investment Archives

Editorial: UK puts AI at the centre of its Budget

British Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the country’s Spring Budget this week and supporting the AI industry was at the centre.

The UK is Europe’s AI leader. Indeed, behind the US and China, the country’s tech sector overall has the third-highest amount of VC investment in the world – more than Germany and France combined – and has produced more than double the number of $1 billion tech firms than any other European country.

Gerard Grech, CEO of Tech Nation,...

16 March 2023 | Artificial Intelligence

UK AI sector achieved record funding in Q2 2022

New data from Tech Nation and Dealroom found that VC investment in UK AI companies hit a record in Q2 2022 and is on track to at least equal last year.

Around 2,009 AI companies are based in the UK, the AI capital of Europe. Renowned companies include Graphcore, BenevolentAI, Darktrace, Wayve, and DeepMind.

Last year saw a record investment of £6.6 billion flow into UK AI companies. In 2022 so far, £3.2 billion has been invested. Tech Nation notes that investment into...

6 October 2022 | Applications

UK sets out its 10-year plan to remain a global AI superpower

The UK has unveiled its 10-year National Artificial Intelligence Strategy with the aim of securing the country’s place as “a global AI superpower”.

DeepMind, Benevolent AI, Graphcore, Darktrace, Oxbotica, and Behavox are just some of the companies that have established the UK’s place as Europe’s leader in AI.

Joanna Shields, CEO of Benevolent AI and Co-Chair of Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), commented: “A comprehensive strategy and...

23 September 2021 | Ethics & Society

State of European Tech: Investment in ‘deep tech’ like AI drops 13%

The latest State of European Tech report highlights that investment in “deep tech” like AI has dropped 13 percent this year.

Data from Dealroom was used for the State of European Tech report. Dealroom defines deep tech as 16 fields: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Drones, Autonomous Driving, Blockchain, Nanotech, Robotics, Internet of Things, 3D Technology, Computer Vision, Connected Devices, Sensors Technology, and...

8 December 2020 | Research

Almost half of Europe’s AI startups have no actual AI

A new report highlights many of Europe’s AI startups appear to be cashing in on the hype and have no actual AI to speak of.

The fact you can add ‘AI’, ‘IoT’, or ‘blockchain’ to your company name/description and it will skyrocket your valuation has become something of a running joke in the industry. Shares in Long Island Iced Tea, for example, infamously shot up almost 200 percent after changing its parent company name to ‘Long Blockchain Corp.’

European...

5 March 2019 | Machine Learning

UK investment in AI startups nears the rest of Europe combined

The UK is splashing the cash on artificial intelligence startups so much that it almost totals the rest of Europe combined.

Venture capital firms invested a record $1.3bn (£998m) in UK-based AI companies last year.

The figures are provided by Dealroom and show a fourfold increase in five years. A couple of notable rounds includes $200 million for Graphcore in your humble editor’s hometown of Bristol, and $50 million for what feels like my second home of...

21 February 2019 | Google

Qualcomm is setting aside $100 million for AI venture investments

AI is going to be incredibly valuable. You know it, I know it, and Qualcomm is betting on it by setting aside $100 million to invest in promising startups. The chip giant is specifically looking at startups building on-device AI technologies. We’re increasingly seeing NPUs (Neural Processing Units) debuting in the latest devices, so it’s little surprise to see Qualcomm seeking to fund technologies which may provide an edge. Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, said: