From medicine to gaming, here’s why London is attracting tech talent from across the continent | CBC News

London is among North America’s top emerging tech markets, according to a report compiled from Statistics Canada data by commercial real estate company, CBRE.

Their 2024 ranking of up-and-coming tech markets across the continent placed London at the number four spot, up from eighth place in 2023, and 10th in 2022.

“It came as no surprise to me, and I’m sure it came as no surprise to a lot of the tech companies in our community,” said Christina Fox, the CEO of TechAlliance, which promotes and supports tech companies in the region to foster growth in the sector.

The ranking took a number of factors, like total employment, employment growth, wages and education into account. It defined tech jobs as those in software development and programming, computer support, databases and digital systems, engineering and IT.

Between 2018 and 2023, London’s tech employment jumped 88.5 per cent — the highest on the list — with a total of 16,400 tech jobs in the city in 2023 and an average tech sector salary of almost $91,000, or $66,873 US dollars.

According to Fox, London’s rise as an emerging tech hub is the result of perfect conditions for growth, and a concerted effort to capitalize on those conditions.

“When we landed on [the ranking] in spot number 10, we don’t think it was by accident. The rise since then is a result of taking a shot at the moon to be among the top. London has what it takes to be in that top spot,” she said, adding that technology leaders, educators and politicians played a role in those efforts.

London shares many traits with some of the world’s top tech markets, according to Fox. Between its relative affordability, educated and diverse population, positioning near major cities and rapid growth rate, it’s an ideal candidate, she said.

For companies like game development studio Big Blue Bubble, the benefits of the city are clear.

The company, which employs over 70 people and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is best known for its hit mobile game series My Singing Monsters, the flagship game of which has been downloaded over 150 million times.

“The company started in London, and over the years it’s been an excellent spot for scouting and working with new talent,” said David Fardell, the company’s marketing director.

According to Fardell, much of the company’s talent comes from Western University and Fanshawe College, which isn’t unusual for London’s well-respected and ever-growing video game industry.

Fardell also said the studio’s location has been a benefit to employees as well.

“Downtown London is an interesting place to be through most of the year, with a ton of festivals going on all the time. It’s a great place for folks in the studio to just go out and enjoy the city during lunchtime,” he said.

While long-running tech companies like Big Blue Bubble choose to stay because of what the city has to offer, some choose to start in London for many of the same reasons.

The city’s strong healthcare sector, multiple hospitals and post-secondary schools are driving medical tech startups like Vessl Prosthetics to call London home.

Vessl is working to solve the problem of prosthetics that don’t fit properly — which can lead to blisters, infections and worse — by creating an automatically adjusting socket that changes based on fluctuations in a limb’s size. 

The company’s small but mighty team of three has been officially operating since 2022 from a space inside Western University’s Robarts Research Institute.

Being surrounded by other medical tech companies, London’s growing prominence in the tech sector is no surprise, said Sydney Robinson, Vessl’s CEO and co-founder. 

“There are a lot of really great resources from an academic and innovation standpoint, incredible schools, three huge hospitals, and then being on the 401 and so close to places like Toronto makes a lot of sense.”

Making it last

To keep the momentum and promise of London’s growing tech sector going, politicians at every level of government will likely play a role, according to Fox.

“It’s important to amplify companies and demonstrate to folks making politicians how much of an impact the tech market has here,” she said.

Fox said it’s important, from a policy perspective, to make decisions that allow companies to create jobs and grow revenue in the city.

With London’s swift rise in prominence, it’s likely the city is on the radar for those in the tech sector, Fox said.

“When London lands on this kind of a list, it sends a signal to government and to CEOs that we’ve got a lot of activity happening here and we’re looking to do more.”