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Oxford, OX2 6HT
JUL 05, 2024
As published in The Times commentary section on 5 July 2025.
The commercialisation of science and deep tech research, in which British universities lead the world, should be at the top of the priority list for the incoming government.
The opportunity is huge. If the UK is to create its first £1 trillion company, it is likely to emerge from the deep tech ecosystems around one of our leading universities. But the window is limited, because the world’s biggest economies, including the US and China, have already made their move.
The new government must back companies developing specific pioneering technologies such as quantum computing, where the UK has a genuine first-mover advantage, and throw its full weight behind them.
There are three critical issues the new government can address to ensure that our best tech and science companies are not only created and scaled in the UK but that they choose to stay here, too: these are procurement, investment and talent.
It’s no secret that working with government is too slow and too risky. The Covid-19 pandemic proved, however, that procurement can be collapsed into much shorter timelines. Within months Vaccitech, an Oxford University spin-out backed by Oxford Science Enterprises, co-created a vaccine alongside AstraZeneca and the university, changing the tide of the global pandemic. Government procurement must be able to match the pace of industry to scale pioneering companies, not five years in the future but right now.
Second, the next government must be our investment champion abroad. A shortage of scale-up capital in the UK prevents the realisation of the next Google or Nvidia in Britain, despite having the makings of these companies here. More foreign investment is needed to provide the foundation for productivity in the future. Greater levels of capital investment will mean more UK businesses can invest in their cutting-edge science, and scale at a global level from home.
However, accelerating procurement and incentivising capital inflows works only if we have the talent to drive innovation. Only a small number of experts globally have the experience needed to accelerate the growth of these companies. We need to fast-track that talent into the UK, with visa decisions made in days and at a competitive cost. At £20,980, the cost of our five-year global talent visa is many times higher than in competitor countries.
Addressing all three of these issues is well within the reach of the new government. With timely action, the government can put Britain at the forefront of a new age of invention and innovation.
Ed Bussey is chief executive of Oxford Science Enterprises