British tech wins the backing of Microsoft and Japan’s SoftBank

Tech giants Microsoft and Softbank have thrown their weight behind London to continue thriving as a technology hub despite the vote to leave the EU.

“I believe London is undervalued in the tech space in the world,” said Rajeev Misra, chief executive of SoftBank’s Vision Fund.

The fund has raised $93 billion (£73 billion) from backers including Apple, Qualcomm and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth arm.

“London is still a city with global connectivity, where in 10 hours you can be on a flight and be anywhere,” he said at the Founders Forum. “The fact that the head office of the Vision Fund, the largest tech fund, is in London speaks volumes about it,” Misra added.

The UK boss of Microsoft also backed the capital, saying the US behemoth would continue to invest in the UK.

Cindy Rose said the company, which paid $250 million for London artificial intelligence start-up SwiftKey last year, would back the UK as a global tech hub.

“Microsoft’s been in the UK for over 30 years now. We’ve made very significant investments in the UK,” she said.

“I can only see our commitment to the UK growing in the years to come.”