Ramesh Nair

Here are some UK VC Trends as We Enter H2 2025 🚀 👉1.2 trillion tech sector & #3 globally overall – UK remains a powerhouse with deep early-stage pipelines and thriving scale-ups. 👉VC up ~31% YoY (Jan–Apr), led by standout mega-rounds in AI, healthtech, biotech and deep tech. 👉UK AI startups raised $1.03 bn in Q1, the strongest Q1 in 3 years – but securing growth capital and talent remains a challenge. 👉Healthtech (/life sciences) took the lead with $1.8 bn in Q1 – more than fintech and software combined. 👉VC investment is becoming more focused: fewer but larger rounds into specialised verticals (AI, drug discovery, AI-infra). Why it matters: 👉Investors are favouring depth over spread – champions of specific verticals are winning funding . 👉UK’s mature ecosystem + policy reforms (e.g. pension and department-backed funds, NWF) offer momentum, but better exits and visa/tax clarity are still needed . 👉As someone in recruitment, I’m seeing strong demand for talent in AI, healthtech and deep tech—especially in roles requiring specialised expertise. Built-in Opportunity: Founders with technically rich propositions and evidence of focus continue to unlock deep pockets. The key for H2? Demonstrate real product-market fit in niche verticals—and the capital will follow. My Opinion: I believe the shift to quality over quantity in funding rounds is a healthy sign – it shows maturity in the UK ecosystem.🏅

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One month back at OpusRS – here’s what I’m seeing in the JavaScript contract market. It’s been great to get stuck back in, and I’ve already noticed some clear trends across the UK JavaScript contract space. 🏢 Hybrid working is shifting. Fully remote roles are becoming less common, with more contracts now asking for 2–3 days a week in the office. Collaboration and team presence are making a comeback. 💬 Contractors who know how to add value and communicate clearly with clients are being consistently extended. It’s not just about technical ability—commercial awareness and soft skills are making a real difference. 📉 Rates have taken a hit compared to a few years ago, but demand is still strong for those who can hit the ground running. ⚙️ Next.js is gaining serious traction. While React remains dominant with 39.5% of developers using it, Next.js is quickly rising with 17.9% adoption—thanks to its performance benefits and built-in features like server-side rendering and static site generation If you're a contractor looking for your next move, or a business needing top JavaScript talent, I’d love to connect. #JavaScript #NextJS #ReactJS #Contracting #TechRecruitment #OpusRS

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UK CTO Salaries - Not All Tech Scale-Up Sectors Pay the Same 🤔 If you’re a CTO (or aspiring) in a UK scale-up, your renumeration can look very different depending on the market you’re in 👇 Fintech 🏦 Often at the top of the pile – later-stage B2B fintech CTOs can be £180k–£250k+ base, with meaningful equity, especially where the product is deeply regulated / infra heavy. AI-Tech 🤖 Similar to – and sometimes above – fintech. Well-funded AI scale-ups routinely pitch £170k–£240k base plus high-beta equity, reflecting the current AI arms race. Health-Tech 🩺 Typically a notch below fintech/AI on cash, but stronger on mission + equity: think £140k–£190k base at Series A–C, with upside if you’re building regulated clinical or data platforms. Legal-Tech ⚖️ Smaller ecosystem but fierce competition for people who understand both law and product. Packages often land around £150k–£200k base in later-stage players, with equity doing a lot of the talking. Travel-Tech ✈️ Much wider spread. Early and mid-stage travel-tech scale-ups commonly sit closer to £150k–£180k base, with equity and perks used to close the gap vs fintech/AI. This is all based on SALARY and doesn't factor in wider-benefits (which also varies depending on sectors) or location / remote working but it's interesting the industry a Tech Scale-Up supports can impact salary! #CTO #UKTech #ScaleUps #Fintech #HealthTech #LegalTech #TravelTech #AI NearTech Search

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🚀 Why Your Advert Won’t Get You the Best AI | ML | Software Talent Our last four IC placements: • 3 x Lead / Senior AI / ML Engineers (defence-tech, bio-tech, digital health) • 1 x Senior Typescript SaaS Engineer (clean-tech) Not one of these candidates was applying on Seek or job boards. What I hear from them is consistent: 1️⃣ 'I didn’t have enough clarity on the problems I’d be solving, the roadmap, or the team - so I didn’t bother applying.' 2️⃣ 'You caught me before I started looking. I’m not actively searching, but I’d be interested in this specific opportunity…' 3️⃣ 'Between work and family commitments, I don’t have the time to go through job ads.' 4️⃣ 'You’ve been recommended - I’d rather just speak with you, and you can bring me relevant positions.' 5️⃣ 'I didn’t want to be one of 100 applicants and risk getting overlooked.' These are conversations I have every week with passive and ‘hidden’ talent. Yet on the other side, I still hear: • “Let’s just put an advert out on Seek - it’s always worked before.” • “We can save the agency fee if we advertise direct.” The challenge is that while adverts bring volume, you are missing out on your ideal profile match especially in the competitive landscape of AI / ML and deep-tech. Meanwhile… • Teams burn time screening unsuitable CVs = interview fatigue = compromise hires. • The best people are missed - because they never applied in the first place. An advert alone can’t compete with the reach of a specialist recruiter who speaks daily with AI / ML and software professionals - including those not visible on job boards. That’s why high-growth companies focus on value over short-term 'cost': ✅ Hire the best person faster ✅ Avoid wasted internal time ✅ Raise the bar with every hire ✅ Speed up team velocity & solve complex roadmap problems Every hire is an opportunity to raise the bar. The companies that embrace this mindset are the ones building stronger teams and moving faster.

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💻 JavaScript hiring – a bit of insight into some industry trends 💻 LinkedIn is feeling a lot busier with JavaScript roles at the moment which is great to see.   Echoing Ben Clarfelt's point in his previous post the LinkedIn apply system is not the best. A word of advice is to always follow up with the hiring or talent manager via a message expressing your interest. It really helps you to stand out from the crowd. Yesterday I took a look at 50 JavaScript roles to see if anything stood out and there’s several things worth highlighting: 📊 78% of JavaScript roles were working with TypeScript 💻 There were only two junior roles. We’re seeing an emphasis on mid and senior roles 🤖 A significant number of roles (46%) mentioning a want for experience with AI, or a willingness to integrate it into your workflow On the seniority point, are we seeing a shift away from junior roles because companies can now automate a lot of tasks with AI? Total breakdown of seniority was: ⭐10% Lead and Principal roles ⭐56% Senior roles ⭐30% Mid roles ⭐4% Junior roles This was only a sample of the latest 50 roles posted in the UK so not a thorough breakdown of the market. It’s interesting to see some pretty clear trends though.

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Wondering how to get your job application noticed in the crowded UK dev market? I've been chatting with a lot of software developers recently, some early in their careers, others with years of experience, and one thing keeps coming up: "How do I actually stand out?" The truth is, the UK dev job market is tough right now. But I’ve seen what works (and what doesn’t), and I wanted to share a few tips that have helped candidates land interviews, and offers. Here’s what I’d recommend if you’re applying right now: 1. Customise, customise, customise - I can’t stress this enough: tailor your CV and cover letter for every role. Show how your experience matches their needs. Make it super easy for someone to see why you're a great fit at a glance. 2. Build (and show) cool stuff - Your GitHub or personal site can speak louder than your CV. Share real projects, ideally something beyond a to-do list app. If you've used a company’s API or built something relevant to them? Shout about it! 3. Let your passion show - Make it clear what kind of work excites you, whether that’s fintech, AI, or clean architecture. Add a bit of personality to your LinkedIn or portfolio. It helps you connect with the right teams. 5. Network is your net-worth - Go to meet-ups, tech events, comment on posts, send friendly DMs. A lot of roles never get posted online. The more people who know what you’re looking for, the more chances you’ll get. 6. Stay sharp with in-demand skills - Keep an eye on what’s hot in the UK, Java, JavaScript, C#, and cloud stuff are still in demand. Even just having a recent course or project to show you’re staying current can help. 7. Don’t get discouraged - You’ll hear nothing back from some roles. That’s normal. If a job feels right but you haven’t heard back in a couple of weeks, follow up! It shows you're proactive, not pushy. 8. Make your online presence count - Your LinkedIn and GitHub should clearly show what you're about, your skills, interests, and what you’re aiming for. This is often the first thing someone sees before they even open your CV. - Final thought: If you’re applying right now, especially as a junior, just know it’s normal to feel stuck sometimes. The first job is often the hardest to get, but once you're in, everything gets easier. Keep going, keep building, keep learning. And if we’re connected, don’t hesitate to reach out. Always happy to offer a bit of advice or point you in the right direction. #SoftwareEngineering #TechCareers #UKJobs #DevCommunity #JobSearchTips #CareerAdvice #RecruiterLife #SoftwareDeveloper #HiringTechTalent

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