Barclays Eagle Labs awarded £13m grant

Barclays Eagle Labs has been awarded a £13 million funding package by the UK government to boost innovation for small and scaling tech businesses.

Strengthening regional tech industries could grow the UK’s digital sector by more than £41 billion by 2025 and create 678,000 jobs, according to the government.

The funding will enable Eagle Labs to launch new programmes to grow tech businesses as well as increase access to Eagle Labs’ existing services. Barclays said that it will also double the number of mentoring sessions offered to tech firms to 1,500 a year.

Paul Scully, minister for tech and the digital economy, said the funding is aimed at unlocking the potential of the next generation of start-ups and scale-ups in “all corners of the country”.

Scully said: “Barclays Eagle Labs are digital industry experts and will help tens of thousands of tech firms and founders to achieve their dreams and create jobs and economic growth.”

Barclays Eagle Labs beat out competition from other grant applicants including the government’s own body Tech Nation, which it founded almost a decade ago.

An independent panel assessing applications concluded Eagle Labs was uniquely positioned to deliver targeted support across the country, thereby raising doubts about Tech Nation’s future.

Tech Nation’s chief executive Gerard Grech told City A.M. the body is “pursuing various routes and evaluating the options available to us”, while the body said in a separate statement that it has been working “around the clock” to secure its future as it tries to fill the shortfall in its funding.

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


Data trust in the AI era: Building customer confidence through responsible banking
In the second episode of FStech’s three-part video podcast series sponsored by HCLTech, Sudip Lahiri, Executive Vice President & Head of Financial Services for Europe & UKI at HCLTech examines the critical relationship between data trust, transparency, and responsible AI implementation in financial services.

Banking's GenAI evolution: Beyond the hype, building the future
In the first episode of a three-part video podcast series sponsored by HCLTech, Sudip Lahiri, Executive Vice President & Head of Financial Services for Europe & UKI at HCLTech explores how financial institutions can navigate the transformative potential of Generative AI while building lasting foundations for innovation.

Beyond compliance: Building unshakeable operational resilience in financial services
In today's rapidly evolving financial landscape, operational resilience has become a critical focus for institutions worldwide. As regulatory requirements grow more complex and cyber threats, particularly ransomware, become increasingly sophisticated, financial services providers must adapt and strengthen their defences. The intersection of compliance, technology, and security presents both challenges and opportunities.

Unleashing generative AI: A force multiplier for financial crime teams
This FStech webinar, sponsored by NICE Actimize sees industry experts examine the revolutionary impact of generative AI on financial crime operations, and provides actionable insights to enhance your compliance strategies.