Asitha Rodrigo

Brilliant to host a roundtable this week with the British Business Bank and some of the UK’s most exciting scaleups to discuss the future of growth capital in the UK. We heard encouraging plans from the BBB - more freedom to invest, take risks, write bigger cheques, and in some cases, be the first to invest. Importantly, the BBB came to listen and our founders delivered a clear, timely message ahead of this year’s Budget. Risk appetite in the UK remains a defining challenge, but significant opportunities lie ahead, and progress has been made over the last few years. Founders highlighted critical barriers across deeptech, infrastructure, procurement, and the government's industrial strategy. Some of the key themes raised: ▶️ Unlocking public sector contracts to avoid the “feast & famine” cycle must be a greater priority. ▶️ Rethinking how the UK invests in deeptech & infrastructure and sees beyond B2B SaaS opportunities. ▶️ Broadening our definition of “innovation” to back bold ideas, not just tick boxes for grant providers. ▶️ Driving corporate & CVC risk appetite to better link blue-chip companies and founders. ▶️ Aligning procurement with investment to back UK companies - US companies are selected too frequently, buy British. ▶️ Exploring the role of secondaries to accelerate growth. Thank you to Louis Taylor CBE, Kristen McLeod CBE, Stephen Welton CBE and Leandros Kalisperas from the British Business Bank and to all the founders and investors who shared their perspectives so candidly - it’s clear that if we get this right, the UK has a generational opportunity to lead.

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I believe the UK has a real opportunity to lead a new, ethical model for growth with digital labour. In a recent piece for The Guardian, I shared my thoughts on how people and agentic AI can work together. Our goal is to augment human capabilities, not replace humans. We’re achieving this by automating routine tasks and freeing up teams to concentrate on strategic, high-impact work. We're already seeing the results firsthand. Our AI agents have now handled over 1 million customer conversations, showing how digital labour can alleviate routine queries and let our teams focus on the complex challenges that drive real value. I hope you'll read the full article to explore how we can build a more dynamic, hybrid workforce for the future: https://lnkd.in/eVDB_sYt

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The numbers tell a story, and it's not a pretty one for Rachel Reeves. UK 30-year gilt yields have hit 5.69% - the highest they've been since May 1998. That's a 27-year high. For those wondering what this actually means: gilt yields are the amount the UK govt is having to offer to borrow money. And the 30-year gilt is basically a 30-year loan so the principal is repayable in 30 years' time with interest in the meantime. Think of it like this: if you had a poor credit score, lenders would demand higher interest rates from you. The same logic applies to countries. The markets are essentially saying: "UK, we're not entirely confident in your future financial position." With the autumn budget looming, this adds serious pressure to the Chancellor's plans. Higher borrowing costs mean either less money for public services or higher taxes to balance the books. And it gets more interesting: because inflation is also going up whilst interest rates are going down (normally these would move in the same direction). What are the root causes of all this? Persistent inflation and rising public debt have spooked investors. They're demanding higher returns to compensate for what they see as increased risk. But the Bank of England is conscious that keeping interest rates where they are or raising them will weaken an already weak economy. For investors, this creates an interesting dynamic. Higher yields mean better returns on government debt - but only if you believe the UK can actually service these obligations long-term. It's a reminder that in finance, as in life, confidence is everything. And right now, the markets aren't feeling particularly confident about Britain's fiscal trajectory. The question for Reeves: how do you restore that confidence without choking off economic growth? That's the £1 trillion question. #UKEconomy #Gilts #PublicFinances #Investment

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NVIDIA just put £2bn behind the UK’s AI startup engine and quietly turned GTM into a business model. This UK push from the AI 🤖 chipmaker follows a proven playbook - invest in the ecosystem most likely to standardize on your stack, and in doing so you manufacture future demand What’s happening! 🥸 Nvidia is making a major push into the UK AI scene with a £2 billion investment aimed at accelerating innovation among startups across the country. The newly launched “Nvidia AI Foundry” program will provide funding, early access to the company’s most advanced GPUs, cloud computing credits, and technical support to about two dozen promising startups working in sectors ranging from healthcare and finance to retail and defence These will be co-investment with some of the best known UK/Europe VCs including the likes of: Accel, Balderton, Air Street, Hoxton Ventures, Phoenix Court Who’s in scope (for upcoming rounds) 🫣 • Synthesia • Oxa • Wayve • PolyAI • Basecamp Research • Latent Labs • Revolut Why this is clever 🧐 💡 Demand engineered at term sheet by funding companies that will default to NVIDIA compute, software, and tooling. You’re not just writing cheques - you’re creating customers (the likes of Microsoft, Intel and even Visa have been doing this for decades) 💡 Distributed R&D through access to dozens of founder teams which become an external ideas lab 💡 Category beachheads through diversity in the investments - AV, gen-video, enterprise voice… and now AI native financial services too. The Revolut angle 🤓 One fintech on a list of AI pure-plays is both interesting and arguably intentional. If NVIDIA can make Revolut the reference design for AI-infused financial services, the playbook sells to banks, PSPs, payfacs, and wallets everywhere —————— Net-net 😇 This isn’t philanthropy; it’s a smart move which has a track record of success. It’s vertical integration without owning the vertical: invest → standardize on the stack → scale through customers https://lnkd.in/dKqvfaKb

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"How much do Non-Executive Directors actually get paid in SMEs?" A question I’m asked at least once a week. And while it’s tempting to say “it depends,” I’ve pulled together the most up-to-date research from across the UK market (as of mid-2025) to give a proper answer. So, if you’re joining a UK-based SME as a Non-Executive Director, you’ll typically earn between £15,000 and £40,000 per year. Of course, that varies significantly depending on size, sector, and responsibilities. Here’s a breakdown: Private SMEs (non-regulated) Typical base fee: £15,000 to £35,000 Add another £5k to £10k if you're chairing a committee. It's unusual an SME would have sub-committees. NOTE: Early-stage or founder-led SMEs may offer lower cash but include equity or options to align interests. 🧮 Larger private / AIM-listed SMEs Base fee: £30,000 to £60,000 Add-ons for committee roles or Chair duties Total income: £50,000+ is not unusual if the business is growing and complex 💳 Regulated SMEs (e.g. financial services, fintech) Base NED fee: £50,000 to £80,000 is typical. SID / Committee Chair / Risk Oversight roles: £80,000 to £100,000+ (Source: Sayer Haworth’s 2025 report) 📈 Real job market data? Glassdoor reports the average UK NED salary at: 👉 £81,243/year With the 25th percentile sitting around £58,000. That said, the lower end (e.g. £10k to £25k) is still common for SMEs, especially when time commitment is light or it's a non-remunerated "value-add" seat (common in early-stage or exit-focused businesses). So… what impacts NED pay? ✅ Company size and complexity ✅ Sector (regulation = more money) ✅ Time commitment (meetings, prep, stakeholder calls) ✅ Committee or SID roles ✅ Your experience (especially digital, ESG, M&A, or sector-specific insight) ✅ Whether you’re bringing cash or connections (some roles expect ‘skin in the game’) If you're building a portfolio career, or considering your first NED seat, this gives you a realistic view of what to expect. It’s not all about the money either - the right NED role gives you: - Access to founders/investors - Exposure to new sectors - Board-level governance experience - Optionality to invest or exit with the company If you’d like to see live examples or benchmark your own non-exec aspirations, I’m happy to share what we’re seeing across the Virtualnonexecs platform. 👉 Over 50,000 boardrooms 👉 27,000+ NEDs and Chairs 👉 Dozens of new board opportunities each week - many off-market. Happy to chat. If you are thinking of adding a non-exec to your board: https://lnkd.in/de69SinR #nonexecutive #NED #boardcareers #portfolio #privateequity #SMEboards #investingdirectors #leadership #virtualnonexecs #NEDremuneration #boardroles

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At Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), we help transform Oxford’s world-leading science into companies with the ambition and potential to solve the world’s biggest challenges. But true global impact and scale requires access to the world's most important markets. We see it as part of OSE's role to help open up those markets for our companies early on. How? We’re building strategic international partnerships that open doors and accelerate new market entry for Oxford’s breakthrough innovations. Our ambition is to create a global network of "launchpads" to help connect Oxford’s high-growth companies with the local innovation networks, customers, partners and capital that they need to expand commercially beyond the UK.   This year, we took two important steps in that journey: in the United States and Japan. 🌏 ➡️ Earlier this year, we joined forces with leading US healthcare provider Cedars-Sinai to bring leading-edge UK health tech innovation to the all-important US market. Together, we aim to co-build and co-invest in new ventures emerging from Oxford with the potential to transform patient care, accelerating their entry and growth in the US. Our first joint investment was in Neu Health – a University of Oxford spinout developing a smartphone-based neurology care platform for Parkinson’s and dementia patients. With Cedars-Sinai’s clinical expertise and US commercial insights, Neu Health is now piloting its technology in Los Angeles, accelerating its journey to impact patients on both sides of the Atlantic.   ➡️ This month, as part of our international acceleration strategy, we’re delighted to also be partnering with Scrum Ventures and Tokyu Land Corporation to join the Sakura Deeptech Shibuya Accelerator in Tokyo. This collaboration gives our deep tech start-ups direct access to Japan’s thriving innovation and investor networks, plus workspace, mentorship, and connections to leading Japanese partners. For our portfolio, it’s a fast-track route into one of the most advanced technology markets in the world. Our ambition with these partnerships is to create a two-way street of opportunity: alongside opening pathways for our companies to commercialise globally, we also want to draw international partners and investors from those markets back into Oxford’s rapidly expanding innovation ecosystem – sparking new international collaborations and driving growth. Learn more about our Japan partnership here: https://lnkd.in/eK_9vu3U   #OxfordInnovation #GlobalLaunchpads #DeepTech #HealthTech #GlobalPartnerships #ScalingScience #BillionDollarScience

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