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Oxford
Oxford has witnessed incredible digital success in recent years with Natural Motion Games, Dark Blue Labs and Vision Factory acquired by Zynga and Google respectively. World-leading academic institutions in the area provide tech startups with exceptional talent and there are now nearly 22,000 people in digital employment in the area and 79% report good access to social networks.
Established digital sectors which are established in the Oxford cluster are Big Data and Cyber Security, although in recent years there has been an increasing presence of EdTech and HealthTech companies. Instrumental to the rise in the level of technical variation are the support organisations which have sprung up in the city, such as Digital Health Oxford and Digital Oxford.
The student community is also a core driving force behind the innovation which is taking place and Oxford Entrepreneurs, a student society based in Saïd Business School, claims to be the largest student entrepreneur society in the world. Also housed in the department was Venturefest‘s 2014 innovation conference, to be housed there again this year, bringing together high tech businesses from across the UK.
In addition to world-leading universities, local academic centres of excellence include three science parks, the University of Oxford’s e-Research Centre, the long established Computer Science Department, and the Isis Innovation software incubator.
Dave Fletcher, Chair of Digital Oxford, commented: “There are lots of startups across all sectors in Oxford, and an increasingly vibrant community – though it is not always easy to see from the outside.”
Support:
- Science Vale UK Enterprise Zone, one of the most well-regarded science park complexes in the UK
- Harwell Oxford – known for its work with the European Space Agency
- Culham Science Centre, owned by the UK Atomic Energy Authority, specialises in cutting-edge nuclear fusion research and plays host to a number of commercial technology organisations alongside smaller start-ups hosted in its Innovation Centre
- Oxford Science Park the site aims to become a “centre of excellence” for science, technology and business occupiers
- Isis Software Incubator, supports nascent ventures in the development of products or services through its facility in Summertown
- Oxford Startups – meetup with over 500 Oxford entrepreneurs and people interested in the startup scene in Oxford
Funding:
- ‘Innovation Support Vouchers’ organised by the Oxfordshire LEP. Allows small and medium-sized enterprises to claim 50% (up to a maximum of £5,000 per voucher) of the cost of business training, mentoring, or access to specialised facilities which will drive the creation of jobs
- Fredericks Foundation a charity that offers business advice and loans to startups struggling to raise the finance they need elsewhere
- Oxford Early Investments provides backing of between £25,000 and £250,000 to innovative early-stage companies through its network of investors
- Isis Angels Network – organisation which backs early stage companies. Eligibility is restricted to startups that have started life as a spin-out from the University of Oxford
- Oxford Investment Opportunity Network typically invests larger amounts of between £200,000 and £2m through its network
OmPrompt provides Customer Automation Management (CAM) services to many of the world’s largest manufacturers through its intelligent cloud.
Solid State Logic designs, manufactures and supplies analogue and digital sound mixing consoles for recording studios, live music and theatre, TV broadcast and film & television post-production.
Incuna is a digital agency in the healthcare sector, delivering web and mobile apps for pharmaceutical companies, global health projects and the NHS.
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