New Reading Tech Cluster aims to connect tech ecosystem and attract investment

A new cluster has been launched in a bid to bring the interconnectedness that Silicon Valley is renowned for into the Reading area.

The not-for-profit Reading Tech Cluster officially launched this month and aims to stimulate innovation, develop skills and attract investment through connecting multinationals, SMEs, educational institutes, investment houses and professional services firms.

The cluster has established a steering group of 15 with a wider stakeholder group of 50 people.

Current members of the steering committee include representatives from Thames Valley Society of Chartered Accountants (TVSCA), EY, Henley Business School, Henley Business Angels, Cybex Ventures, University of Reading, Berkshire Prosperity Board, Berkshire LEP, Mentor UK, Activate Learning Education Trust and business consultants Transaharan.

Cluster founders say that funding will be provided by membership subscriptions, events and grant funding.

Reading Tech Cluster steering group member Michael Cooper said: "If you look around the UK, virtually every other region has got a tech cluster off the ground.

"Reading has been left behind a bit while others have been motoring ahead. Reading is the second biggest tech cluster outside London in terms of the number of enterprises but it doesn't get that recognition.

"There is a feeling that Reading needs to punch above its weight a bit more."

CLUSTER AIMS

The cluster aims to connect Reading’s tech and digital sectors, increase productivity per capita and strengthen links between business and the wider community.

Cluster members say they want to attract investment in tech and digital businesses from investors and be an inlet for government policy discussions.

Fellow steering group member Dr Keith Arundale of Henley Business School said: "The ultimate objective is to increase activity per capita and strengthen the business community for the benefit of the wider Reading area.

"We want to build interconnectedness through events, physical meetups, research publications and lobbying of government.

"We also want to help large corporates such as Microsoft and Oracle talk to SMEs and vice versa and bring them together as they do in Silicon Valley."

Jurek Sikorski, Founder of Henley Business Angels and steering group member, echoed the importance of increasing productivity through collaboration and stressed the importance of soft skills in the tech economy.

He said: "The aim is to connect the different business communities in the Thames Valley in a way that we can improve productivity.

"It is about stimulating innovation and aligning with the government in development of skills both technical and soft skills.

"Soft skills are vital in this economy particularly teamwork and sales and these are areas that we hope the cluster will deliver on."

The idea for the cluster originated from TVSCA members who were inspired by a research paper produced by Dr Keith Arundale on why the UK and Europe was lacking behind the United States when it came to venture capital investment.

The cluster follows on from the now defunct Thames Valley Forum of which several of the steering group members contributed to.

This year, the TVSCA, represented by Michael Cooper (Past President), Biyi Oloko (President) and Dr Keith Arundale, have held meetings with the British Business Bank, Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce and the University of Reading about supporting the cluster.

A stakeholder meeting was held in April this year and was attended by over 50 attendees.

Dr Keith Arundale's book published in 2020 entitled 'Venture Capital Performance – A comparative study of investment practices in Europe and the USA' detailed the reasons behind the disparity in investment.

During his research, Keith interviewed 100 venture capitalists and other stakeholders in the UK, Europe and the US including 13 venture capital firms in Silicon Valley.

Keith said: "Venture Capital Funds were performing, on average, negatively compared to the US. This raised the question of why this was happening? What was the UK and Europe not doing that the US is?

"When I went to Silicon Valley, I was really struck by how interconnected all the Venture Capitalists were not only with each other but also with the big tech companies and the universities.

"They talk to each other all the time and meet up all the time. There's a restaurant in Silicon Valley called Buck's Restaurant, which is the key place for venture capitalists and tech entrepreneurs to meet.”

This interconnectedness is something that Keith believes Reading is in much need of.

He said: "We don't have this interconnectedness operating in the Reading area.

"We have all the ingredients that you need for a hot tech centre with the university, professional advisors, venture capitalists, big tech companies and lots of SMEs as we saw at The Thames Valley Tech Awards.

"We also don't have a location in Reading where people can meet up on a regular basis like Buck's Restaurant."

The success of other clusters around the UK is a driver for steering committee members.

Cambridge& was launched as a not-for-profit company in 2020 with support from the University of Cambridge and a range of stakeholders, to promote sustainable growth in the Greater Cambridge area.

The UK Tech Cluster Group UK Tech Cluster Group also brings together a number of organisations focusing on geographical clusters of technology and digital businesses outside of London across the UK including Manchester Digital, TechWM and Sheffield Digital.

The Reading Tech Cluster is interested in hearing from people and companies that want to help shape the initiative.

For more information email [email protected] .