We are the UK's national network for
ambitious tech entrepreneurs
Our mission
To empower ambitious tech entrepreneurs to grow faster
through knowledge and connections; to make the UK the
best place to imagine, start and grow a digital business.
Engagement
Resources
A platform offering free online
courses to help you start, grow
or join a digital business
"A mini MBA for startups" - Unruly founder and chair Sarah Wood
DBA offers 85 bite-size courses - from "How
entrepreneurs move from ideas to action" to "How to
prepare for Series A"
Helps startups tackle their most pressing challenges
Already used by over 25,000 people
Takes 15 minutes to complete each course and 24 hours
to complete all the courses
It's free!
Workshops on the UK's
startup ecosystem, tailored to
your business needs
Workshops on the UK's startup ecosystem, tailored to your
business needs
The basics: What is digital tech and why it matters
The ecosystem: Who are the community and players driving startup
growth?
The startup: What makes a startup and how does it grow?
The UK: Where and what is happening in digital tech?
The sectors: What are the leading and new sectors forming?
Trending: What are the need-to-know trends and hot topics?
The network for early stage tech founders
to learn from each other via sharing
experiences and knowledge
Support
Endorsement for Tier 1 Exceptional
Talent Visa in digital technology
Allowing scaling tech companies to bring in talent from outside EU
Tech Nation is the Home Office Designated Competent Body (DCB)
which assesses applications from individuals with expertise in digital
technology who want to come to the UK under the Tier 1 Exceptional
Talent visa.
As of September 2019, Tech Nation will begin processing endorsement
applications on behalf of digital technology entrepreneurs for two new
categories: Startup and Innovator visas
Growth programmes
WHATEVER YOUR STAGE, WE HAVE YOU COVERED:
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Applied AI
Series A Raised
Or >500k revenue
& 20% MoM growth
Pre-Series A
Up to 1.5m revenue
Late-Stage
5m+ revenue
Virtual/
Competitions
Example
companies across
the portfolio
Join our network and you'll benefit from peer-to-peer
learning, access to world-class scale coaches, and
connections that will help you solve your business
challenges. Not to mention added exposure for your
brand. And while our programmes are selective, they're
completely free for selected companies. No cost, no
equity.
APPLIED AI 1.0
By Tech Nation
&
Part of the UK Government AI and Data Sector Deal
We want to help more of the UK's most talented
founders, who are applying Artificial Intelligence in
practical areas to create real-world impact, scale to
series A and beyond.
All for free. And led by those who have done it
before.
AI/ML must be used to solve an identified, real problem for businesses or industry (B2B)
Defensible applications, for example innovative data acquisition strategies, proprietary
algorithms, domain expertise or otherwise
Applicants must at least show early signals of product-market fit, through early pilots or
otherwise. Seed to series A* or no more than 1m annual recurring revenue
Applications will take into account ethical considerations
CRITERIA
We will support 20 startups as their core focus shifts from engineering to marketing and towards commercial
metrics. As a later-stage network, we want to help shorten time to recurring revenue.
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*Applying Atomico and LocalGlobe's definitions and median Series A figures, this means the first round raised between $6m-$15m.
AI/ML must be at the core of the value proposition - it's key to the product, it's not a
superfluous feature
THERE IS A GAP IN LATE SEED SUPPORT
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Applied AI
Commercial
traction
Idea
Pre-Seed
Early Seed
Late Seed / Seed
Extension
Series A
Entrepreneur First
Social Tech Trust AI
for Good
Machine Intelligence Garage (Digital Catapult)
AI Seed Fund
Applied AI by Tech Nation & UK Government Office for AI
Wayra and UoE AI & Blockchain Accelerator
Other
programmes:
PwC Scale AI
Google AI for
Social Impact
LDN_LAB by
Facebook
Great work is already happening at early seed. We want to expand upon that by supporting at a later-stage
and to be very commercially focused. The programme is non-residential, meaning it fits alongside others too.
Sweetspot
*Or equivalent if bootrapped
Creative Destruction Labs Oxford
Peer-to-peer: Under 'Chatham House Rules' and with values of honesty and trust,
structured meetups bring together a cohort of 20 founders, across the founding team (CEO,
COO, CTO etc). These sessions are supported by later-stage or exited entrepreneurs.
Insight Sessions: Core scaling challenges are addressed across focused sessions, which
are delivered by those who have been through the journey before. They will share what they
did, what they'd do differently, why it's relevant, and tips/advice for the journey
Networking & Dinners: We're granted a privileged platform that we aim to use to help
connect founders to relevant investors who focus on AI/ML and corporates using AI/ML to
solve their challenges, tailored to the needs of the cohort.
Expand: An AI-focused international trip (either business development or investment
focused) and an insight session focused upon international expansion.
ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAMME
These features draw from other Tech Nation programmes like Upscale. The programme runs for 6 months,
with 2-3 sessions occurring each month:
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This is a UK-wide programme that
aims to bring together national
clusters.
Sessions will take place where
most relevant.
Alumni: Continuing support as alumni through dedicated events, as well as the opportunity
to become part of the Tech Nation family.
AFTERWARDS? BECOME A PART OF THE TECH NATION FAMILY
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Join companies like these that have been through Tech Nation programmes.
Future Fifty:
Mid-stage: