UK Government opens £375m scheme to drive investment in tech

Future Fund: Breakthrough, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at Budget 2021, is now open for applications. This UK-wide programme will deliver £375 million of government funding via British Patient Capital, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank.

The government funding scheme, will look to aid start-ups that accelerate deployment of breakthrough technologies, develop new medicines, and support the UK’s transition to a net-zero economy.

To be eligible, businesses must have commitments of 70% of an investment round from private investors with a track record of financing innovative companies - such as venture capitalists.

The scheme is separate and different from the now-closed Future Fund that provided convertible loans of up to £5 million to a wide variety of innovative UK companies, to address the funding challenges caused by Covid-19.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “The support we have provided over the past year is not only helping firms to survive the pandemic, but also driving the growth and jobs of the future, making the UK a global innovation powerhouse.

“The original Future Fund was a tremendous success in helping cutting-edge firms to get the fuel in the engine they need to really motor forwards, and we are building on that with the fresh Future Fund: Breakthrough scheme.”

Supporting innovative companies

The government is supporting innovative companies through the Plan for Growth, which includes the Future Fund: Breakthrough, the forthcoming Innovation Strategy, and £14.9 billion of spending on research and development, the highest level for four decades.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “Our Future Fund: Breakthrough scheme will enable innovative businesses in every corner of the UK to access the finance they need to scale up and bring their transformational technologies to market - all while creating high-skilled jobs and boosting the economy as part of our Plan for Jobs. 

“Technology and innovation will be at the heart of our future economy which is why we are investing billions in R&D to help cement our status as a world-leader in this field.”

In addition, Chancellor Rishi Sunak today announced that he will host a Treasury Connect tech conference in East London in September to bring together the CEOs and senior leaders of the UK’s biggest tech firms and investors.