The UK government announced on July 10, that it had secured an agreement from nine UK pension funds to invest at least 5% of their default funds into the nation’s startups and fast-growing companies by 2030 — a move hailed by VCs as an important step towards mobilizing more capital for homegrown innovation.

The move could unlock up to £50bn in assets from private DC pension schemes by 2030 if all such schemes in the UK committed to the agreement, according to the government.

The agreement will “unlock capital from the private sector delivering growth not by subsidy, but by increasing support for entrepreneurs and investors who take risks to create long-term value,” Hunt said, reiterating the government’s desire to turn the UK into “the world’s next Silicon Valley and a science superpower”.  In total, Hunt’s reforms could unlock an additional £75bn to be invested into fast-growing companies in the UK by 2030.