Tech Nation shuts down: what’s next?
Summary
The nonprofit, which received the majority of its backing from the UK government, lost its grant funding to a programme run by Barclays Bank Eagle Labs, and its closure has sent shock waves through the startup community. It’s played an important role in the growth of game-changing founders, leaders and scaling companies so that they can transform how societies and economies operate. Alumni include Monzo, Revolut, Depop, Bloom & Wild, Zilch, Just Eat, Darktrace, Marshmallow, Ocado, Skyscanner, Peak AI and Deliveroo. Dan Sodergren, co-founder of people support platform Your FLOCK, based in Manchester said: “Without Tech Nation, we would not have the ecosystem outside of London that we have. Speaking on the closure, chief executive Gerard Grech said: “We have exhaustively explored whether Tech Nation could continue without core government grant funding, but have concluded after extensive consultation that this is not an option.We have a portfolio of Tech Nation assets and an internationally acclaimed brand, and we have already started discussions with mission-based organizations to take these forward.