Silicon Valley comes to Daresbury
Five high-tech companies from Silicon Valley in the US visited Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus (Daresbury SIC) recently to explore collaborative and business opportunities with their UK counterparts on the Campus.
The event was part of a wider tour of innovation hot-spots in the North West of England and was co-ordinated by Gareth Lewis, California-based Vice President of the Bay Area Team of the North of England Inward Investment Agency.
Visiting Daresbury were: Equilibrium, a provider of software specialising in production and deployment of media assets; Visuvi, an advanced, visual-based search engine; HearPlanet, a mobile audio guide to the world; LinkedNow, a social networking platform that allows sharing reviews on past employers, and CrowdZone, a B2B mobile application platform.
The event follows a visit by Daresbury SIC business leaders to Silicon Valley earlier in the year.
John Leake, General Manager of Daresbury SIC said:
“We were delighted to host a visit of such an exciting group of companies from Silicon Valley, the birthplace of high-tech innovation. Building a strong relationship with communities such as Silicon Valley is an essential part of maximising international opportunities for Daresbury-based companies and hopefully provides equal value to our partners in the US”.
Gareth Lewis was very pleased with the visit and said:
“The North West of England is home to a host of innovative start-up companies that are synergistic to those in Silicon Valley. There were over 250 entrepreneurial companies that met with the ‘Geeks Going Global’ companies to forge partnerships and to expand in overseas markets.”
Steven Echtman, founder and CEO of HearPlanet said:
"The North of England region has a lot to offer early stage businesses. The personal and professional climate is very appealing. What is more, the entrepreneurial spirit of people in the region is exceptional. I'm impressed by the follow-up and follow through we've had. The talent, passion and economic incentives are very appealing and we are seriously considering ways to get involved in the region.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Daresbury Science & Innovation Campus
Daresbury Science & Innovation Campus is an internationally recognised location for high-tech businesses and leading-edge science and is now home to 90 high-tech businesses. It represents a fundamentally new approach to driving UK competitiveness in global science and innovation. Daresbury SIC was formed by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Science & Technology Facilities Council, Lancaster University, the University of Liverpool, the University of Manchester and Halton Borough Council.
For further information please visit www.daresburysic.co.uk
The Campus is now moving into its next exciting phase of delivering world class science and high-tech businesses. It is in the process of identifying a private sector partner to develop up to 1 million square feet of space for business, research and innovation, providing facilities management and other services to the Campus and realising commercial services and investment opportunities with the Campus companies. This will continue to bring together businesses, universities, research organisations and industrial partners with the business support and investor community, to create over 6,000 jobs.
The North of England Inward Investment Agency (NoE)
The North England Inward Investment Agency is a British Government-funded consultancy and UK-based inward investment agency whose role is to advise and assist North American companies considering UK/European expansion. NoE’s services are free and confidential and include the provision of information on a wide range of important issues such as: market feasibility studies, business plan support, site selection, potential procurement of financial assistance/public grants, taxation issues, work-force training and recruitment, supply chain opportunities, skills availability, labour costs and regulations, market data, links and collaborations with universities, introductions to key professional services and regulation advice. For more information, please visit www.northengland.com.
Gareth Lewis (VP Business Development Bay Area): gareth.lewis@northengland.com / Tel: 949 903 8772
For further information please contact:
Jane Smith
Smith & Smith PR
T: 0161 236 5560
jane@smithandsmithpr.co.uk