Celebrating Imperial’s role in UK’s thriving innovation ecosystem

Image credit: Bay Area Council

Leaders from the UK and US came together to discuss collaboration and investment on both sides of the Atlantic.

As part of the latest programme of events involving the Imperial Global USA hub in San Francisco, Vice-President for Strategic Engagement and Communications Amanda Wolthuizen appeared on a panel hosted by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute to discuss the UK’s leadership as a destination for venture capital and start-up investment in Europe.

Ms Wolthuizen was joined by UK Government Minister for Investment Baroness Poppy Gustafsson, Alice Bentinck, CEO and Co-Founder of Entrepreneurs First, Stephen Ozoigbo, Head of Government Partnerships at Arm, Vibhor Gupta, Co-Founder of Pangaea Data and Brennan O’Donnell, Partner of Frontline Ventures, to discuss opportunities for the UK and Bay Area innovation ecosystems to collaborate more closely.

"WestTech London will become a global powerhouse for convergence science, innovation and entrepreneurship. Through our San Francisco hub, we will create lasting links and brand new opportunities for collaboration with the world-leading Bay Area innovation ecosystem." Amanda Wolthuizen Vice-President (Strategic Engagement and Communications)

The panel event marked the publication of the Institute's latest report Technology and Innovation in the UK: Why the United Kingdom is Europe's Leading Center for Venture and Startup Investment.

The report provides an in-depth analysis of the UK's leadership in producing start-up and scaleup companies across Europe and explores the origins of investment in the UK by Bay Area and Silicon Valley technology firms.

In a post by UK Business and Trade - North America, Minister Gustafsson said "The UK is unashamedly pro-innovation and pro-business, home to the most tech start-ups and unicorns in Europe, with London as the leading hub for venture investment and the top destination for tech entrepreneurs."

During the panel discussion, Ms Wolthuizen outlined the ambitions for Imperial Global USA to act as a transatlantic bridge between the WestTech London and Bay Area innovation ecosystems.

With seven key thematic focus areas for research collaborations through the hub, Imperial’s researchers can drive partnerships across the US at the cutting-edge of convergence science.

Imperial's innovation ecosystem

The UK received over double the amount of investment capital than Germany or France in 2023, with London attracting more investment than Paris, Berlin and Stockholm combined.

With the Bay Area Council report finding that 64% of investment into UK startups came from overseas in the last decade, and the US accounting for 26% of the total investment, the opportunities to connect Imperial founders to investors through programmes like Enterprise Lab’s Venture Treks can open up great possibilities for investment and business growth.

Imperial startups and Venture Trek participants OSSTEC and Notpla have recently carried out successful funding rounds with investment from the US, creating opportunities for business expansion.

Building on success

The establishment of the San Francisco hub will continue to build on the significant impacts of partnerships between Imperial and US-based organisations.

As part of the new $150m Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials led by Imperial, UC Berkeley are supporting research that will develop new and sustainable means of sourcing, processing and recycling materials.

Established by a $30m grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Proteins will lead the alternative protein revolution, utilising advanced science and technology to enhance the sustainability, health, equity, and resilience of global food systems.

The hub has also supported new landmark partnerships with the Children's Hospital of Orange County advancing AI in paediatric care and Agilent Technologies to harness analytical technologies across life sciences, chemistry and advanced manufacturing with Imperial research.

Through Imperial's Institute for Deep Tech Entrepreneurship, work has already begun with US universities to explore entrepreneurial systems within deep technology sectors.