Chancellor wants twice as many billion-dollar startups in the UK
Key Points
- Chancellor John Healey wants to double the number of UK unicorn companies
- The government will act as an early first customer for the startups it identifies
- Healey and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will pick the next wave of unicorns
- More departments will earmark dedicated funds for British innovation
Chancellor John Healey has set an ambition to double the number of unicorn companies in the UK, with the government acting as an early first customer for the firms that it will pick out to scale.
Healey set out the plan in his Growth Speech on Monday (7 September), with the transcript published by HM Treasury.
A unicorn is a privately held startup valued at $1 billion or more.
Healey said that ideas born in Britain too often go elsewhere to find the capital they need to grow, taking the jobs, benefits and intellectual property with them.
“Together, with Johnny Reynolds I will identify the next wave of unicorns, with the state as an early first customer to ensure they have the necessary backing to scale,” said John Healey, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Healey said he used the same approach as Defence Secretary and that the government announced it for Sovereign AI last week.
He said he wants to work with more departments over the coming months to earmark dedicated funds to back British innovation.
Healey pointed to clusters of innovation built by local leaders, universities and investors in Leicester, Swansea, Strathclyde, Newcastle, Manchester and Rotherham as well as Oxford and Cambridge.
The Chancellor said the UK is home to nearly half of the most innovative companies in Europe and ranks third in the world for innovation.
Business investment has risen by 4.9% since the election, he added.
