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With more than 8,000 technology-led companies based in the Thames Valley, it is no surprise that some have called it the UK’s Silicon Valley. The region contributes roughly £10 billion to the British tech economy, which is valued to be at £161 billion.
Ahead of The Business Magazine’s Thames Valley Tech Awards, we have brought together 7 software-based innovative computer companies from the region. From games developers to AI, the companies listed here either have a track record of innovative tech, or are currently developing the next-generation of software.
Samuel Peers, business development manager at Blake Morgan, who are sponsoring the innovative tech company category at the awards, commented: "The innovations being thought up, developed and commercialised in the Thames Valley continues to astound us at Blake Morgan.
"The area is already firmly on the map for our innovative life science, health technology, and fintech sectors – it's great to see so many interesting software based companies – from global software powerhouses like Microsoft, to the amazing protection SafetoNet are providing to young internet users and the breadth of gaming developers going from strength to strength."
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Dubbed ‘the Spotify of travel’ by the Wall Street Journal, Oxford-based Bimble is an app which helps users find and save places they want to visit, as well as making recommendations to others. The app aims to give its users the insider guide to the places they travel to, finding the hidden gems ignored by the multitude.
Since launching in 2021, Bimble has documented more than 41,000 spots in more than 350,000 locations, from bookshops to bakeries, across the UK and the rest of the world.
Caversham-based SafeToNet is an app that uses AI to detect and filter predatory risks in real time as children use the internet.
Whereas most parental control-style software focuses purely on blocking malicious content based on blacklisting, SafeToNet’s software provides digital wellbeing audio guides to help children deal with issues when a risk is detected.
The app also includes an intelligent safeguarding keyboard which can detect signs of anxiety, stress, dark thoughts and bullying, changing colour and sending a friendly alert when a risk is detected. It also filters out harmful messages, preventing sexting, bullying and abuse.
In 2017, they were named the Best British Mobile Start Up: Tech startup SafeToNet crowned the best in Britain
Founded in 1992 by brothers Jason and Chris Kingsley, Oxford-based games publishers and developers Rebellion have more than 60 games in their portfolio to date.
Debuting with Eye of the Storm in 1993, Rebellion have gone on to gain attention for their work on titles such as the Alien vs Predator series and Star Wars Battlefront, as well as their proprietary IPs Sniper Elite and Evil Genius.
In 2018 they branched out into TV and Film, opening their own studios in Didcot. They also have their hat in the publishing ring, owning 2000AD and Solaris Books under the Rebellion Publishing sister company. In 2020 they launched Rebellion Unplugged, their tabletop gaming division.
In February, Rebellion brought the former offices of the Oxford Mail: Oxford gaming firm Rebellion buys newspaper office
University of Oxford spinout Brainomix develops AI-powered imaging biomarkers and software solutions to aid medical professionals in making better life-saving decisions.
Specialising in strokes, interstitial lung disease and cancer, the firm is in a partnership with pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim to develop AI software for the automated assessment of solid tumour cancer.
Active in more than 30 countries worldwide, the company claim their technology is used every five minutes, providing results to patients in less than a minute.
In 2014, they were recipients of the University of Oxford's Isis fund: University of Oxford Isis Fund makes first investments
Guildford-based Supermassive Games are best known for their 2015 horror hit Until Dawn, but the firm also worked on the Little Nightmares and LittleBigPlanet series.
Founded in 2008 by Peter and Joe Samuels Their games often use branching narratives to give multiple possible endings to their games, a feature of their most recent project The Quarry.
Their next game, The Devil In Me, the last instalment in season one of their Dark Pictures Anthology, is due out in Autumn of this year. Each iteration of the ongoing series is intended to represent a different sub-genre of horror.
The business was also recently acquired by Danish game investors Nordisk: Guildford’s Supermassive Games acquired by Nordisk
One of the biggest tech companies in the world, Microsoft’s UK headquarters is based in Reading’s Thames Valley Business Park, home to many of the region’s innovative tech companies.
Microsoft’s yearly Global Hackathon encourages its employees worldwide to pursue their ideas or try to solve a problem. The event is successful enough to draw in other firms, who send representatives to join the Hackathon.
Among the company’s recent innovations is Project AirSim, which was launched at the Farnborough International Air Show. The platform was designed to safely build, train and test autonomous aircraft through high-fidelity simulation. The software can simulate millions of flights in seconds, stress-testing in a safe environment.
The company is also a major player in Cybersecurity, and frequently recognises innovation in the sector through its Advanced Specialisations award: Cobweb Solutions gains Microsoft cybersecurity specialisation
Guildford's Criterion Software is best known for the Need for Speed racing games. Founded in 1993 by Adam Billyard, they became part of industry giant Electronic Arts (who base a number of their business groups in Guildford) in 2004.
Originally founded by Since 1996's Scorched Planet, Criterion have developed or worked on the Burnout, Battlefront and Battlefield IPs. EA has confirmed that Criterion are working alongside Codemasters on a new Need for Speed game set to be released in Q3 of FY23.
Read more - Innovating cyber security companies to watch in the Thames Valley
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