Prime Minister Theresa May opens London Tech Week 2019

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke at the launch of London Tech Week at Here East on Monday 10th June 2019. She announced £153 million government funding, with an additional £205 million pledged by industry, to unlock the potential of quantum technologies, including accelerated drug development from quantum computing. She also spoke about unlocking talent for the tech sector, including a recent investment of £100 million for up to one thousand new AI PhDs and a new prestigious fellowship scheme for top AI researchers.

“Today, I can announce we are going further,” she said,”we are creating up to 2,500 places in AI and data masters conversion courses around the country, starting next year. These courses will help people who have originally trained in other degree disciplines to contribute to the ongoing AI revolution. As part of this, we will fund up to 1,000 scholarships to ensure we open up these opportunities to everyone, no matter what your background.”

Theresa May also announced the launch of a study into tech competitiveness to identify opportunities and support for digital businesses to ensure the UK remains the most attractive place to build a tech business. This will be led by industry: Cindy Rose from Microsoft UK, Suzanne Ashman from LocalGlobe, Stephen Coleman from CodeBase, and Avid Larizadeh Duggan from Kobalt.

British Tech sector contributes £130 billion to the economy every year

The Prime Minister concluded by saying: “Already we are one of the best places in the world to start and grow a tech business. British Tech is growing over one and a half times faster than the rest of the economy, adding more than one hundred and thirty billion pounds to our economy every year…

But if we are going to maintain our position as a global leader, our challenge is how we develop British Tech and make it even better. We want this to be the place everyone thinks of – and comes to – first when they want to develop their world changing tech ideas. This is a challenge shared between industry and Government…

Today as we sit on the cusp of the next great industrial revolution, we have the opportunity to work together and ensure that the advances we see transform our world for the better, and for the benefit of everyone. Government will back you all the way.”

London Tech Week opened as thirteen businesses choose to invest in the UK as the top destination for tech innovation and talent. These include plans for a £1 billion investment by VMware over the next five years; a £12 million investment by Mastek in a new digital skills programme for graduates in Leeds; and a £150 million investment in a new data centre by Markley Group which will create 200 jobs.

New data by Dealroom and Tech Nation released today shows to date the UK has produced 72 tech companies worth $1 billion, substantially higher than any other country in Europe, and outlines that tech start-ups have raised a record $4.8 billion in venture capital investment over the first five months of 2019.

About London Tech Week

London Tech Week is a our week long programme of events return to inspire creativity and foster collaborations. It includes the Leaders In Tech Summit, TechXLR8 and the Prince’s Trust Gala Dinner as well as the AI Summit, Blockchain for Business Summit and Future of Work Summit conferences.

For further information visit https://londontechweek.com/