The UK is home to the most generative AI startups compared to the rest of Europe, according to a study by venture capital firm Accel.

In its report, Accel found that of the 221 GenAI startups it analysed, 30% were UK founded, with 14% in Germany, 11% in France, and 6% found in the Netherlands. The survey also included data on startups founded in the state of Israel, which housed 13% of the 221 startups.

However, the UK has not led the rest of Europe in terms of generative AI funding. France, despite only having 11%, or about 24, of the analysed startups, had the largest amount of funding, at $2.29 billion (£1.8bn). The UK came in second, with $1.15 billion (£910k).

France’s Mistral, a generative AI company that rivals OpenAI, gained 600m euros (£507m) in a funding round, with a valuation of 5.8 bn euros (£4.9bn), contributing greatly to the country’s lead.

Across the global, generative AI startups raised over $25 billion  (£19.7bn) in funding rounds, with expectations that 2024 will see this figure increase to $45bn (£35.47), according to Accel.

The UK’s universities have largely bolstered the country’s success in founding AI startups, with about a quarter of founders having been educated at UK universities, namely the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London, and Oxford University.

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Overall, more than a third of the startup founders analysed have worked for academic institutions, according to the data.

About a quarter of startups also had at least one founder who worked for a tech giant, including Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Deepmind, and Meta.