Digital and technologies

The digital and technologies sector is recognised as one of eight growth-driving sectors in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, signaling strong government support and potential for growth.

The UK’s technology ecosystem has created over 185 unicorns, ranking first in Europe and third globally, behind only USA and China. The UK is also the largest venture capital (VC) market in Europe, with over $16.2 billion raised in 2024, more than France and Germany combined, providing access to capital needed to commercialise and scale up innovations.

Opportunity highlights

Significant investment opportunities exist across the six frontier technologies prioritised in the UK’s Digital and Technologies Sector Plan.

Advanced connectivity technologies (ACT)

A globally competitive research base in ACT, driven by world-leading universities and innovators from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through to major UK companies such as BT. Capabilities span all four nations, from the Scotland 5G Centre in Glasgow to the Centre for Wireless Innovation in Belfast. Join a dynamic environment for companies innovating in ACT, with cross-sector demand creating opportunities across defence, aerospace, connected transport, and more.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Ranked third globally for AI venture capital investment, behind only USA and China, the UK is already home to leading indigenous AI companies such as Google DeepMind, Synthesia and Wayve, as well as world-renowned companies like OpenAI, Anthropic and Cohere. As an early adopter of AI technologies, the UK offers a strong uptake across sectors including life sciences, financial services, professional and business services, and defence. This opens up opportunities to bring AI solutions to market faster and to further build AI capability. Companies benefit from a collaborative research environment with world-leading institutions and research groups, a high-quality talent pipeline, and extensive funding and financing.

Cyber security

The UK is a prime destination for investment and growth, generating £13.2 billion in revenue across more than 2,000 firms, with £7.2 billion of cyber services exported in 2023. Companies can tap into an extensive national network of cyber hubs and join leading venture capital firms like CyLon Ventures and Osney Capital in backing early-stage start-ups. Businesses can also benefit from robust growth support through accelerators, incubators, and innovation programmes such as Cyber Runway, Greater Manchester Digital Security Hub (DiSH), and the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA).

Engineering biology

The UK’s engineering biology ecosystem is considered the strongest globally outside the USA and China, supported by high levels of public funding, regulatory innovation, and world-class universities. Investors can benefit from a collaborative environment that supports the commercialisation of next-generation technologies, growing demand for specialised scale-up infrastructure and venture capital opportunities in high-growth start-ups. The sector is expanding rapidly, with emerging applications across food and agriculture, health and life sciences, chemicals, and low-carbon fuels.

Quantum technologies

The UK is a global leader in quantum technologies, ranking second worldwide for quantum companies and private investment, behind only the US. Backed by over £1.1 billion through the National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP) since 2014, the UK offers a strong government commitment and fertile ground for high-growth quantum ventures. With strengths in photonics, electronics, error correction, and cryogenics, businesses can scale quantum solutions across sectors. Programmes like the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC)’s SparQ and Digital Catapult’s access initiatives help companies explore real-world use cases and gain a competitive edge.

Semiconductors

The UK is globally competitive in semiconductor design and intellectual property (IP), with homegrown global leaders such as Arm and a world-class research base ready to accelerate your research and development (R&D). The world’s first dedicated compound semiconductor cluster in South Wales offers businesses a unique opportunity to design, develop and commercialise advanced semiconductor technologies. Companies can also tap into the UK’s strengths in photonics, power, and radio frequency (RF) technologies, supported by a rich ecosystem of research excellence, cutting-edge technology, and collaboration with partners such as Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult.

Commercial maturity

We have a proud history as a science and innovation nation, including Ada Lovelace’s groundbreaking work on the first computer, Tim Berners-Lee’s role in creating the World Wide Web, and more recently Demis Hassabis’ Nobel Prize for groundbreaking AI determination of protein structures.

The UK has the third most valuable technology ecosystem in the world and the most valuable in Europe. It is currently valued at nearly £1 trillion, a ninefold increase over the past decade, demonstrating the UK's commitment to advancing next-generation technologies.

Key UK assets

Rich in talent, research skills and resources, the UK's technology clusters are spread across the UK.

Greater London

London accounts for 59% of the UK tech sector’s total value, with London’s tech ecosystem growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12% in the past five years. The city is a global leader in AI, home to 50% of cyber and 18% of quantum companies in the UK. In 2024 alone, London-based AI startups attracted a record $3.5 billion in venture capital - 32% of the city’s total VC investment - cementing London’s position as Europe’s leading AI hub and the third largest globally, behind only New York and the Bay Area.

Cambridge

Cambridge is the most intensive science and technological cluster in the world. The Cambridge tech ecosystem is valued at $222 billion, accounting for 18% of the entire UK’s tech ecosystem. Globally, Cambridge ranks second by unicorns per capita, surpassed only by the Bay Area, and produces more unicorns per funded start-up than other major tech hubs in Europe.

Oxfordshire

Nearly 3,000 high-tech firms are based in Oxfordshire, forming one of the UK’s leading innovation ecosystems. The University of Oxford, ranked as the world’s top university by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for nine consecutive years, drives research excellence across the region. Oxfordshire is also home to the UK’s first AI Growth Zone in Culham, the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, and the National Quantum Computing Centre.

Greater Manchester

Manchester boasts a rapidly growing £5 billion tech ecosystem and is home to over 10,000 digital and tech businesses, from start-ups and SMEs to global brands including Google, Microsoft and IBM. Manchester hosts a significant AI cluster with around 250 companies and is part of a North West Cyber Corridor, home to around 300 cybersecurity companies.

Research and development (R&D) capability

SONIC Labs, UK Telecoms Lab and Federated Telecoms Hub drive the development and commercialisation of advanced connectivity technologies by enabling cutting-edge research, fostering collaboration across industry and academia, and reducing market entry barriers.

Accelerate your AI R&D with world-leading institutions like the Alan Turing Institute, Bayes Centre, and major research groups in Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Oxford, London, Manchester, and Bristol.

The UK has 21 universities recognised as academic centres of excellence in cyber security research, accredited by the National Centre for Cyber Security.

World-class research institutions and innovation hubs support the engineering biology discoveries of tomorrow, such as The Wellcome Genome Campus.

Five UK Quantum Technology Hubs, focusing on different quantum areas, offer collaboration opportunities between businesses and researchers to accelerate the commercialisation of quantum technologies.

The UK also boasts a world-class semiconductor research base, excelling in next-generation chip design, compound semiconductors, and emerging compute paradigms.

Business and government support

The UK Government aims to make the UK one of the top three places in the world to create, invest in and scale-up a fast-growing technology business. The Digital and Technologies Sector Plan outlines the measures to achieve this.

Increasing R&D investment to £22.6 billion a year by 2029-30 is set to help businesses overcome commercial barriers and accelerate innovation

The £2 billion allocated for the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan will create a supportive environment for AI businesses, designed to help them grow, innovate, and operate effectively in the UK. This will encompass AI Growth Zones, expanded computing capability, improved access to high-quality data, and skills development.

Talent

The UK offers a deep tech talent pool, with 2.6 million people employed in digital and technology sector and over 430,000 STEM graduates in 2023/24, ready to help your business grow.

A new TechFirst skills programme, backed by £187 million in government funding, will support up to one million domestic students to enter the tech workforce.

Alongside building the domestic skills pipeline, the government will continue to support digital and technology talent from around the world to come to the UK via visa and migration reforms and the new Global Talent Taskforce. This will give your business the best start with the right people, ready to help you commercialise your product or service.

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