51³Ô¹ÏÍø

It is time to "forget the start-up garage myth" and look to "superclusters" like London, two 51³Ô¹ÏÍø scholars write for the World Economic Forum.

David Gann, Vice President (Innovation), and Mark Dodgson, a visiting professor at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø College Business School, In fact, “It is clusters that bring together start-ups, established corporates, specialist and aligned businesses, and, very importantly, research-intensive universities.”

“Time and again it is access to the brains, equipment and collaborative environment of research universities that spurs on great innovations and high-growth companies. This is seen in most of the high-growth vibrant technology clusters around the world,” they .

London supercluster

This effect “is especially apparent in London. Such is the intensity of , that London can more fairly be described as a ‘supercluster’, or cluster of clusters. These intense concentrations of innovation in and around universities are forging ahead in artificial intelligence, fintech, medtech, life sciences, design and fashion. Whatever the consequences for Britain post-Brexit, London is likely to continue to be a magnet for entrepreneurs.” 

Professors Gann and Dodgson draw attention to London’s artificial intelligence cluster: “In AI, bright young entrepreneurs such as Rob Bishop and Zehan Wang, who met as students at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, found the community, mentorship and resources that connect academia and business. Their machine learning visual processing firm . Bishop and Wang plan to stay in London to help develop Twitter’s global AI R&D centre. Their success came soon after .” 

University incubators, like that which 51³Ô¹ÏÍø is planning to expand in White City, are increasingly crucial to clusters. They write that: “Universities, historically the quiet heart of clusters, are playing a more active and assertive role. Harvard’s innovation lab has helped more than 75 companies get off the ground since 2011. 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Incubator has seen scores of spin-outs connected to 51³Ô¹ÏÍø College agglomerate and grow on campus. In less than a decade – from the basement rather than a garage of an academic building – 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Incubator firms have attracted more than $1 billion in investment.”

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