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In 2021, global venture capital investment into digital shopping more than doubled following a significant consumer shift to ecommerce platforms amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, according to London & Partners and Dealroom.co.

The total global VC investment stood at a record $140 billion, up from $68 billion in 2020, with the US and India leading the chart with investments of $51 and $22 billion, respectively, the report said.

Investment in India grew by a whopping 175 percent from $8 billion in 2020 to $22 billion in 2021. India was second only to the US ($51 billion), followed by China in third ($14 billion), the UK in fourth ($7 billion), and the most in Europe.

Bengaluru led the list of global cities that received the most VC investment into digital shopping last year, almost tripling from $5 billion in 2020 to $14 billion in 2021. The city ranked above other leading cities in the world, including New York, San Francisco, and London. Gurugram stood at the 7th place, with $4 billion in VC investment, and Mumbai at 10th, with $3 billion. 

In Europe, London was the leading hub for digital shopping investment, with a record $5 billion raised by companies based in the UK capital in 2021.  

“Today’s data shows that the UK and India are two of the world’s leading hubs for digital shopping companies, with high levels of global investment and unicorns. It’s fantastic to see Bengaluru emerge a global leader for digital shopping investment last year. This surely creates several opportunities for collaboration with an already strong market in London,” said Hemin Bharucha, Country Director – India, London & Partners.

According to the report, Bengaluru ranked number five among cities with the potential for future unicorns, just behind London.

Three of the 15 global cities with the highest count of current unicorns are in India — Bengaluru at sixth with 19 unicorns in 2021 (up from three in 2020), Gurugram at seventh with 13 unicorns (up from three in 2020) and Mumbai at 14th place with seven unicorns.