Founders Forum Group acquires Tech Nation
3 min read
When Tech Nation was founded by the government over nine years ago, the UK’s tech economy was fledgling. Our growth programmes, visa scheme, digital academy, networking conferences, international expansion programs, sandboxes, panels and in-depth sector research, analysis and reports have helped shape the trajectory and success of UK tech, now valued at $1trn (16x in 10 years) and employing 4.8m people (2x in 10 years)with salaries 80% higher than professional jobs.
Additionally, UK tech secured over $30bn in private capital in 2022, double our nearest European counterpart.
Within the UK tech ecosystem, our focus has been on supporting the scaleups which create over 90% of UK tech jobs, and we’re proud of the fact that those we’ve accelerated have disproportionately thrived. While 80% of start-ups fail within their first 2-5 years, over 95% of startups on Tech Nation’s growth programmes have gone on to scale. Some 40% of all tech unicorns and decacorns created in the UK have graduated from a Tech Nation growth programme, collectively raising over £28.1bn so far in venture capital and capital markets. 13,000 jobs have been created nationwide as a direct result of our intervention. Our alumni includes the biggest names in UK tech; Monzo, Revolut, Bloom and Wild, Zilch, Just Eat, DarkTrace, Marshmallow, Sky Scanner, Peak AI and Deliveroo, to name just a few of the 5,000+ businesses we’ve supported.
As a government backed organisation, we’re also proud that Tech Nation has delivered one of the best ROIs for the taxpayer, delivering £15 return on every £1 invested by the UK Government.
In anticipation of the Government’s decision to award the Digital Growth Grant to another party, we have been working around the clock to secure our future and continue delivering for UK scaleups. It is essential that any route forward for Tech Nation ensures we are able to continue to act in the best interest of the tech community and put the needs of scaleups front and centre. This is the principle that has always guided us, and will guide our decision making over the next steps we take from here.
UK tech growth over the past decade:
Tech Nation impact since inception
Tech Nation delivery since inception