Trainline helped enhance Edinburgh's international reputation as a tech centre as the city attracted $200 million in new venture capital investment last year.
The travel planning website, which has its operations and customer service teams in the capital, was one of eight UK companies to attained unicorn status last year.
Between January and December, UK companies secured a third of the £30.4 billion VC investment raised in Europe. German firms secured £5.4 billion and France £3.4 billion, according to research for the Digital Economy Council by Tech Nation and Dealroom.co.
UK venture capital investment increased by 44%, exceeding 40% for the third year in a row. France grew by a little over a third compared to 2018, while Israel’s investments rose by a fifth.
The UK’s best performing sectors were fintech, AI and deep tech, and clean energy.
The UK now has 77 billion-dollar businesses, double the total number in Germany (34) and almost four times as many as Israel (20).
Trainline CEO Clare Gilmartin said: “It’s been another successful year for UK tech and Trainline in particular, having listed on the stock market in 2019.
"As one of the fastest-growing European tech companies, we’re committed to driving innovation and developing cutting-edge technology to improve the rail and coach travel experience and encourage people to make greener travel choices.
"With over half of our 600-strong team consisting of travel tech specialists, such as developers, data scientists and engineers, we know that investment in tech and the UK continuing to attract the finest, diverse talent is crucial to the future success of the industry.”
