Autumn Budget 2025: The Tech Takeaways

Rarely has a Budget garnered as much press as the Chancellor's Autumn Budget this year. From articles expressing outrage, relief, confusion – we had it all. And that's before we even get to the memes (best not to discuss those...). To cut through the chatter, our very own Matt Rowbotham has already published his own annual summary of the Budget which, as ever, provides a handy outline of the key points relating to taxation.

Although it was the tax issues which grabbed most of the headlines this week, Ms Reeves also announced a number of changes relating to technology, science, and innovation. These changes, aimed at unlocking capital, speeding up adoption, and creating home‑grown momentum in strategic sectors, include:

• Backing founders and scale‑ups: A new Entrepreneurship Prospectus setting out the UK's offer to founders to "ensure that our brightest companies have the talent, finance and market opportunities they need to start-up, scale and thrive as they stay in the UK". In addition, the British Business Bank will channel 60% of its venture and growth capital into scale‑ups, launch at least five new Series B funds, and catalyse ten new growth‑stage raises over the next five years.
• Serious public investment: UKRI is deploying £7 billion to innovative enterprises, including £4.5 billion for priority Industrial Strategy sectors such as clean energy, advanced engineering, financial services and life sciences.
• Early revenue from government: Advance Market Commitments will see the Government act as an early buyer for frontier tech, starting with up to £100 million for next‑generation AI chips.
• Growth Catalyst for innovators: Innovate UK will run a new £130 million Growth Catalyst scheme offering grants and tailored support. A prior programme turned £156 million of grants into £1.55 billion of follow‑on investment.
• A simpler runway for R&D: A targeted advance assurance service will launch in spring to give SMEs upfront clarity on key aspects of their R&D tax relief claims, cutting red tape and speeding up innovation.
• AI at the core of growth: The launch of an AI for Science Strategy, backed by £137 million of investment over four years.
• AI Champions named: Backed by almost £500 million in investment, new sector champions have been chosen to accelerate AI rollout across industrial strategy sectors.
• BridgeAI expands: Innovate UK's BridgeAI, which has already supported 3,000 businesses in sectors like agriculture, creative industries, transport and construction, will extend across more industrial strategy sectors "to shrink the national adoption gap and grow the next generation of AI giants".
• Semiconductor boost: £10 million will support the South Wales semiconductor industry to capitalise on the AI Growth Zone, strengthening supply chains and backing data‑centre scale performance.
• Smarter procurement: Reforms will open up public contracts and create an online marketplace to showcase innovations to multiple potential public sector buyers at once, accelerating routes to revenue for UK tech companies.
• Capital markets tailwinds: A three‑year stamp duty holiday for UK‑listed companies (saving firms up to £50 million per year), ISA reforms and measures to increase share prices aim to deepen domestic investment and help more tech firms build and list in Britain.
• University‑powered R&D: £9 billion of UKRI's £38.6 billion settlement is targeted at world‑leading fields such as AI and quantum. Core quality‑related block grant and Higher Education Innovation Funding are protected in real terms, meaning a cumulative increase exceeding £425 million.
• Diversity and talent pipelines: The Women in Innovation Awards will provide £4.5 million to up to 60 women. The Metascience Unit's budget will triple to £49 million, and the Global Talent Fund, worth £54 million, will bring 4 world-leading researchers—and their teams—to the UK to "spearhead ... new insights into Alzheimer's and better ways of tackling the pests and diseases that could cost the global agriculture industry over £400 billion in losses every year".
• Entrepreneurial spin‑outs: New Enterprise Fellowships will support up to 100 researchers to spin out or take industry secondments, backed by £4 million.
• NHS technology: An additional £300 million capital investment for NHS technology to support NHS productivity and improve patient outcomes.
• Broadband: The creation of a new right for leaseholders to request a gigabit broadband connection and a duty for freeholders not to unreasonably refuse the request.

Echoing sentiments expressed during our own xCHANGE event last week, Julian David OBE, CEO of techUK, said the package "will offer founders and investors a clear pathway to grow companies and succeed in the UK," while Carolyn Dawson OBE, CEO of Founders Forum Group and Tech Nation, called it "a positive signal that Britain aspires to be a great place to start and scale a business."

As technology lawyers, we welcome policies which seek to support the UK tech sector – do get in touch if you want to learn more about how we're helping businesses navigate regulation, unlock funding and strike new commercial partnerships.

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