Milton Keynes has a strong heritage in computing as it is home to world's first computer in Bletchley Park!

Milton Keynes has a productive, innovative economy with one of the highest start-up rates in the UK and is home to many large established businesses. The city has a thriving digital and tech community, which has a significant role within the Milton Keynes economy.

Innovation advances further in 2018, as Starship launched its emission-free delivery robots which has expanded ever since, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic as many vulnerable members of the community relied on the robots to deliver necessities throughout the multiple lockdowns. The city became home to the world’s largest fleet of autonomous delivery robots. In 2019, we hosted the first European Robotics League Smart City Robotic Challenge in Centre:MK.

The MK AI Report identifies Milton Keynes as a UK leader in artificial intelligence and outlines the city’s investment in educating the next generation of talent through MK College’s Institute of Technology and the plans for MK:U.

The recent MK Tech Ecosystem report highlights that Milton Keynes has a strong and thriving tech sector that demonstrates pockets of exciting innovation. Milton Keynes has an estimated tech workforce of 45k, 2,400 tech related enterprises and a tech GVA valued at £3.4bn for 2022. This is higher than some of the UK’s largest cities such as Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester which have an estimated tech GVA of £2.8bn, £2.3bn and £3.3bn respectively.

Stadium MK was selected as part of a £28million UK-Wide 5G Development trial, which looks at how 5G connectivity can boost business efficiency and visitor experience. The trials will include using driverless shuttles and road vehicles to move people and goods across the site, autonomous surveillance vehicles and drones for enhancing security, and testing robots and drones for goods delivery and hospitality use.

Don't just take our word for it

"The grid system and modern transport infrastructure alongside MK Council’s support for innovation have played an important part in the trial of robotics, autonomous vehicles and last-mile transit solutions across the city.” Simon Wright, Co-founder, Protospace

“Having a tech focused incubator or accelerator may convince investors to come to Milton Keynes because there’s already a flow of potential companies to invest in.” Alex Weedon, Executive Director of SME Development, CP Catapult

"We are investing £150m in our state-of-the-art new campus in Milton Keynes, which will become our new headquarters. Milton Keynes is one of the UK’s leading technology centres and with a number of innovative education and training providers on our doorstep, we believe it will provide us with excellent future access to talent and opportunities for colleagues and the wider community to innovate and develop their skills" Matt Hutnell, Director, Santander Universities