The U.K. is becoming a great place to start a tech firm. The country is quickly catching up to China on the tech investment front, with VC investments reaching a record of $15 billion in 2020, according to TechNation. A global health crisis notwithstanding, London remained a favorite for investors. U.K. cities comprised a fifth of the top 20 European cities, with Oxford, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Cambridge rising to the fore in 2020.
Bristol proved especially popular among tech investors last year — local businesses raked in an impressive $414 million in 2020, making it the third-largest U.K. city for tech investment. The city also has the most fintech startups per head in the U.K. outside London, according to Whitecap’s 2019-2020 Ecosystem Report.
Efforts by the city’s private and public sectors to modernize it have helped it rank among the top smart cities in the U.K., attracting a bevy of tech entrepreneurs. Its proximity to London has made it a good alternative for founders looking for a more affordable stay while letting them tap the capital’s financial resources. The University of Bristol also has the most significant robotics department in Europe.
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Bristol is also home to a vital startup accelerator, SETsquared. A collaborative effort by 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, entrepreneur Harry Destecroix, and TechSPARK Engine Shed.
Bristol’s key emerging startups include Graphcore, Open Bionics, Ultraleap, Immersive Labs, and Five AI. To better understand the state of the tech ecosystem and the investor outlook for this city, we surveyed founders, leaders, and executives involved in nurturing Bristol’s startup ecosystem.
The survey revealed the city has a robust renewable, zero-carbon, and fintech startup landscape. Robotics, VR, bio, quantum, digital and deep tech also show promise. As for the investing scene, although Bristol has a healthy angel network, the city lacks institutional VC, but with London, only a drive or train ride away, this has not proved a significant problem.
We surveyed:
- Coralie Hassanaly, innovation consultant, DRIAD
- Pete Read, CEO and founder of Persona Education
- Kiran Krishnamurthy, CEO, AI Labs
- Simon Hall, Director of Airway Medical
- Ben Miles, CEO, Spin Up Science
- Rupert Baines, ex-CEO, UltraSoC
- Mathieu Johnsson, CEO, and co-founder, Marble
- Chris Erven, CEO, KETS Quantum Security
Coralie Hassanaly, innovation consultant, DRIAD
Which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited about? What does it lack? Bristol is substantial in renewable and zero-carbon innovation, fintech, and robotics. It’s weak in Industry 4.0.
Which are the most exciting startups in Bristol? Graphcore, LettUs Grow, Open Bionics, Ultraleap, and YellowDog. What are the tech investors like in Bristol? What’s their focus? A lot of emphasis on fintech, I think. With the shift to remote working, do you think people will stay in Bristol, or will they move out? Will others move in? Bristol is an excellent middle-ground between a sizeable dynamic city (plus it’s not far from London) and access to a nice countryside area. We can expect remote working to attract new residents in the next few years.
Who are the critical startup people in the city (e.g., investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Aimee Skinner, Abigail Frear, and Stuart Harrison. Where will the city’s tech scene be in five years? A second major city in U.K. innovation.
Pete Read, CEO and founder of Persona Education
Which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem robust in? What does it lack? What are you most excited about? Bristol is substantial in media/animation, edtech, social impact, health, and science. It’s weaker in hardware and fintech. I’m most excited by edtech and the possibility to reach and positively impact millions of students via online learning.
Which are the most exciting startups in Bristol? Karim, Persona Education, and One Big Circle. What are the tech investors like in Bristol? What’s their focus? Several very active tech investment networks are coming from several angles, e.g., university-led, groups of private angels, and tech incubators. The great thing is they all collaborate and share resources, ideas, and expertise in initiatives such as The Engine Shed and Silicon Gorge.
As Bristol has a lavish urban lifestyle, easy access to the countryside and Southwest/Wales holiday spots, and an international airport 20 minutes from the center, more people are moving in. With the shift to remote working, do you think people will stay in Bristol, or will they move out? Will others move in?
Who are the critical startup people in the city (e.g., investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Jerry Barnes at Bristol PE Club; Abby Frear at TechSPARK; Briony Phillips at Rocketmakers; Jack Jordan-Connelly at SETsquared.
Where will the city’s tech scene be in five years? It’s developing rapidly with lots of support, so it will be bigger, attracting more investment and more on the international stage five years from now.
Kiran Krishnamurthy, CEO, AI Labs
Which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem robust in? What does it lack? What are you most excited about? Our tech ecosystem is rich in the aerospace and defense sector. We are excited by the scope and scale of digital transformation opportunities with AI available in this sector. This sector’s main weakness is the slow transformation pace, especially now due to the pandemic.
Which are the most exciting startups in Bristol? Graphcore and YellowDog. What are the tech investors like in Bristol? What’s their focus? Compared to the U.K. tech sector average, Bristol has a deficient proportion of established companies (4% versus 8%), a higher ratio of seed-stage companies (42% versus 37%), and a higher death rate (21% versus 17%). It’s a particularly young ecosystem.
With the shift to remote working, do you think people will stay in Bristol, or will they move out? Will others move in? People moving out of London may come to Bristol due to the city’s transport links, robust ecosystem, and beautiful nature. Where will the city’s tech scene be in five years? I wouldn’t be surprised if Bristol turns out to be the San Francisco of Europe!
Simon Hall, Director of Airway Medical
Which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem robust in? What does it lack? Bristol is substantial in the Medtech, veterinary, and industrial sectors. With the shift to remote working, do you think people will stay in Bristol, or will they move out? Will others move in? Others have moved in. Who are the critical startup people in the city (e.g., investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? SETsquared. Where will the city’s tech scene be in five years? We will see massive growth in five years.
Ben Miles, CEO, Spin Up Science
Which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem robust in? What does it lack? What are you most excited about? Our sector is weak in entrepreneurial ambition among researchers and suffers from low deep tech spinout activity rates from leading universities. We are most excited by the step-change in action in the past two years and the culture shifts towards innovation.
Which are the most exciting startups in Bristol? Rosa Biotech, Albotherm, and CytoSeek. What are the tech investors like in Bristol? What’s their focus? Medium strength in shallow tech; currently weak in deep tech. With the shift to remote working, do you think people will stay in Bristol, or will they move out? Will others move in? People are moving in.
Who are the critical startup people in the city (e.g., investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Spin Up Science; Science Creates, and Science Angel Syndicate. Where will the city’s tech scene be in five years? Very strong in deep tech with an invested local community of entrepreneurs, incubators, and investors.
Rupert Baines, ex-CEO, UltraSoC
Which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited about? What does it lack? Bristol is substantial in wireless (5G, 60 GHz, etc.), semiconductors (especially processors, AI/ML, and parallel architectures), robotics, and other hard tech/deep tech.
Which are the most exciting startups in Bristol? Graphcore, Ultraleap, Blu Wireless, and Five AI. What are the tech investors like in Bristol? What’s their focus? It’s limited. There are some angels but few locally focused funds.
With the shift to remote working, do you think people will stay in Bristol, or will they move out? Will others move in? Much the same: People choose to live in Bristol/Bath for quality of life. Much of the work is already external — commuting to London.
Who are the critical startup people in the city (e.g., investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Nigel Toon, Simon Knowles, Stan Boland, David May, and Nick Sturge. Where will the city’s tech scene be in five years? Much more robust, with more processor and hardware activity.
Mathieu Johnsson, CEO, and co-founder, Marble
Which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem robust in? What does it lack? What are you most excited about? Bristol has a full robotics, aerospace, and renewables scene. I’m most excited to see how the legacy in aerospace in Bristol will translate to future industry-defining companies. The ecosystem is weak on the investor side, though London VCs are less than a two-hour train journey away.
Which are the most exciting startups in Bristol? Graphcore, Ultraleap, and Open Bionics. With the shift to remote working, do you think people will stay in Bristol, or will they move out? Will others move in? I believe Bristol will become more attractive. Who are the critical startup people in the city (e.g., investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? Tom Carter at Ultraleap and Joel Gibbard at Open Bionics. Where will the city’s tech scene be in five years? Getting closer to London and Cambridge.
Chris Erven, CEO, KETS Quantum Security
Which sectors is Bristol’s tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited about? What does it lack? Bristol has strong biotech, quantum, digital, science-based/deep tech ecosystem. I’m excited by this eclectic city with exciting people that think differently. Which are the most exciting startups in Bristol? Any QTEC, SETsquared, or UnitDX members and alums.
What are the tech investors like in Bristol? What’s their focus? Very early/nascent, primarily angels. With the shift to remote working, do you think people will stay in Bristol, or will they move out? Will others move in? Probably move in! Beautiful green spaces around, lots of interesting, independent shops. And (just about) commutable from London.
Who are the critical startup people in the city (e.g., investors, founders, lawyers, designers)? The incubators are QTEC, QTIC, SETsquared, UnitDX; Bristol Private Equity Club; Harry Destecroix. Where will the city’s tech scene be in five years? Buzzing. More great startups and VCs are moving in.