Tech evangelist: Stephen Kelly, Tech Nation chairperson

Tech Nation chairperson Stephen Kelly sees the maturity of Singapore and South-east Asian markets as a big draw for UK tech founders amid what he says could be a golden era for technology in both regions.

Claudia Chong

Published Sat, Oct 2, 2021 · 05:50 AM

Raffles Conversation

WHEN it comes to truly global, high-growth companies, the United States has its FANGAM (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google owner Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft) lineup, and China has BAT (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent). So what does the United Kingdom have to offer?

"Yeah, I think that story is yet to be written," Stephen Kelly, chairperson of UK scale-up platform Tech Nation, tells The Business Times.

For years, the UK's tech hub has struggled to step out of Silicon Valley's shadow. Founders and investors watched as companies such as Tesla and Stripe rode a meteoric rise to hit billions of dollars in valuation. The combined market capitalisation of the FANGAM stocks is now 3.5 times the UK's 2020 gross domestic product.