Imperial launches new California tech hub

Imperial College London has launched a new hub in California to “supercharge” science and technology collaborations between British and US partners.

Based in San Francisco, Imperial Global USA will be the university’s first physical presence in the US, and the first permanent science and tech base in the country of any UK institution.

The highly ranked university announced that the new hub will advance its pursuit of convergence science, by making it easier for scientists to come together to “create solutions to some of the hardest global challenges”.

Speaking ahead of a launch event at Intrinsic, part of Google’s parent company Alphabet, Hugh Brady, president of Imperial, said the university aimed to create more than 100 new science and tech partnerships between the US and UK next year.

Campus resources on research management

“Opening a physical presence in San Francisco is going to supercharge our capabilities to support world-leading British science and tech to collaborate with American partners,” added Professor Brady.

“Our new hub will be a front door in the heart of the Bay Area to help spin-outs, academics and innovators create the kind of partnerships that will lead to world-changing scientific discoveries.”

The news follows the announcement earlier this year of the establishment of Imperial Global: Singapore – its first overseas research centre in the Asian country.

Five female founders of Imperial start-up tech companies are among the first to benefit from the new San Francisco base. They will be working with Imperial staff in San Francisco to secure partnerships and collaborators to support, fund and scale their start-ups. 

Gavin Newsom, governor of California, said the hub will be a “win-win” because the state is a “gateway for innovation and entrepreneurship”.

“This illustrates the power of international partnerships, bringing together top minds in science and technology to tackle the world’s toughest challenges – from climate solutions to advanced healthcare,” he added.

Imperial also announced the creation of a new external advisory board, which has been tasked with ensuring that the venture is “well connected into the rest of the San Francisco tech ecosystem from day one”.

Peter Kyle, the UK’s secretary of state for science, said the hub represents a “hugely exciting opportunity” to bring together UK and US research in driving forward discoveries that benefit both nations.

“By building on existing successful partnerships, like advancing AI in healthcare and scaling up clean energy solutions, this hub can play a key part in accelerating new technologies that will fuel economic growth and deliver real-world solutions to global challenges for years to come.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com