During the launch of the Tech Nation and Google for Startups report 'A Decade of UK Tech', EdenBase Co-Founder Eric Van der Kleij highlighted the power of networks such as Tech Nation and Tech London Advocates as he and the panel explored the past decade of innovation and the future of tech. Eric said, ‘We live in a world where emerging technologies disrupt and transform established industries. As we live through the fastest pace of change in history, UK tech is at the cutting edge.’

The report highlights the latest data about the evolution of tech and the brightest minds imagining its future. Marta Krupinska, Head of Google for Startups UK, said, ‘This report provides us with an important opportunity to look back in order to look forward. The last decade in UK tech brought profound change and growth, a vibrant community of founders, and challenges that require addressing to unlock future opportunities.’

Alongside industry experts Simon Menashy (Partner, MMC Ventures) • Rayna Patel (Co-Founder and CEO, Vinehealth) • Jeevan Sunner (Investor, Playfair Capital) • Abi Mohamed (Programme Lead, Tech Nation)

Congratulations from all at EdenBase on yet another invaluable report and a brilliant lineup of speakers!

Marta Krupinska • Gerard Grech • Russ Shaw CBE • Azeem Azhar

"We're good at orchestrating serendipitous meetings in physical environments, but how do you extend beyond that to scale peer-to-peer connections?"

— Eric Van der Kleij

In the next year alone, UK tech startups and scaleups are expected to be valued at over $1.3 trillion, up from $53.6 billion ten years ago. They will raise over $50 billion in venture capital investment, up from $1.9 billion in 2012, and employ over 5 million people in the UK, up from 2.18 million just a few years ago.

However, some aspects of the tech industry have not changed for the better. The distribution of venture capital has barely shifted geographically and by the characteristics of people and companies invested. Fintech continues to lead the UK investment landscape, representing $12.8bn of new investment in 2021 and nearly a third of all investments made into the ecosystem. Healthtech remains firmly in second place with $6.3bn.

The UK has seen tremendous growth in its tech sector in recent years, becoming one of the world's leading destinations for tech investment. In 2021, the UK tech sector was valued at just under $1tn, making it the world's third most valuable tech ecosystem. This is a tremendous increase from ten years ago when the UK tech sector was valued at $53.6bn. The UK's deep tech sector has seen even more growth, increasing 33x since 2011 and topping $8.5bn in 2021. This growth is partly due to the large number of mega-rounds (investments of over $250 million) made in recent years. While the UK tech sector has seen incredible growth, it is not without its challenges. One of the biggest challenges facing the UK tech sector is the shortage of skilled workers. The UK has seen a 36% increase in tech salaries since 2015, but this has not been enough to attract enough skilled workers to meet the demand. This has led to a decrease in the number of tech jobs available from December 2020 to June 2021.

This report collates the latest data on the evolution of tech and curates opinions of those at the cutting edge of UK tech who are thinking about its future. What’s clear is the next decade of UK tech will be full of opportunity and change.