RETURN TO THE VALLEY

Last summer, the University of Wales Global Academy established an office in Silicon Valley, California, the global centre for innovative and entrepreneurial businesses.

Based at the Irish Innovation Centre (IIC) in San Jose, the self-proclaimed capital of Silicon Valley, the aim of the office is to provide a presence for Welsh businesses that felt ready to present their innovation technology to potential investors, taking advantage of the soft-landing that the IIC provides to companies already based there.

As most of you are no doubt aware, Silicon Valley is where some of the leading high technology businesses in the World are to be found, with great companies such as Apple, Cisco, eBay, Google, Hewlett Packard, Intel and Yahoo having their corporate headquarters located there.

And of course, let’s not forget that it is also the home of Facebook, a company that was started in a bedroom eight years ago but which, in the next few months, will undertake a stock market flotation that is estimated to value the company at $100bn (£65bn), making billionaires of its founders and backers, including Mark Zuckerberg, who is still only 27 years of age.

However, the region has faced some challenges over the last few years and like every other part of the USA, even the Silicon Valley economy was not immune to the severest recession since the 1920s. But similar to the aftermath of the dot.com bubble burst a decade ago, it is mounting yet another remarkable comeback. In fact, according to a recent review of the region, more than 42,000 new jobs were created in 2011, which represented an increase of 3.8 per cent as compared to the US average of 1.1 per cent.

Innovation has also begun to fire again, with patent registrations increasing by 30 per cent in twelve months. And venture capital investment increased by 17 per cent with a specific focus on biotechnology and medical devices. In 2011, around a third of venture capital invested nationwide - £5bn - went to Silicon Valley companies.

These are some of the reasons why I am passionate about getting companies from Wales to visit. Even by having a small Welsh presence in the region, there is the potential to make a difference, especially as we have been building up our links through specifically working with the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) that manages the Innovation Centre.

Established in 2007, the ITLG is a non‐profit group of senior Irish executives from around the world, including some of Silicon Valley's leading corporations, each of whom is committed to promoting the technology connection with major markets in the USA.

By recognising us as fellow Celts who want to work alongside our Irish cousins to develop our respective economies, the ITLG has given us a platform to potentially connect entrepreneurs, technology companies, academics, students and government officials to Silicon Valley.

Over the next few years, we aim to work with the ITLG to make the most of this opportunity through trade missions, networking events, executive introductions and strategic business planning meetings.
The first real opportunity to do this will take place next month, when we lead an innovation mission to San Jose. We are only intending to take a small group this time as a precursor to a more extensive visit later this year but if you would like to come along then please get in touch and I am sure we can fit you in.

The main attraction of this visit will be the annual ITLG innovation summit. Thisis a two-day gathering which presents attendees with an inside look at the cutting-edge technology, business and political trends that are creating the most exciting and profitable new opportunities in the world. It will give those who attend the chance to meet venture capitalists, discuss their products and services with other entrepreneurs and technologists and, most importantly, network with other innovative individuals. The organisers are also hoping to have Cardiff-born Michael Moritz, one of the most successful venture capitalists of his generation, attend the event.

The major sponsor of the summit is the venture capital house Andreessen Horowitz, a company set up by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen with the aim of investing in new starts ups. Only last month, it raised a billion pounds for a new fund that will not only be investing in software companies but also in industries such as healthcare and education.  Imagine what a boost it would be for our economy if such a world renowned company would consider investing in a business from Wales.

As Sir Terry Matthews, the Newport-born serial high-tech entrepreneur, said last year when the Global Academy announced the decision to have a presence in California, "San Jose and the remainder of Silicon Valley continue as a major concentration of high technology companies and venture capitalists. The new Welsh Innovation Office will be a significant benefit to any new company looking to enter the market for sales opportunities or access to sources of capital.”

No one could disagree with such a statement but it will only be a success if Welsh companies make the effort to come across and show the investors in Silicon Valley that our products and technologies are as good as any in the World.

I look forward to seeing you there in the future.

THE IRISH DIASPORA - LESSONS FOR WALES

Last week, I was delighted to be invited to Dublin for the fourth Annual “Silicon Valley Comes to Ireland” conference, organised by the Irish Technology Leaders Group’s (ITLG).

This is a regular event in which senior executives from the world’s innovation hotspot come over to Ireland to engage with more than fifty Irish technology companies in a series of private investor workshops.

Earlier this summer, the University of Wales Global Academy opened an office in ITLG’s Irish Innovation Centre in San Jose, the capital city of Silicon Valley, to give Welsh firms access to the region’s investors and universities.

So this was a real opportunity to catch up with John Hartnett, the President of ITLG, and see the effect that his team is having on delivering a more innovative economy. As John suggested during the event, their aim is to help Ireland focus on enlarging its indigenous high-tech sector to drive economic recovery as there is significant opportunity for growth created by these firms.

And despite the previous gloom surrounding its economy, John believes that there has been a real sea change during the last few years in which there is a greater “go for it” attitude amongst new entrepreneurs in Ireland.

I certainly can understand what he was talking about, having attended a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style University Challenge organized by ITLG and sponsored by Cisco, in which three companies spinning out from the Irish higher education centre competed on stage at Dublin City University for a €100,000 prize.

To be honest, the three presentations, from Pilot Photonics (Dublin City University), ALR (University of Limerick) and InfiniLED (University College Cork), were far above the standard normally seen on the BBC programme and the usual panelists would have been falling over themselves to invest in these companies.

InfiniLED, the eventual winner, has developed a next generation Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology which produces light more efficiently than conventional LEDs and has the potential to make massive inroads into a market worth billions of over the next few years.

In the picture, from left, are John Harnett, president of ITLG; Joe O’Keeffe, InfiniLED and Richard Stokes of DCU.

As I wrote earlier this year, the link between Silicon Valley and Ireland is beginning to pay real dividends by bringing together experienced investors to Ireland to engage directly with emerging Irish technology companies and further ten young high technology firms will be showcased in Stanford University in 2012.  I can only hope that, through our office at the Irish Innovation Centre, we can also start introducing Welsh companies to the opportunities available.

Of course, the real advantage that Ireland has is the fact that all the senior executives in Silicon Valley visiting this week have Irish roots and want to come back to help their economy in its hour of the need. The ITLG itself has over 3,000 members with chapters in Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood to bring together the three critical worlds of money, entertainment and innovation.

The support that the diaspora can provide has clearly hit home with Irish politicians and policymakers who have organized a Global Irish Economic Forum, which is being held at Dublin Castle this weekend.

With 270 delegates from 40 countries attending, including former US President Bill Clinton, the event will see the world of business and government discuss practical initiatives that can help the economic recovery in Ireland, including ways of generating foreign direct investment, promoting culture as well as increasing export and tourism figures.

Some of the planned debate topics include "Ireland's image abroad: communicating the message" and "Making Ireland more competitive in new and emerging markets".

But this is not only a talking shop - the fifteen working groups at the forum have been asked to come up with two or three ideas which Irish embassies around the world will then be charged with implementing. In fact, the idea of the Irish Innovation Centre came from the first summit held back in 2009, an idea that has been put into practice with outstanding results.

Certainly, there is no reason why Wales could not do the same to bring together the outstanding talent that is out there all over the world. The Irish are happy to help and, more importantly, are enthusiastic about our chances of success.

As John Hartnett and I concluded over a pint of Guinness late on Wednesday night, imagine being in a room where you had Michael Moritz, Terry Matthews and Howard Stringer discussing how to get the Welsh economy back on track.

That would be very special and could be the very spark needed to create a new innovative Wales and the entrepreneurial and competitive economy we all hope we can achieve in the future.

Western Mail column, 8th October 2011