Tech City triples in size during its first year

David Cameron hails success of London's Silicon Valley...

Tech City - the East London-based hub for digital and media startups - has tripled in size, according to figures released by the government yesterday.

The number of businesses within Tech City has grown to 600 since November 2010, when Prime Minister David Cameron pledged government support to create a tech hub in the area.

The number of businesses in Tech City has grown to 600 since November 2010, according to governmentImage: TechCityMap.com

"One year ago we made a major commitment to helping the tech cluster in East London grow," Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement. "The successful growth we see today is thanks to the talented, creative entrepreneurs who have decided to set up there. As a government, we are determined to continue doing everything we can to help support and accelerate this growth.

"We have already taken action such as introducing the entrepreneurs visa and tax breaks like the Enterprise Investment Scheme. We are also looking at new ways we can protect intellectual property."

Developers at Tech City startups recently told silicon.com that most of the growth at the hub had been driven by the government labelling the area Tech City, rather than as a result of direct support from government.

When the initiative was launched last year, a number of major companies pledged support although not all of these projects have been completed yet, and competition for space in the area could now be pushing up rents.

The release of the figures showing Tech City's growth coincided with the launch of the Tech City Map, which has an interactive overlay showing all of the startups in the hub and the amount of chatter there is about each startup on social networks.