UK's Tech Reset: Will It Finally Deliver Real Business Outcomes?

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-23

Let's cut through the acronyms, the Whitehall red tape, and figure out if government policy can actually connect with real tech business outcomes. Before our new UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, started commuting to "Number 10" on Monday, tech bosses, policy leads, and government officials were celebrating and catastrophising – in fairly equal measure – over plans to axe the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). DSIT is still a newbie when it comes to departments with seats at the UK government's top table. The department was only announced in February 2023. Pledges, plans, and outcomes have had a mixed reception. Folding DSIT into the newly created Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST), or Department for Business and Trade (DBT), has triggered concerns about policy structure, implementation, and delivery. Plus, it's also an irritating game of "musical chairs" courtesy of department-based acronyms – as well as some new branding. But maybe, it makes some sense. ### What Was the Purpose of Creating DSIT? Originally, DSIT promised to do all sorts to make the UK a "science and technology superpower" by 2030. Chief among pledges? A multi-million-pound increase in public investment in R&D capable of turbocharging the five technologies of tomorrow – Quantum, AI, Engineering Biology, Semiconductors, and Future Telecoms – together with life sciences, space, and green technologies. But the reality has been bumpy. The UK Semiconductor Strategy was delivered over a year later than planned and without specifics, pending feasibility studies. The UK Quantum Strategy, also delayed, was widely criticised for failing to map how to support moving from research and innovation to commercialisation, backed by sovereign infrastructure, and meet that 2030 goal (which likely seemed far off "enough" in 2023). The 2024 effective merger of schemes for UK R&D Tax Credits, with guidelines presided over by DSIT, received equally mixed reviews. Ringfencing most, if not all, eligible R&D to take place onshore helped with fraud and was generally good. But doing away with structure specifically supporting UK SMEs where the scheme could have provided meaningful relief to innovative and scaling tech businesses? Well, this turned it into a bureaucratic Rubik's Cube. It's also worth remembering that the UK has had four Prime Ministers since DSIT came to be; Burnham being our latest. Each of his predecessors has left their own indelible and opposing mark despite, likely, attempting to post-rationalise the department, packed with talented civil servants, but overwhelmed or dysfunctional. ### Scrapping DSIT and Connecting Business Outcomes I love the UK, working with incredible entrepreneurs here, and have had the privilege of collaborating with many governmental departments. There are some, not least DBT and Treasury, the economic and finance ministry, that are established supporters of founders, and connect Tech Transfer Offices, Academia, and other vital institutions with scaling our business community. For me, DSIT never nailed it. DBT and Treasury send informed and influential individuals to our summits. They respond to emails, listen, and convene meaningful in-person and (even on weekends) meetings with those of us who want the UK to truly support entrepreneurs and founders developing revolutionary technologies that can change the world for the better. I have checked my inboxes and have not received a single email from a named contact at DSIT, despite repeated attempts to engage. Over the past decade and more, I have helped found five UK companies and raised approximately $117 million (£100 million), alongside a further $20 million (£23.9 million) in the last three years for founders supported through Venture.Community. I would reasonably expect to be within DSIT's field of awareness. My background includes building liquid-cooled GPU clusters for inference as early as 2013, contributing to the EU Exascale programme, and advising on cutting-edge tech. So when I say DSIT failed to engage, it's not for lack of trying. ### What This Means for the US Tech Community For US-based professionals eyeing the UK market, this shake-up matters. The UK has long been a gateway for European expansion, but its policy instability creates risks. The scrapping of DSIT could streamline support for startups, or it could leave a vacuum. The key takeaway? Watch DBT and Treasury – they're the ones actually talking to founders. - **Better engagement**: DBT and Treasury are more responsive than DSIT ever was. - **Policy clarity**: Merging departments might reduce red tape, but it's too early to tell. - **Funding reality**: UK R&D tax credits remain complex, especially for SMEs. ### The Bottom Line Can the UK's tech reset deliver real business outcomes? Maybe. But it'll require more than just renaming departments. It needs genuine dialogue with the people building the future. And for now, that dialogue is happening – just not through DSIT.