The founder and chief executive of a British artificial intelligence (AI) unicorn has urged the government to prioritise innovation in this week’s Budget, warning against policies that could hinder growth for UK tech firms.
“I will be watching with huge focus when the Budget is delivered,” Vishal Marria told City AM, adding that “we must be competitive, so let’s ensure we do not shoot an own goal and we continue to stay focused on what’s really important for Britain, and that is the ability to grow our country.”
Marria wants to see a focus on innovation, which would allow UK businesses to scale and to stay competitive both domestically as well as internationally.
He added that concerns over a Budget rumoured to include measures that might stifle growth, such as capital gains tax (CGT) and national insurance hikes, would harm businesses like his.
“Until it’s out, it’s just a rumour… but what we can’t do is get ourselves into a situation where we are stifling growth and we are stifling innovation, which is a key component to growth,” he warned.
“This is going to be very, very concerning to many tech entrepreneurs like myself and others here in the UK who have built businesses both domestic as well as international like Quantexa.”
Marria, whose company hit unicorn status in April 2023 after closing a $129m (£99.5m) series E funding round at a valuation of $1.8bn (£1.4bn), added that some UK tech firms are raising capital early in anticipation of Budget changes.
“I have heard of other businesses doing certain things such as trying to raise capital in advance of the Budget. We’re not looking at a quick deal before the Budget, though,” he added.
Quantexa hits ‘Centaur’ status
Quantexa, which uses AI to help financial firms manage risk by analysing data, employs over 800 staff and serves more than 17,000 users worldwide.
The company has hit “centaur” status, it revealed today, surpassing $100m (£77m) in annual recurring revenue (ARR), a milestone considered seven times rarer than becoming a unicorn.
“As a UK-founded business, we strive to remain at the forefront of tech innovation, penetrating new markets and industries,” said Marria, who added that Quantexa’s growth has been “on an unprecedented scale.” The firm recently signed deals with US software giants Microsoft and Databricks. and has expanded to 16 offices globally this year.
“Our focus now is getting from $100m to $250m as soon as we can,” he said, highlighting the rising demand for AI solutions across the enterprise. “We are seeing organisations turn to AI to enable multiple use cases… without a trusted data foundation, it is not possible to operationalise AI and get the desired benefits.”