Last month saw the $1 billion acquisition of quantum firm Oxford Ionics by US-based Ionq.
Some commentators are seeing this not only as cementing Oxfordshire’s leading position in quantum, but as a significant step in the region’s role as a global technology ecosystem, and, furthermore, as a place where talent is nurtured and retained.
IonQ bought into Oxford Ionic’s vision for scalable, market-ready quantum systems that combine high-performance trapped-ion platform with semiconductor supply chains. Both founders, Dr Chris Ballance and Dr Tom Harty, will remain with IonQ and expand its Oxford Technology Park-based workforce as it continues its pioneering quantum work.
To Oxford Capital, a venture capital firm based in the city, this is the latest in a series of strategic moves that ‘is redefining Oxford's position as a global tech hub.’ Founder David Mott says this show how the region is ‘shifting from “spinout and sell” to “build and keep”’. This, he says, is attracting more investment and setting a precedent for future acquisitions to acquire and stay – and retain retaining engineering talent in the city.
The firm points to other examples. When US autonomous driving software company Waymo bought Oxford spin-out Latent Logic in 2019, it made Oxford its European engineering hub. Korean electronics giant Samsung acquired knowledge-graph start-up Oxford Semantic Technologies last year, and pledged to keep its R&D base in Oxfordshire. Quantum Motion, another successful quantum sector Oxford spin-out, raised £42m in an investment round led by Sony and continues to grow in the area.
Another element in Oxfordshire’s consolidation as a place to invest in technology is the news that Oxford Science Enterprises, an independent investment company that backs University of Oxford spinouts, has become one of the first early stage VCs of its kind to raise capital from banks, in the form of a net asset value (NAV) facility which allows investment funds to borrow based on the value of their investments. Jim Wilkinson, its chief financial officer, describes the securing of the NAV facility as ‘groundbreaking’.
Tech start-ups are doing brisk business in Oxfordshire. A recent example is Oxford Capital’s backing of Osney Mead-located NavLive, which offers AI precision building site scans, and firm says it is seeing a sharp rise in investment opportunities from Oxford University spinouts, with two more deals in the offing. It predicts a wave of deep-tech and AI ventures emerging from the city’s maturing spinout pipeline in the next year or so.
‘With world-class academic IP, experienced founders, and increasing corporate interest coming together, Oxford is fast becoming the UK’s most exciting innovation hub,’ says Oxford Capital’s David Mott.