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{{Short description|Name given to hi-tech businesses in Cambridge, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Use British English|date=June 2013}} {{refimprove|date=April 2023}} [[File:Cambridge Science Park Napp.jpg|thumb|[[Cambridge Science Park]]]] [[File:Cambridge Business Park CSR.jpg|thumb|[[Cambridge Business Park]]]] [[File:St Johns Innovation Centre.jpg|thumb|[[St John's Innovation Centre]] ]] [[File:Cambridge_ARM_building_panorama.jpg|thumb|Peterhouse Technology Park ]] [[File:Melbourn Science Park - geograph.org.uk - 200041.jpg|thumb|[[Melbourn Science Park]] ]] [[File:The Welding Institute at Granta Park near Cambridge UK.JPG|thumb|[[Granta Park]] ]] [[File:Cambourne_Business_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1458105.jpg|thumb|[[Cambourne|Cambourne Business Park]] ]] '''Silicon Fen''' or the '''Cambridge Cluster''' is a collective name given to [[high tech]] businesses focused on [[software]], [[electronics]], and [[biotechnology]], including [[Arm (company)|Arm]] and [[AstraZeneca]], in and around the city of [[Cambridge]] in England. The name ''Silicon Fen'' originated as an analogy with [[Silicon Valley]] in [[California]] because Cambridge lies at the southern tip of [[the Fens]]. The local growth in technology companies started with [[Sinclair Research]] and [[Acorn Computers]].<ref name="zdnet cambridge">{{cite news | url=http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/it-strategy/1998/12/01/us-report-old-cambridge-targets-high-tech-success-2070082/ | title=US Report: Old Cambridge targets high-tech success | work=[[ZDNet]] | date=1 December 1998 | access-date=15 December 2011 | author=Jones, Kevin | quote=The focus on technology in the so-called Silicon Fen started two decades ago with [[Acorn Computers|Acorn Computer]] PLC, which became the U.K.'s leading personal computer maker until the advent of Windows. The Fen also spawned a couple of successes, such as Advanced RISC Machines Ltd., a virtual chip designer; Cambridge Display Technologies Ltd., a monitor maker [...]}}</ref> ==Business growth== More than 1,000 high-technology companies established offices in the area during the five years preceding 1998.<ref name="nytimes Ibrahim 1998">{{cite news | url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/010498cambridge.html | title=In Old England a Silicon Fen: Cambridge as a High-Tech Outpost | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=4 January 1998 | access-date=13 June 2012 | author=Ibrahim, Youseff M.}}</ref> Some early successful businesses were [[Advanced RISC Machines]] and [[Cambridge Display Technology]].<ref name="zdnet cambridge" /> In 2004, 24% of all UK [[venture capital]], representing 8% of all venture capital in the [[European Union]], was received by Silicon Fen companies, according to the Cambridge Cluster Report 2004 produced by Library House and [[Grant Thornton]]. The so-called Cambridge phenomenon, which gave rise to start-up companies in a town that previously had only light industry in the [[electrical engineering|electrical sector]], is usually dated to the founding of the [[Cambridge Science Park]] in 1970 as an initiative of [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]] at the [[University of Cambridge]]. The characteristic of Cambridge is small companies in sectors such as [[computer-aided design]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}} They are spread over an area defined by the CB [[postcode]] or 01223 [[telephone]] [[area code]], or more generously in an area bounded by [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]], [[Newmarket, Suffolk|Newmarket]], [[Saffron Walden]], [[Royston, Hertfordshire|Royston]], and [[Huntingdon]]. In 2000, then [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] [[Gordon Brown]] set up a research partnership between [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] and Cambridge University, the [[Cambridge–MIT Institute]], in order to increase international collaboration between the two universities and strengthen the economic success of Silicon Fen. In February 2006, [[Cambridge Judge Business School]] reported estimates that there were approximately 250 active start-ups directly linked to the university, valued at roughly US$6 billion.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} Several of these companies have grown into [[multinational corporation|multinationals]], including [[Arm (company)|Arm]], [[Autonomy Corporation]], [[AVEVA]], and [[Cambridge Silicon Radio]]. In 2012, it was reported that strong employment growth in the Silicon Fen hub was hampered due to its significant concentration on [[research and development]], which was limiting competition in manufacturing and costs.<ref name="hbs andersen 2012">{{cite web|last=Andersen|first=Christian|author2=Bailey, Jonathan|author3=Heal, Adam|author4=Munn, Oliver|author5=O'Connell, Bryan|title=IT Hardware cluster: Cambridge, United Kingdom|url=http://www.isc.hbs.edu/pdf/Student_Projects/2012%20MOC%20Papers/20120504%20MOC%20UK%20Cambridge%20IT%20hardware%20cluster%20-%20Final%20project%20paper.pdf|work=Final Paper; Microeconomics of Competitiveness, Harvard Business School|publisher=[[Harvard Business School]]|access-date=18 June 2012|date=4 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619111115/http://www.isc.hbs.edu/pdf/Student_Projects/2012%20MOC%20Papers/20120504%20MOC%20UK%20Cambridge%20IT%20hardware%20cluster%20-%20Final%20project%20paper.pdf|archive-date=19 June 2012}}</ref> Cambridge Ahead, the business and academic membership organisation dedicated to the long-term growth of the city and its region, reported in 2015–16, that growth of Cambridge companies was approximately 7% over one, three, and five-year durations. Global turnover of Cambridge companies increased by 7.6% to £35.7bn, up from £33bn the previous year, and global employment grew by 7.6% to 210,292. The number of companies headquartered within 20 miles of Cambridge grew from 22,017 to 24,580.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cambridgeahead.co.uk/2017/01/latest-data-cambridge-ahead-reveals-unabated-growth-cambridge-companies/|title=Latest data from Cambridge Ahead reveals unabated growth of Cambridge companies|date=2017-01-24|website=cambridgeahead.co.uk|publisher=Cambridge Ahead|access-date=2017-05-14}}{{Dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ==Area characteristics== The [[Cambridge Network]] is an organization facilitating networking in the area. Other possible factors include a high [[standard of living]] available in the county, and good transport links, for example to London and with [[Cambridge Airport]] having a full service business jet centre. Many graduates from the university choose to stay on in the area, giving local companies a rich pool of talent to draw upon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/5-reasons-cambridge-great-students|title=5 Reasons Cambridge is Great for Students|date=2016-11-03|website=Top Universities|language=en|access-date=2019-11-19}}</ref> The high-technology industry has little by way of competition, unlike say in [[Oxfordshire]] where many other competing industries exist. Cambridgeshire has only recently{{When|date=July 2021}} become a high-technology centre, which has meant that commercial rents were generally lower than in other parts of the UK and thus giving companies a head-start on those situated in other more expensive regions. However, the recent technology boom has changed the situation and Cambridgeshire now ranks as one of the highest costs of living in the UK outside London, which is home to an even bigger technology centre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://costoffliving.com/uk/cambridge/|title=Cambridge|website=Cost Off Living|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=January 15, 2014|first=Steve |last=Ranger |title=First came the artists, then came the hackers: The strange history of London's own Silicon Valley|url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/first-came-the-artists-then-came-the-hackers-the-strange-history-of-londons-own-silicon-valley/|access-date=2021-05-19|website=TechRepublic|language=en}}</ref> ==People and companies associated with Silicon Fen== ===People=== {{columns-list|colwidth=35em| *[[David Cleevely]] *[[Sherry Coutu]] *[[Hermann Hauser]] *[[Andy Hopper]] *[[Ewan Kirk]] *[[Dick Newell]] *[[Clive Sinclair]] }} ===Companies=== {{columns-list|colwidth=35em| *[[Abcam]] *[[Acorn Computers]] *[[Adder Technology]] *[[Aixtron]] *[[Arm (company)|Arm]] *[[Aveva]] *[[Broadcom Inc.]] *[[Cambridge Broadband]] *[[Cambridge Consultants]] *[[Cambridge Interactive Systems Ltd]] *[[Cambridge Network]] *[[Cambridge Wireless]] *[[Cambridge Semiconductor Limited]] *[[Camcon Technology]] *[[Cantab Capital Partners]] *[[CSR plc]] *[[DANTE]] *[[Darktrace]] *[[DisplayLink]] *[[Docker, Inc.]] *[[Endomag]] *[[Global Silicon]] *[[ip.access]] *[[Jagex]] *[[PA Consulting Group#Technology and innovation|PA Consulting Group]] *[[Raspberry Pi Foundation]] *[[RealVNC]] *[[RISC OS Open]] *Sartorius Stedim TAP, formerly part of [[Sartorius AG]] *[[Sinclair Research]] *[[Sagentia]], formerly Scientific Generics *[[ST Robotics]] *[[Team Consulting]] }} == See also == *[[Silicon Valley]] *[[List of places with 'Silicon' names]] *[[List of city nicknames in the United Kingdom]] *[[Oxford-Cambridge Arc]] == References == *''The Cambridge Cluster Report 2007'', Library House 2007, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110724114725/http://www.gcp.uk.net/downloads/LHCC07.pdf Download] *''The Cambridge Phenomenon: The Growth of High Technology Industry in a University Town'', Segal Quince & Partners 1985, {{ISBN|0-9510202-0-X}} *{{cite book |last=Worthington |first=Tom |title=Net traveller: exploring the networked nation. |publisher=Australian Computer Society |date=1999 |chapter=The Cambridge Phenomenon: Summary of The Report |isbn=0-909925-74-7 |url=http://www.tomw.net.au/nt/cp.html}} *''The Cambridge Phenomenon Revisited – a synopsis of the new report by Segal Quince Wicksteed'', Segal Quince & Partners 2000, [http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/pooled/articles/BF_NEWSART/view.asp?Q=BF_NEWSART_4516 Download] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526031605/http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/pooled/articles/BF_NEWSART/view.asp?Q=BF_NEWSART_4516 |date=26 May 2011 }} *''The Cambridge Cluster Report 2003'', Library House 2003, [https://archive.today/20080725031952/http://www.libraryhouse.net/www/publications/download.php?dl_id=8 Download] *''The Cambridge Cluster Report 2004'', Library House in association with Grant Thornton 2004, [https://archive.today/20080828182530/http://www.libraryhouse.net/www/publications/download.php?dl_id=9 Download] *''The Cambridge Cluster Report 2006'', Library House 2006, [https://web.archive.org/web/20061220173255/http://www.libraryhouse.net/www/publications/download.php?dl_id=20 Download] *''The Cambridge Technopole Report 2006'' An overview of the UK's leading high tech cluster, St John's Innovation Centre 2006, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070812112540/http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/links/article/default.aspx?objid=31488] *''The Impact of the University of Cambridge on the UK Economy and Society'' A high-level study commissioned by EEDA and the Cambridge Network in 2006, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070811224244/http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/links/article/default.aspx?objid=31489] *''INSIGHTS & RESEARCH | WHAT IS SILICON FEN?'' bidwells.co.uk, [https://www.bidwells.co.uk/insights-and-research/what-is-silicon-fen/] {{Reflist}} == External links == *[http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/ Cambridge Corporate Gateway] *[http://www.cambridgetechnopole.org.uk/ Cambridge Technopole] {{Economy of the United Kingdom}} {{Science and technology in the United Kingdom}} {{authority control}} [[Category:Economy of Cambridge]] [[Category:High-technology business districts in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:History of Cambridge]] [[Category:Information technology places]] [[Category:Science and technology in Cambridgeshire]]
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