New technologies to gain funding boost over next five years
Nascent technologies such as quantum computing, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) are set to receive significant attention from British businesses over the next five years, new research has found.
The amount of firms set to invest in quantum computing is to nearly triple from 11 per cent today to 32 per cent in five years, according to a survey by the CBI and Accenture.
Quantum computing will provide the ability to conduct calculations at a speed that currently would take a supercomputer thousands of years to crack.
However the technology remains in its infancy. Tech giant Google claimed it had achieved quantum supremacy over rivals last month, though IBM among others later cast doubt on that assertion.
Read more: Google’s quantum supremacy claim does not compute, rivals say
Quantum computing has also been a major focus for the UK government, which pledged to invest £153m in the technology in June this year.
Meanwhile the number of business respondents initiating investments in blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies will double from 16 per cent to 35 per cent, the survey said. A third (32 per cent) of respondents are also set to begin investing in AI.
More than 40 per cent of businesses said they are supportive of the current regulatory environment around new technologies. However just over half added that they were concerned about the UK’s ongoing political instability stifling innovation and undermining investment decisions.
“If firms are to continue developing the technology behind quantum computing, robotics and AI in the UK — ending political instability will go a long way to unlocking investment,” said Felicity Burch, the CBI’s director of digital and innovation.
Read more: German and British scaleups go head-to-head in tech funding wars
The survey said businesses were also more concerned about building trust with the public and its employees over data usage. More than three-fifths of respondents had invested privacy and security in the last year, while two-fifths had taken action to boost diversity internally on teams developing technology.
“As data is collected and applied through AI, the need to eliminate bias and bring diversity of thought in is critical,” said Zahra Bahrololoumi, senior managing director and lead for Accenture’s UK and Ireland tech team.
“If businesses overlook their important role in addressing this then we’ll fail to create the best possible outcome for society.”
Image credit: Getty