UK government

The UK government has confirmed plans to allocate a further £35 million for the semiconductor talent expansion programme. The new semiconductor-focused funding is part of a wider Digital and Technologies Sector Plan. This is a set of announcements under the government’s Industrial Strategy. Specifically, the £35 million will be used to scale up and continue the recently announced Semiconductor Talent ...

Public understanding and support for the UK’s clean energy transition will be under the microscope this week as back-bench MP’s hold their first public evidence session on the changing attitudes to net-zero. According to the Energy Security and Net Zero (ESNZ) Select Committee, which is running the inquiry: Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its impact on energy costs laid ...

The UK’s major space event, the UK Space Conference 2025, is heading to Manchester Central in July. Running from Wednesday 16 to Thursday 17 July, the event is aimed at government bodies, industry, and academia. With the theme of Space for Growth, the conference will cover questions such as how space can drive long-term economic growth for the UK. And ...

UK AI talent is the “envy of the world” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in a conversation with Sir Keir Starmer at London Tech Week yesterday. However the UK is in a “Goldilocks circumstance”, said Huang with largest store of AI brainpower on the planet at our universities, companies and research institutions and the third largest VC investment in AI ...

A UK government initiative worth £4.75 million, sees the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) launching the Semiconductor STEP programme (Skills, Talent and Education Programme). With demand for semiconductor skills vastly outstripping supply, the goal is to help tackle the skills shortage in the UK’s semiconductor sector. STEP Partners Effectively, building a  pipeline of skills and enabling more young people to ...

Professor Keith Jackson is to be chairman of UK technology transfer organisation Digital Catapult, taking over from Juergen Maier CBE from May 2025. “A successful entrepreneur and engineering leader, Jackson brings wide ranging experience from industry and academia to Digital Catapult,” according to the Catapult. “He co-founded the successful start-up business Pi Technology, which grew to provide engine control systems ...

The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is boasting a record eighteen-months for contract wins involving the European Space Agency (ESA). The agency highlights a significant increase for the funds in-flow involving ESA programmes. An additional £112 million (€134 million) in contracts for the UK space sector between June 2022 and December 2024 from what was expected. Also, the British space sector ...

Applications are now open for the third cohort of ChipStart UK, the government funded early-stage semiconductor incubator. If you’re developing the next disruption in semiconductors (Fabless, Photonics, MEMS, Design IP, EDA, Materials, Test Equipment…..), are (or will be) incorporated in the UK and have raised less than $1.5 million in private VC or Angel funding then you are eligible to ...

The £1.137 billion government tech VC fund, Future Fund, has made a loss of £263 million and is currently worth £799m, says the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). The Future Fund lent 1,192 companies up to £5 million each, with the loans convertible into shares in the companies when they raised money. However, hundreds of the companies who borrowed ...

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has presented her first Budget to the House of Commons. And, as ever, it was a mix of carrots and sticks – taking with one hand and giving with the other. While the government highlighted a number technology business initiatives, there were also changes to charges, such as NICs, and also tax relief ...