Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 11 March 2024.

A new campaign aimed at driving up investment opportunities in scale-ups was launched by the Technology Secretary today.

A new campaign aimed at driving up investment opportunities in scale-ups was launched by the Technology Secretary today, with podcast adverts, billboards and more showing off science and technology scale-ups to British investment hubs.

The ‘Science and Tech is our Superpower’ campaign aims to make sure science and technology firms in the UK that are ready for growth can access the funding they need from the UK to boost long term economic growth and create jobs.

While the UK continues to outpace the rest of Europe in raising venture capital funds, securing more than France and Germany, last year saw a substantial drop in investment globally. In the UK, this particularly impacted science and technology scale-ups.

Britain has produced 152 ‘unicorns’ or companies valued at over $1 billion, which is more than France, Germany and Sweden put together. These companies, including Darktrace and Monzo have pushed forward global innovation in a range of areas – and help grow our economy.

But, without venture capital funding, the next generation of UK unicorns may be forced to look abroad for funding and even move away from the UK – or risk placing a cap on their growth, which hinders innovation and puts a lid on new jobs in the UK.

While British leadership in fintech, AI and life sciences is well recognised by investors domestically and around the world, but emerging strengths in deeptech are yet to receive the same support and recognition.

Science and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said:

The UK has built a £1 trillion tech sector with a thriving start-up scene. With further capital, there is no limit to where British start-ups can take their ideas.

There has never been a better time to invest in British tech companies – with the UK leading on every key European metric and leading the world on emerging technologies like safe AI.

Our Science and Tech Superpower campaign drives home the message to investors that we need to seize the extraordinary opportunities here on home turf – or risk promising companies travelling to international competitors for funding.

The new push to promote private sector investment in high-growth companies comes after the Chancellor’s Mansion House Reforms, which are unlocking up to £75 billion for high growth businesses like tech start-ups, underpinned by a commitment from UK pension funds and the venture capital community to work together to drive even more finance into scale-ups.

Targeting investors in key financial hubs across the country in cities such as London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff, the campaign will run on billboards strategically placed 200 metres within investor offices and on key commuter routes. Wrapped copies of The Times will also be delivered to venture capital offices, and digital adverts will run online and across podcasts.

The marketing push will show off regional ‘clusters’ of innovation excellence from across the UK, including spin-out companies that were started from research at leading universities.

Norwich-based Colorifix was created following discoveries at the University of Cambridge, and has now developed ways using bacteria to produce, deposit and fix dyes onto textiles, helping the clothing industry to dramatically reduce its environmental impact in a cost-effective way.

Spurred by earlier InnovateUK funding, Colorifix raised £18 million in one of its early stage funding rounds, securing the support of fashion giant H&M. This was in addition to being nominated for an Earthshot prize.

Orr Yarkoni, CEO and Co-Founder of Colorifix, said:

Since starting Colorifix as a spinout from the University of Cambridge, we have received important grants and support from governmental institutions to finance our scale-up journey, as well as valuable collaborations with world-class institutions.

More so, locating our sites in Norwich and Cambridge has given us access to brilliant minds and enabled us to build a stellar team, which has been fundamental for the success of our company.

We hope the government and investors will continue to address challenges such as inadequate funding and supporting networks to scale world-changing solutions and further strengthen the UK’s position in engineering biology.

Science and technology hubs outside of London have seen huge increases in venture capital investments since 2019, with Liverpool, Sheffield and Glasgow all seeing more than 500% growth.

Far exceeding all other cities, Birmingham saw 1183% increase in venture capital funding raised, driven by a specialist ecosystem surrounding autonomous vehicle technology.

Close to the city, Coventry based ‘Aurrigo’ makes self-driving vehicles that are used to transport passengers, baggage and cargo in airports all over the world.

Aurrigo’s recent growth journey was kickstarted by £16 million in funding from Innovate UK, where the company also received direct support through the organisation’s Scale up Programme in 2021. Here, it began to consider a flotation on the London Stock Exchange which initially listed Aurrigo at 48p per share, with a market capitalisation of £20 million.

Since listing on Alternative Investment Market (AIM), Aurrigo has almost doubled in value, reaching a market capitalisation of £42 million. Commenting on his company’s growth journey, Aurrigo’s CEO and Founder, David Keene, added that:

“Aurrigo International plc is very proud to be disrupting the global aviation market with autonomous solutions designed, developed, and built at our Advanced Engineering Centre in Coventry.

We have tapped into outstanding support from the government for commercialising our innovation and leveraged every bit of academic collaboration we can from universities, including Aston, Coventry, and Warwick.

This has aided us in getting to market quicker with our Auto-DollyTug product, an all-electric autonomous vehicle that is moving baggage and cargo around six international airports. The outstanding graduates they produce have also been crucial to our recruitment plans as we expand at pace.

I’m delighted to put the Aurrigo International name fully behind the campaign to promote the UK as a Science and Tech Superpower.

Michael Moore, Chief Executive of the BVCA, said:

The UK has a thriving science and tech ecosystem built on world-class research and development, a strong talent pool and connectivity. These key factors position the UK as a global Hub for technological advancement.

Our research shows that private equity and venture capital (private capital) invests billions in the UK science and tech sector. It’s vital that the UK remains the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) welcomes the drive to encourage further private capital investment in these sectors in the UK.

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 11 March 2024.

Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan has secured a further agreement with telecoms companies to protect vulnerable customers as landlines are upgraded.

Companies in charge of maintaining the UK’s internet and phone infrastructure have today agreed to new measures to protect vulnerable customers as their landlines are upgraded to a new digital network.

Seven network operators – including Openreach, CityFibre and Community Fibre – have signed up to new protections which will ensure people who rely on personal alarms to call for help are not left without a working device during the migration. Nearly two million people use these vital alarms in the UK.

The new measures agreed today include a commitment from network operators to take steps to ensure their customers’ lifesaving buttons continue to work and functioning alternatives are in place before any migration takes place.

It means the Technology Secretary has now secured agreement from the majority of the telecoms sector – from operators in charge of maintaining the network infrastructure all the way to internet and phone providers, including VMO2 and BT, who agreed to similar mitigations in December 2023.

The charter follows ongoing and active collaboration from telecoms operators, and is a positive step to make sure safety continues to be at the heart of the nationwide switchover – providing reassurance to vulnerable households.

Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said:

The safety of vulnerable customers comes before anything else and that’s why I called on the industry to listen to concerns and take action to make sure the right protections are in place.

I welcome more telecoms companies joining forces to make this a priority, meaning we now have agreement from those responsible for our telecoms infrastructure and those providing mobile and broadband services.

This will provide much needed reassurance to those relying on these vital devices and I will continue to pressure organisations to do everything in their power to make sure the switchover is seamless and safe.

Other commitments agreed today include:

• Operators will have to work with partners, including internet providers, to check if their customers own a telecare device.
• Operators will provide at least 12 months’ notice to phone providers before enforcing the switchover of a customer and will jointly discuss suitable migration options.
• No telecare user will be migrated to a digital landline service without the provider, customer or telephone company confirming that they have functioning solution in place.
• Telecom operators will work with Ofcom, Government, and phone providers to create a shared definition of ‘vulnerable’ customer, so it is no longer dependent on the company and establishes an industry wide standard.

Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez said:

When a person needs urgent medical attention, they must have confidence that their call for help will be responded to as quickly as possible.

The recent incidents that left some people disconnected are unacceptable and must not happen again. The Technology Secretary and I are united in pressuring all those responsible to implement mitigations that meet the needs of the most at risk.

I hope today’s agreement provides some peace of mind to those affected and reassures the millions of vulnerable people in our country that their concerns have been heard far and wide across the whole industry.

Today’s agreement will better protect those using personal alarms, known as telecare, which offer remote support to elderly, disabled, and vulnerable people – with many located in rural and isolated areas.

Last year, UK phone providers agreed to new measures to protect vulnerable customers when upgrading phone lines to a new digital network with the Technology Secretary asking all providers not to force people to switch over until enhanced protections are in place. The agreement also meant vulnerable households would have better access to emergency services during power outages.

Phone providers have been upgrading household landlines to digital technology which uses an internet connection, to deliver a modern network which is secure, efficient, and fit for the future. For the vast majority of consumers and businesses, this change has been and continues to be straightforward. Nobody will have to lose their landline service because of this change, as there are still options for a ‘landline only’ service should a customer not wish to purchase a general internet connection. Telecoms companies will continue to be bound by the same regulatory obligations as they are today, and this Charter will further strengthen protections for vulnerable consumers.

The upgrade of the UK’s telephone lines is not a government programme and does not result from a government decision or policy, and therefore specific questions about how the upgrade programme might affect individuals should be directed service providers.

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said:

We’ve heard of vulnerable people being left unable to contact emergency services due to issues with digital migration, so it is positive that the government is getting assurances from operators as well as providers that they will protect customers during the switchover.

The government and Ofcom must be prepared to take tough action if firms fail to keep up their side of the bargain. The transition to digital landlines is necessary and offers advantages, but it is vital that no one is left behind as the migration continues.