Ultimate SaaS Startup Map of London 2021

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is the biggest sector of London’s startup scene. Having helped grow many London SaaS Startups, we’ve learnt where founders have successfully upskilled, found investment and created a hub for their business. So to help you navigate London’s thriving SaaS ecosystem, we’ve created a handy map including our pick of the city’s startups, accelerators, incubators, VC’s, training programmes and places to meet.

Why London?

The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020 places London joint second in the world for its startup ecosystem, tying with New York and trailing only to Silicon Valley. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty produced by Brexit, tech businesses in London mananged to raise approximately £7.6 billion in 2020.

The UK is one of the few major startup ecosystems with a startup visa program which was launched in the spring 2019. Startup investors are also able to claim up to £150,000 of their investment back in income tax relief. In recent years, these benefits have further secure London’s position as Europe’s startup focal point.

London has an established position at the cutting edge of tech. Previously in Fintech, but now also AI and Healthtech. It’s critical we leverage this advantage — attract the best talent and build a supportive ecosystem.

Suranga Chandratillake OBE

Partner

Balderton Capital

Standing out from the crowd and unlocking the benefits of the city’s technology scene can have a huge impact on a startup’s growth. But without a comprehensive overview of the city’s ecosystem, London SaaS Startups can struggle identify the best opportunities and make valuable connections.

The SaaS scene in London is constantly changing, so if you’ve got a top recommendation for our map, please get in touch! Here’s what our Ultimate SaaS Startup Map of London has to offer:

250+ SaaS startups you should know about →

London’s best Accelerators & Incubators for SaaS startups →

Top VCs for SaaS investment in London →

Training opportunities for founders →

Places to meet →

250+ SaaS startups you should know about

There are more than 1,500 dedicated SaaS businesses based in London. We’ve selected and mapped just over 250 London-based SaaS startups making waves in 2021.

The City of London has always been the UK’s business epicentre and is still a magnet for SaaS startups of all sizes. However, in recent years, London’s SaaS startup scene has exploded across the city into new, thriving areas.

City of London

——————————

Westminster

———

Islington

——

Hackney

—

Camden

—

We analysed all 250+ startups in our map to find the most commonly used descriptors used.

Analytics

———————————

Enterprise software

—————————

Artificial intelligence

———————

Machine learning

———————

Big data

—————

Human resources

—————

Cloud computing

—————

Social media

—————

Retail technology

———

Business intelligence

———

London’s best Accelerators & Incubators for SaaS startups

New SaaS startups can hugely benefit from the support, business mentoring, workshops, office space, IT, and facilities that accelerators and incubators can offer. Although equity and investment models differ between organisations, London has experienced a rapid rise in the number of accelerators and incubators in recent years.

With such an established scene, specialist support can be found for startups at each stage of their evolution:

Accelerator Academy

Southwark | Programme for ambitious digital entrepreneurs looking to grow their business.

MassChallenge UK

City of London | Global non-profit startup accelerator and competition with a focus on high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur First

Southwark | Investing in technologists to help them build a deep tech company from scratch.

Go To Grow

Southwark | Part of the Mayor’s International Business Programme. They offer a programme of mentoring, expert advice and real business opportunities for high-growth companies in the life sciences, technology and urban sectors.

Founders Factory

Kensington and Chelsea | Partner for startup founders.

Techstars Worldwide

Hackney | Network that helps entrepreneurs.

Wayra Start-up

Westminster | Investing in mature and technological startups.

The Bakery

Hackney | Helping big organisations to be more innovative by working with, and working more like, the amazing global ecosystem of tech entrepreneurs.

The Sandpit

Westminster | Applying the Private Equity model to start-up acceleration.

Startupbootcamp

City of London | Global network of industry-focused startup accelerators that provides investment and mentorship services.

FastForward

Camden | Accelerator exclusively for tech nonprofits.

Hatch

Southwark | Offering entrepreneurship support activities across London.

The Pi Labs

Westminster | Europe’s first property tech venture capital platform.

Bethnal Green Ventures

Tower Hamlets | Early stage investor in tech for good.

Innovation Warehouse

City of London | Bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and innovators.

Level39

Tower Hamlets | Connected community for finance, cybersecurity, retail and smart-city technology businesses.

Microsoft Scale-Up London

City of London | Offering programmes for scale-stage startups.

Digital Greenwich

Greenwich | Free specialist business support programme to digital SMEs who work in the creative, digital or smart city arena.

Top VCs for SaaS investment in London

As the most invested in startup ecosystem in Europe, London is home to some of the world’s biggest investors in SaaS businesses. London is not only attractive to VCs because of generous tax reliefs, but the city is celebrated internationally for its talent and culture of innovation.

With such a diversity of SaaS startups based in the city, there is also a range of VCs offering funding and support to business’ at different stages of evolution:

Passion Capital

Camden | Early stage venture capital firm.

Seedcamp

Islington | European seed fund that identifies and invests early in world-class founders attacking large global markets.

Startup Funding Club SEIS Fund

Camden | Exclusive group formed by business angels to invest in early stage digital startups.

DN Capital

Westminster | Early-stage venture capital firm with offices in London and Silicon Valley.

Atomico

Westminster | Specialising in seed, startup, Series A, early venture, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, and growth capital investments.

Albion Capital

Islington | Independent investment manager with a long-term record of backing change and growth.

Downing Ventures

City of London | Division of Downing LLP, invests venture capital into early and growth stage technology businesses.

Jenson SEIS & EIS Fund

Westminster | Supporting UK start-ups with EIS & SEIS funding.

Forward Partners‍

Hackney | VC + operational expertise to supercharge startups.

Playfair Capital

Camden | Early-stage fund backing founders building technology that changes the way people live and work.

Ascension Ventures

Westminster | Supporting Entrepreneurs from Seed to Series A.

Frontline Ventures

Islington | Investing in ambitious seed-stage B2B companies in Europe.

Force Over Mass

Kensington and Chelsea | Venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in technology companies.

Index Ventures

Westminster | Helping the most ambitious entrepreneurs turn bold ideas into global businesses.

Accel

Westminster | Seed fund that focuses on the game ecosystem.

Fuel Ventures

Islington | Early and growth-stage venture capital firm that powers a global community of entrepreneurs.

Notion Capital

Westminster | Technology fund focusing on marketplaces, platforms and SaaS companies in the UK.

Octopus Ventures

City of London | Venture fund focused on the SaaS-based and cloud computing markets.

Balderton Capital

Camden | Multi-stage European venture capital investor backing talented teams with the potential to build big businesses.

Connect Ventures

Hackney | Series A-focused European venture capital firm.

Episode1

Camden | Helping the most ambitious entrepreneurs turn bold ideas into global businesses.

Training opportunities for SaaS startup founders

Every SaaS startup is different, but with the right skills, small teams can make a big impact. Typically, the perfect recipe for a SaaS startup is expertise across engineering/technology and product/UX.

Constantly expanding technical and product design skills can therefore keep a business ahead of the curve, making it far more attractive to investors. Learning directly from experts in engineering/technology and product/UX often is the fastest way to master skills that can directly impact a startup’s growth.

CityLit

Camden | Offering a range of courses in web design & development.

School of UX

Southwark | Hands-on UX design courses with career advice run by professional designers.

General Assembly

Tower Hamlets | Wide range of subjects from 90-minute classes to full-time courses.

Academy Class

Islington | In-person courses for Designers and Developers.

Flat Iron School

Islington | In-person courses in coding, data science and UX/UI design.

Bunnyfoot

Islington | Usability, UX and UCD Training Courses delivered by this Service Design & UX consultancy.

Training Dragon

Camden | Web development training courses for beginners, intermediate and advanced.

London Academy of IT

Tower Hamlets | Affordable IT training courses.

Places to Meet

We love hopping on the tube and meeting with new startups across London. As a result, we’ve found some great spots across the city to to meet for a coffee (or a beer after 5pm) and chat about the right and wrong ways to grow a SaaS business.

If you fancy meeting up or if you’ve got a recommendation to add to our map, get in touch!

Related Articles

My takeaways after 8 years working with and within SaaS startups

Founding a SaaS startup is a complex tightrope walk of figuring out how to grow, without burning so much cash that the business will run out of an investment before the returns come in. Kate Fairhurst, the founder of GrowthMinds,...

Everything you need to know when you choose your team of growth hackers

Find out everything about growth hacking in this interview with Kate Fairhurst, CEO and co-founder of GrowthMinds. Read about the difference between data and channels, and the three things that you need to do before even thinking growth hacking.

Ultimate SaaS Startup Map of Greater Manchester

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is one of the biggest sectors of Greater Manchester’s thriving startup scene. With more and more startups and investors making the North West their home, the region is often championed as a challenger to the London SaaS scene. To...