A Silicon Valley for Europe (really?)
The Chancellor’s plans for economic growth announced on 29 January are to be welcomed. It is good news for the Oxford – Cambridge Arc, and Manchester too. But let’s not forget that there are many other tech hotspots around the country in need of financing and government support, including Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Wrexham and ourselves here in Reading.
We should not be seeking to recreate Silicon Valley, USA with “Europe’s Silicon Valley” as per the Government’s headline. There is only one Silicon Valley, it is unique. Indeed academics have concluded that it is difficult to replicate the unique culture and ecosystem of Silicon Valley elsewhere (Isenberg, 2010). Rosenberg (2002, p7) states that “No country can provide its technology sector with the same big, wealthy and unitary domestic market for technology as America. No society can perfectly mimic the interpersonal relations, the attitudes towards work, enterprise and innovation, or the exact mix or scale of talent that exists in California. Even the most enthusiastic technophile governments haven’t put into place laws, regulations or a tax regime that allows for a wholesale copying of Silicon Valley practice”.
In my own research into VC investment practices in UK, Europe and USA (Arundale, 2020) UK VCs that I interviewed commented: “The investments, the CEOs and their teams are just surrounded by a phenomenal ecosystem (in Silicon Valley). The connections are just phenomenal: connected advisers, connected partners. The Valley is just unique” and “The raw calibre, plenty of IQ, plenty of great engineers, great ideas, all of that is just as good (in Europe), it’s just that it’s so distributed that you don’t get the cluster effect, that you get in the Valley.” Perhaps this is why technology clusters in UK have largely dropped their Silicon nick names; we don’t often hear of Silicon Roundabout (City of London), Silicon Fen (Cambridge), Silicon Spires (Oxford), Silicon Corridor (Thames Valley) or Cwm Silicon (Newport) any more.
Here in Reading we have all the ingredients for a successful tech ecosystem with the University of Reading and Henley Business School providing research, innovation and talented graduates, a pool of tech talent from big tech companies, networking events, tech meetups, incubators, easy access to investors with local VC firms and Henley Business Angels, professional service firms and business networks and excellent transport links : rail and road connections to London and Heathrow. Perhaps this is why Reading is home to the UK’s largest cluster of digital businesses outside London, it hosts 20% of the South of England’s top 100 privately owned independent tech companies, ranked by turnover and is cited as one of the best locations for AI businesses, in fact No3 after Cambridge and Bristol.
We have recently formed the Reading Tech Cluster – connecting Thames Valley Berkshire. Our aim is to better connect the tech and digital sectors in Reading and the surrounding area to increase productivity per capita and strengthen business and social communities. We want to attract investment in local tech and digital businesses from investors globally and the public sector. Our mission is to facilitate any connection, at any time, which a tech start up or scale up in Berkshire may need. We will measure our success in terms of the number of VC deals made, the number of spinouts created and the number of unicorns headquartered in Berkshire.
Who knows in due course there may well be collaboration opportunities with the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. Reading and Oxford – Cambridge are natural complements, with our shared focus on innovation, talent development and investment opportunities. By connecting our strengths, we can create a unified, globally competitive ecosystem that attracts investment, drives business growth, and accelerates technological innovation.
Article in Reading Chronicle on 5 Feb 2025:
Dr Keith Arundale
Co-Founder, Reading Tech Cluster
Senior Visiting Fellow, Henley Business School, University of Reading
