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London Tech Week 2023: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak feels there’s a certain sense of “urgency and responsibility” to seize the ‘AI-driven tech opportunity’ to help UK make the “best country in tech business”. Speaking at the London Tech Week 2023– UK’s biggest tech conference– the prime minister mentioned that his goal is clear: “act quickly to retain the UK’s position as one of the world’s tech capitals”. Investing in newer technologies including AI, quantum, synthetic biology, and semiconductors is one of his priorities to grow the UK’s economy.

“I believe the UK can achieve this goal because we start from a position of strength. We’ve created 134 unicorns in the last decade – third in the world, behind only the US and China. We’re one of the most digitally literate societies in the world, with a higher percentage of STEM graduates than the US and 4 of the world’s top 10 universities,” said PM Rishi Sunak.

Talking about converting this goal into a reality, he said, “It’s this government that’s building the most pro-investment tax regime, that’s increasing public R&D investment to record levels and that’s making our visa system for international talent one of the most competitive in the world. We’re overhauling our listing rules to make it easier for companies to raise public funding, and changing our pensions rules to unlock new private capital.”

He further added, “I created a new department focused on science, innovation, and technology with a mission to do things differently – from bringing in world-leading experts to taking more risks in support of innovation.And when the moment came, it was this government that acted to rescue Silicon Valley Bank.”

Looking into the key statistics of tech businesses in the UK, it is claimed that jobs in the broader digital tech economy account for around 14% of the UK workforce at 4.7 million people in 2022. On average, tech salaries are nearly 80% higher than salaries for non tech jobs in the UK, at £62,000 compared to £35,000 as of Q1 2022

The UK tech and digital ecosystem value reached over $1 trillion in 2022, more than 17x the value ten years ago. The UK is the third country in the world to do so after the US and China.

“If our goal is to make this country the best place in the world for tech, AI is surely one of the greatest opportunities before us,” he said.