West Midlands tech ecosystem gets £1m boost

Posted by author April 25, 2024 Tech

The West Midlands tech ecosystem is set to benefit from a £1m investment across sectors including AI, green tech and digital skills.

The funding will be deployed across five projects aimed at accelerating the growth of the tech industry in the region.

Of the £1m, £200,000 from RBC Brewin Dolphin will go towards investor engagement, another £200,000 to a green tech innovation challenge from Plug and Play, £160,000 will support an AI Centre of Excellence from AND Digital, £140,000 will go towards a Digital Skills Consortium and £300,000 will go to the Tech Connect project to plug the gap between the local tech sector and wider business.

The new funding was announced at the third annual West Midlands Tech Review, hosted by regional industry body TechWM. The event was supported by UK Tech Week.

“This landmark £1m investment in the region’s tech sector is going to move the dial for businesses in the ecosystem and beyond,” said Yiannis Maos, CEO of TechWM.

“Each of the five projects will take us a step closer to our aim of being recognised as a global tech superpower; cementing the West Midlands’ reputation as the one-to-watch worldwide.”

At the event, TechWM also announced it had agreed a strategic partnership with industry body techUK.

The region’s tech industry has been growing rapidly, becoming one of the best-funded regional ecosystems last year.

“The West Midlands is home to many of the UK’s fastest-growing tech businesses,” said Simon Walsh, CEO of OneAdvanced.

“We’re looking forward to helping shape and grow this unique and dynamic ecosystem powering, not only the West Midlands economy but also significantly contributing to our national economy.”