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The UK is gaining popularity as a great place to start a tech company. The country is fast catching up with China on the technology investment front, with VC investments reaching a record $ 15 billion in 2020, according to TechNation. Despite a global health crisis, London remained an investor favorite. UK cities made up a fifth of the top 20 European cities, with names such as Oxford, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cambridge rising to prominence in 2020.
Bristol proved particularly popular with technology investors last year as local businesses grossed a whopping $ 414 million in 2020, making it the UK’s third largest city for technology investment. The city also has the largest number of fintech startups per capita in the UK outside of London, according to Whitecaps 2019-2020 Ecosystem Report.
Efforts by the city’s public and private sectors to modernize the city have helped it rank among the UK’s top smart cities, attracting a bevy of tech entrepreneurs. Its proximity to London meant it was a good alternative for founders looking for a more affordable stay while still allowing them to tap into the capital’s financial resources. The University of Bristol also has the largest robotics department in Europe.
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Bristol is also home to a major startup accelerator, SETsquared. A collaborative effort of the five universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey, the accelerator has supported over 4,000 entrepreneurs and helped their startups raise a total of 1.8 billion. Other startup support players include the new Science Creates VC fund, set up by entrepreneur Harry Destecroix, and TechSPARK Engine Shed.
Bristol’s top emerging startups include Graphcore, Open Bionics, Ultraleap, Immersive Labs, and Five AI.
To get a better idea of the state of the tech ecosystem and investor prospects for this city, we interviewed founders, leaders and executives involved in nurturing Bristol’s startup ecosystem.
The survey revealed that the city has a solid landscape of renewable, zero-carbon and fintech startups. Robotics, virtual reality, bio, quantum, digital and deep tech are also promising areas. As for the investment scene, although Bristol has a healthy network of angels, the city lacks institutional VC, but with London just a car or train ride away, this hasn’t proved to be a significant problem.
We interviewed:
Coralie Hassanaly, innovation consultant, DRIAD Pete Read, CEO and founder, Persona Education Kiran Krishnamurthy, CEO, AI Labs Simon Hall, director, Airway Medical Ben Miles, CEO, Spin Up Science Rupert Baines, former CEO, UltraSoC Mathieu Johnsson , CEO and Co-Founder, Marble Chris Erven, CEO, KETS Quantum Security Coralie Hassanaly, Innovation Consultant, DRIAD
In which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem strong? What are you most excited about? What are you missing? Bristol is strong in renewable, zero-carbon innovation, fintech and robotics. It is weak in industry 4.0.
Which are Bristol’s hottest startups? Graphcore, LettUs Grow, Open Bionics, Ultraleap and YellowDog.
How are tech investors in Bristol? What is their goal? A lot of focus on fintech, I think.
With the move to remote work, do you think people will stay in Bristol or leave? Will others move out? Bristol is a great middle ground between a large, dynamic city (plus it’s not far from London) and access to a beautiful countryside area. With remote working we can expect it to attract new residents in the coming years.
Who are the key people for startups in the city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Aimee Skinner, Abigail Frear and Stuart Harrison.
Where do you think the tech scene in the city will be in five years? The second largest city for innovation in the UK.
Pete Read, CEO and founder, Persona Education
In which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem strong? What are you most excited about? What is missing? Bristol is strong in media / animation, edtech, social impact, health and science. I am very excited about edtech and the ability to reach and positively impact millions of students through online learning. It is weaker in hardware and fintech.
What are the hottest startups in Bristol? Kaedim, Persona Education and One Big Circle.
How are tech investors in Bristol? What is their goal? There are several very active technology investment networks from different angles, for example, university-led groups, private angels, and technology incubators. The great thing is that everyone collaborates and shares resources, ideas and skills in initiatives like The Engine Shed and Silicon Gorge.
With the move to remote work, do you think people will stay in Bristol or leave? Will others move out? More and more people are relocating, as Bristol has a great urban lifestyle with easy access to the countryside and holiday resorts of South West / Wales and an international airport 20 minutes from the center.
Who are the key people for startups in the city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Jerry Barnes at the Bristol PE Club; Abby Frear at TechSPARK; Briony Phillips at Rocketmakers; Jack Jordan-Connelly at SETsquared.
Where do you think the tech scene in the city will be in five years? It is developing rapidly with a lot of support, so it will be bigger, attract more investment and certainly more on the international stage in five years.
Kiran Krishnamurthy, CEO, AI Labs
In which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem strong? What are you most excited about? What is missing? Our technology ecosystem is strong in the aerospace and defense industry. We are excited about the scale and breadth of AI digital transformation opportunities available in this industry. The main weakness in this sector is the slow pace of transformation, especially now due to the pandemic.
Which are the most interesting startups in Bristol? Graphcore and YellowDog.
How are tech investors in Bristol? What is their goal? Compared to the UK tech sector average, Bristol has a very low percentage of established companies (4% vs 8%), a higher proportion of start-up companies (42% vs 37%) and a higher death rate. high (21% vs 17%). It is a particularly young ecosystem.
With the move to remote work, do you think people will stay in Bristol or leave? Will others move out? It is possible for people moving from London to arrive in Bristol due to the transport links, strong ecosystem and beautiful nature of the city.
Where do you think the tech scene in the city will be in five years? I wouldn’t be surprised if Bristol turns out to be the San Francisco of Europe!
Simon Hall, director, Airway Medical
In which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem strong? What is missing? Bristol is strong in the medical, veterinary, industrial sectors.
With the move to remote work, do you think people will stay in Bristol or leave? Will others move out? Others have moved.
Who are the key people for startups in the city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? SETsquared.
Where do you think the tech scene in the city will be in five years? We will see tremendous growth in five years.
Ben Miles, CEO, Spin Up Science
In which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem strong? What are you most excited about? What is missing? Our industry is weak in entrepreneurial ambition among researchers, and therefore suffers from low rates of deep technology-derived activity from major universities. We are very excited about the step change in business we have seen over the past two years and the cultural shift towards innovation.
Which are the most interesting startups in Bristol? Rosa Biotech, Albotherm and CytoSeek.
How are tech investors in Bristol? What is their goal? Medium strength in surface technology; currently weak in deep technology.
With the move to remote work, do you think people will stay in Bristol or leave? Will others move out? People will move.
Who are the key people for startups in the city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Spin Up Science, Science Creates and Science Angel Syndicate.
Where do you think the tech scene in the city will be in five years? Very strong in deep tech with a local community invested with entrepreneurs, incubators and investors.
Rupert Baines, former CEO, UltraSoC
In which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem strong? What are you most excited about? What is missing? Bristol is strong in wireless (5G, 60GHz, etc.), Semiconductors (especially processors, AI / ML and parallel architectures), robotics and other hard / deep tech.
Which are Bristol’s most interesting startups? Graphcore, Ultraleap, Blu Wireless and Five AI.
How are tech investors in Bristol? What is their goal? It is limited. There are some angels, but few locally focused funds.
With the move to remote work, do you think people will stay in Bristol or leave? Will others move out? Much the same: people choose to live in Bristol / Bath for the quality of life. Much of the work is already for external commuting to London.
Who are the key people for startups in the city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Nigel Toon, Simon Knowles, Stan Boland, David May and Nick Sturge.
Where do you think the tech scene in the city will be in five years? Much stronger, with more processors and hardware activity.
Mathieu Johnsson, CEO and co-founder, Marble
In which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem strong? What are you most excited about? What’s missing? Bristol has a strong robotics, aerospace and renewable energy scene. I am very excited to see how Bristol’s aerospace legacy will translate into the future companies that define the industry. The ecosystem is weak on the investor side, although London’s VCs are less than two hours away by train.
Which are Bristol’s most interesting startups? Graphcore, Ultraleap and Open Bionics.
With the move to remote work, do you think people will stay in Bristol or leave? Will others move out? I believe Bristol will become more attractive.
Who are the key people for startups in the city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Tom Carter of Ultraleap and Joel Gibbard of Open Bionics.
Where do you think the tech scene in the city will be in five years? Approaching London and Cambridge.
Chris Erven, CEO, KETS Quantum Security
In which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem strong? What are you most excited about? What is missing? Bristol has a strong biotech, quantum, digital, deep science / technology based ecosystem. I am thrilled with this eclectic city with exciting people who think differently.
Which are the most interesting startups in Bristol? Any member and alumni QTEC, SETsquared or UnitDX.
How are tech investors in Bristol? What is their goal? Very early / nascent, mostly angels.
With the move to remote work, do you think people will stay in Bristol or leave? Will others move out? They will probably move! Beautiful green spaces around, many interesting and independent shops. And (almost) switchable from London.
Who are the key people for startups in the city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? The QTEC, QTIC, SETsquared and UnitDX incubators; Bristol Private Equity Club; Harry Decroix.
Where do you think the tech scene in the city will be in five years? Other large startups and VCs are moving.
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