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Cambridge secures £50M of innovation funding
Cambridge has long been a hotspot for innovative thinking (that was a Fenland apple that landed n Newton’s head) and was one of the first locations to realise the commercial potential of great ideas. Whether you are a fan of Mike Lynch and Autonomy or not, there’s no denying that Silicon Fen has produced some of the UK’s best growth stories. And as we know, innovation never goes out of fashion. ARM Holdings, another Cambridge success story, has products in iPhone, Chromebooks, smart TV’s and even Tesla electric cars.
What gives Cambridge it’s advantages? There’s no denying that it’s the talent coming out of the university that drives the thinking but there are also other factors. Frankly, there’s not much else to do around Cambridge, so there’s little competition in the vicinity. Transport links are OK – an hour to London – and it’s an attractive (if flat) place to live. However, Cambridge has created an ecosystem that works. The Cambridge Science Park is a great incubator – it’s been there since 1970. There are many well known sector names now on board. And all this means that there’s a profile that makes raising capital that much easier http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e67075c-30f6-11e3-b478-00144feab7de.html#axzz2j0shfJIA .
But the interesting thing is that it’s taken all this time to get the funding properly put in place. Who knows how much could have been achieved had all the ingredients been there in the first place.