI | Belfast | $58,000,000 | Nanotechnology |
| 9 | Fintern | London | $44,000,000 | FinTech |
| 10 | Primer | London | $24,000,000 | FinTech |
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Ember stated: “It is thrilling to see that, even in spite of the recent pandemic, start-ups within various sectors are receiving substantial funding in order to conduct their business. The top ten businesses have generated more than $1.8 billion in funding, so it’s clear that the British start-up scene is in rude health.”
The news follows research by Ember which revealed that retail is the UK’s best industry in which to start a business. It came out on top of the overall industry rankings thanks to one of the highest survival rates, and a healthy ratio of companies being started compared to businesses failing
The study was conducted by Ember, the cloud accounting company which automates accounting and tax to help make business admin simpler and more cost effective for freelancers, contractors, start-ups and small businesses.
