The UK government is to spend up to £14.5m to develop a new cybersecurity innovation centre in London.
According to a statement, the investment will be made over the next three years in an attempt to bolster the country’s defences and “help make the UK the best place to start and grow a digital business and the safest place to be online”.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has also launched a competition to develop and design the new centre.
Minister for digital Matt Hancock said: “London is one of the world’s most important tech sectors, with a record £5.6bn investment in the industry in the past six months and a new tech firm formed every hour in the capital.
“Our investment in a new cyber innovation centre will not only cement the city’s position as a world leader but also boost the whole country by giving UK firms access to the latest cyber technology and allowing startups to get the support they need to develop.”
The centre, due to open in early 2018, will seek to bring together large firms, startups and industry experts to develop the new technologies businesses will need to protect themselves against external online threats.
Startups will also be given access to expert technical mentoring, business support and advice to help them scale in their early stages.
London is already home to the headquarters of the newly created National Cyber Security Centre – a part of GCHQ – which opened earlier this year.