Silicon implants
We hesitate to say it, and may well be disappointed in the long term, but the government seems to be doing something concrete to make the UK more competitive in the global tech market.
In a speech to a tech and entrepreneur audience today, the PM David Cameron will outline is ambition for the East End of London - from Old Street to the site of the 2012 Olympics - to be transformed into a ‘Tech City' to rival Silicon Valley.
If your first thought is that this just sounds like another lot of rhetorical hot air, join the club. But there does seem to be a bit of substance to this announcement. Not only will there be £200 million of finance for businesses and research outfits with potential, there will also be a new type of ‘entrepreneur visa' to encourage people to set up businesses in the UK.
Furthermore, a bunch of major US tech companies have already committed to open up offices and/or research centres in Tech City (surely a name with ‘silicon' in it would be better - any suggestions - how about Silicon Square in reference to East Enders?). These include Intel, Google, Facebook and Cisco. Also the Silicon Valley bank will become established in the UK, while Qualcomm and McKinsey will provide consultancy.
"Right now, Silicon Valley is the leading place in the world for high-tech growth and innovation," said the PM. "But there's no reason why it has to be so predominant. Our ambition is to bring together the creativity and energy of Shoreditch and the incredible possibilities of the Olympic Park to help make East London one of the world's great technology centres."
"For the past few weeks and months, we have had dozens of meetings with technology companies and venture capital investors from across the world... I have to say: the response has been overwhelming."
"The policies in this document set Britain on to the path of becoming the most attractive place in the world to start and invest in innovative technology companies. £200 million of equity finance for businesses with high growth potential. £200 million for new Technology and Innovation Centres - one of which could be in the Olympic Park.
"And today, I can announce two further proposals... we will create a new Entrepreneur Visa. These Entrepreneur Visas will mean that if you have a great business idea, and you receive serious investment from a leading investor, you are welcome to set up your business in our country.
"The second new announcement I can make today is to do with intellectual property. The founders of Google have said they could never have started their company in Britain. The service they provide depends on taking a snapshot of all the content on the internet at any one time and they feel our copyright system is not as friendly to this sort of innovation as it is in the United States.
"Over there, they have what are called ‘fair-use' provisions, which some people believe gives companies more breathing space to create new products and services. So I can announce today that we are reviewing our IP laws, to see if we can make them fit for the internet age. I want to encourage the sort of creative innovation that exists in America."
It all sounds quite promising, and as the likes of ARM, Imagination Technologies and Autonomy have shown, we are capable of creating world-class technology companies. Fingers crossed that this announcement does prove to be more than hot air.
