NMI relaunch develops UK deep tech community

Techworks’ focus is to build a better and stronger tech ecosystem in the UK, helping to connect brilliant ideas with partnerships and investments that accelerate speed and enhance routes to market and profitability.

TechWorks will develop as an umbrella over self-directing bodies with specific segment focus, building on the successful example of the IoT Security Foundation (IoTSF) and Automotive Electronic Systems Innovation Network (AESIN) as well as the long-standing NMI Design and Manufacturing communities.

Key to TechWorks is a board consisting of some of the most successful technology business leaders in the UK.

Chair: Sir Hossein Yassaie
Chief Executive: Dr Derek Boyd 

Board members:

• Hermann Hauser – Amadeus Capital
• Simon Segars – ARM
• Tim Luke – Barclays Capital
• Stan Boland – Five.AI
• Mike Risman – Vitruvian Partners
• Luke Ibbetson – Vodafone Group R&D

Sir Hossein Yassaie, Chairman, TechWorks, said: “With Brexit looming we must promote the needs of the UK technology community or face a ‘Techxit’ that hampers our ability to start and scale business and retain our important position as a strong node in the global tech eco-system. The UK does incredibly well at producing new and inspirational technology that changes the world but could do much better at building companies of scale and larger economic benefit. TechWorks as an organisation is single-mindedly focused on this challenge.”

Through its role in the ESCO Report, NMI enabled a dialogue with government that informed notable decisions such as the safeguarding of key R&D funding. Alongside ElecTech, a new organisation formed from the partners behind the ESCO report, TechWorks will ensure government is aware of the priorities of a vibrant industry sector.

Stan Boland, CEO, Five.AI, said: “This re-launch under the new TechWorks brand has fundamental reasons. The nature of collaboration now extends beyond all traditional industry silos as technology transforms every segment. Our strategy to develop a series of ‘Connected Communities’ has been developing great resonance with industry and membership of the organisation has grown rapidly as a result. The time has come to respond to that change with a new structure and more aggressive strategy.”

TechWorks claims that it will continue to provide the best-practice and peer-group sharing NMI has always been recognised for whilst extending the scope of the organisation to take into account that everything is now becoming smart and connected.

Two of the key ‘Connected Communities’ under the Techworks umbrella will now be NMI Electronic Systems Design and NMI Electronic Systems Manufacturing. Additionally, Techworks will also now include Automotive Electronic Systems Innovation Network (AESIN), IoT Security Foundation (IoTSF) and Power ElectronicsUK with further communities to develop in such areas as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

TechWorks will launch building on the more than 300 NMI member companies and leading academic institutions.