Less than a decade ago, a part of London’s East End was labelled “the Silicon Roundabout” in reference to the fact that it had become home to a small group of tech startups. As the number of startups rose, the Silicon Roundabout started to be known by another moniker, “Tech City.”
According to research conducted by London & Partners and cited by the Evening Standard, a record number of foreign firms set up operations in London during the first quarter of this year. These enterprises invested an unprecedented £450 million in the city’s tech sector, creating hundreds of digital jobs in the process.
“Companies from all over the globe want to establish a base here because we have the best access to finance and markets, an incredibly talented workforce and overall first-class conditions in which to do business,” said London & Partners CEO Gordon Innes in a statement quoted by the Standard.
Name and number changes aren’t the only adaptations that Tech City has experienced over the years – the nature of the startups located in the area underwent a gradual transformation as well.
According to research conducted by London & Partners and cited by the Evening Standard, a record number of foreign firms set up operations in London during the first quarter of this year. These enterprises invested an unprecedented £450 million in the city’s tech sector, creating hundreds of digital jobs in the process.
“Companies from all over the globe want to establish a base here because we have the best access to finance and markets, an incredibly talented workforce and overall first-class conditions in which to do business,” said London & Partners CEO Gordon Innes in a statement quoted by the Standard.
Name and number changes aren’t the only adaptations that Tech City has experienced over the years – the nature of the startups located in the area underwent a gradual transformation as well.
Tech City startups evolving
Ian Dowson, managing director of corporate development specialist William Garrity Associates, has been monitoring the evolution of London startups for years and recently shared some of his observations at the 2015 Digital Shoreditch Festival, held earlier this month. As reported by ZDNet, Dowson noted that while hardware and software companies dominated Tech City in its early days, finance and ecommerce tech enterprises received the lion’s share of funding over the past couple of years.
Specifically, last year’s overall investment of approximately £1.23 billion was split between the following sectors:
Fintech (£523 million)
Ecommerce (£356 million)
Digital media (£113 million)
Medtech (£72 million)
Cloud (£60 million)
So far this year, the top three players have remained the same: Fintech is at the top of the heap, netting £268 million, followed by ecommerce at £117 million and digital media at £48 million.
A different focus… and a herd of unicorns
As ZDNet’s Steve Ranger theorised, the figures outlined above suggest London may be developing a different focus than other startup hubs.
“Fintech, ecommerce and digital media jobs in London are tech professionals’ best bet.”
“Observers waiting for a consumer web startup like Facebook to emerge out of Tech City may be missing the point – instead [residential property website] Zoopla or [online takeaway service] Just Eat might be more the types of companies that flourish in the U.K. capital,” Ranger wrote. “Finance and ecommerce are perhaps not as glamorous as the flat-white-sippers might hope, but that could well be where London’s herd of unicorns will be found.”
For professionals interested in hitching a ride on one of these unicorns and becoming part of the capital’s burgeoning tech sector, fintech, ecommerce and digital media jobs in London are looking like their best bet.
Fintech (£523 million)
Ecommerce (£356 million)
Digital media (£113 million)
Medtech (£72 million)
Cloud (£60 million)
So far this year, the top three players have remained the same: Fintech is at the top of the heap, netting £268 million, followed by ecommerce at £117 million and digital media at £48 million.
A different focus… and a herd of unicorns
As ZDNet’s Steve Ranger theorised, the figures outlined above suggest London may be developing a different focus than other startup hubs.
“Fintech, ecommerce and digital media jobs in London are tech professionals’ best bet.”
“Observers waiting for a consumer web startup like Facebook to emerge out of Tech City may be missing the point – instead [residential property website] Zoopla or [online takeaway service] Just Eat might be more the types of companies that flourish in the U.K. capital,” Ranger wrote. “Finance and ecommerce are perhaps not as glamorous as the flat-white-sippers might hope, but that could well be where London’s herd of unicorns will be found.”
For professionals interested in hitching a ride on one of these unicorns and becoming part of the capital’s burgeoning tech sector, fintech, ecommerce and digital media jobs in London are looking like their best bet.