A new £15 million venture capital fund to support and encourage technology start-ups throughout Greater London has been launched.
The London Technology Fund (LTF), supported by the London Development Agency (LDA) and the European Regional Development Fund, aims to foment successful business from the Capital's wealth of research.
Recent research by the LDA showed a gap in funding for high technology startups due to venture capitalists' reservations about the risks and uncertainties inherent in such investments compared to other projects.
London deputy mayor Nicky Gavron said she hopes the LTF will resolve this market failure and draw matching financing from other investors who see the potential in the city's universities and research institutes.
"London has a huge wealth of talent and pool of technical innovators," said Gavron. "But these innovators need support to get their ideas off the ground and developed to the point where they can access existing finance.
"This is exactly what the London Technology Fund is going to do. The result will make London's economy more innovative, leading to stronger growth and more jobs."
The LTF will complement a network of support programmes for technology entrepreneurs in the Capital established by the mayor's office to help new technology firms become 'investment ready'.
It will be managed by Company Guides Venture Partners.