Silicon Fen (sometimes the Cambridge Cluster) is the name given to the region around Cambridge, England, which is home to a large cluster of high-tech businesses, especially those related to software, electronics, and biotechnology. Many of these have connections with Cambridge University, and the area is now one of the most important technology centres in Europe. Shown within Cambridgeshire Geography Status City (1951) Region East of England Admin. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... It has been suggested that Cluster effect be merged into this article or section. ... High tech refers to technology that is at the cutting-edge—the most advanced technology currently available. ... Wall Street, Manhattan is the location of the New York Stock Exchange and is often used as a symbol for the world of business. ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ... The field of electronics comprises the study and use of systems that operate by controlling the flow of electrons (or other charge carriers) in devices such as thermionic valves and semiconductors. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... The University of Cambridge, located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... World map showing Europe Political map (neighboring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ...

It is claimed that Silicon Fen is the second largest venture capital market in the world, after Silicon Valley. In 2004, 24 % of venture investment in the UK and 9% in Europe was received by Silicon Fen companies, according to the Cambridge Cluster Report 2004 produced by Library House and Grant Thornton. Venture capital is a general term to describe financing for startup and early stage businesses as well as businesses in turn around situations. ... A view of downtown San Jose, the self-proclaimed Capital of Silicon Valley. ...

It is called "Silicon Fen" by analogy with Silicon Valley in California, and because of the large area of drained fenland to the north of Cambridge. The name is also a deliberate rhyme with "Silicon Glen", a pre-existing high-tech enclave in Scotland. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Redgrave and Lopham Fen. ... Silicon Glen is a nickname for the high tech sector of Scotland. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen of the UK Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by...

The so-called Cambridge phenomenon, giving rise to start-up companies in a town previously only having a little light industry in the electrical sector, is usually dated to the founding of the Cambridge Science Park in 1970: this was an initiative of Trinity College, Cambridge and moved away from a traditional low-development policy for Cambridge. This article treats electronics engineering as a subfield of electrical engineering, though this is not typical use in some areas. ... The Cambridge Science Park is the oldest and most famous science park in the United Kingdom. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Full name The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity Motto Virtus vera nobilitas Virtue is true Nobility Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names Kings Hall and Michaelhouse (until merged in 1546) Established 1546 Sister College(s) Christ Church Master The Lord Rees of Ludlow Location Trinity Street...

The characteristic of Cambridge is small companies (as few as three people, in some cases) in sectors such as computer-aided design. Over time the number of companies has grown; it has not proved easy to count them, but recent estimates have placed the number anywhere between 1,000 and 3,500 companies. They are spread over an area defined perhaps by the CB postcode (which is highly sought after), or more generously in an area bounded by Ely-Newmarket-Saffron Walden-Royston-St. Neots-Huntingdon. CAD redirects here. ... UK and Australian postal codes are known as postcodes. ... Ely (pronounced , rhyming with freely) is a cathedral city in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire in the East of England and 64 miles (103 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London. ... Map sources for Newmarket at grid reference TL6463 Local celebrity jockey Frankie Detorri in the parade ring at Newmarket after riding in the 2000 Guineas 2005 Newmarket is a market town in the English county of Suffolk, approximately 65 miles north of London, which has grown and become famous because... Saffron Walden is a small market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. ... This article is about Royston, Hertfordshire. ... St Neots is a town of about 28 000 people on the River Great Ouse, the largest town in Cambridgeshire, England (Cambridge itself is a city). ... Huntingdon is a town in the county of Cambridgeshire in East Anglia, England. ...

In February 2006, the Judge Business School reported estimates that suggested that at that time, there were around 250 active startups directly linked to the University, valued at around US$6 billion. The Judge Business School (www. ...

Only a tiny proportion of these companies have so far grown into multinationals: ARM and Autonomy Corporation are the most obvious examples, and more recently Cambridge Silicon Radio has seen rapid growth due to the uptake of Bluetooth. The region does have one of the most flexible job markets in the technology sector, meaning that the same people are often retained in other companies in the Cambridge area after a start-up fails. One explanation for the area's success is that after a while such an employment market is self-sustaining, since employees are willing to move to an area that promises a future beyond any one company. The word multinational can refer to: A Multinational corporation A Multinational State This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... The entrance to ARMs headquarters in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge ARM (Advanced RISC Machines) Ltd is a microprocessor design company headquartered in England, founded in 1990 by Hermann Hauser. ... Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AUTN) is an enterprise software company based in Cambridge, United Kingdom and San Francisco, USA. It develops a variety of knowledge management applications using pattern recognition techniques. ... CSR plc (LSE: CSR), or previously Cambridge Silicon Radio is a company based in Cambridge, England whose main product line is a single-chip implementation of the Bluetooth standard for radio-signal communication between devices. ... --70. ...

Another explanation is that because of the academic preeminence of Cambridge University, the extremely high standard of living available in the county, its closeness to Stansted Airport and London, the low incidence of social problems such as crime and hard drug use, many graduates from the university choose to stay on in the area, giving local companies an extremely rich pool of talent to draw upon. The high-technology industry has little by way of competition, unlike say in Oxfordshire where plenty of other competing industries exist. Because Cambridgeshire was not until recently a high-technology centre, rents were generally lower than in other parts of the UK, giving companies a head-start on those situated in other more expensive regions; this has, however, recently changed and Cambridgeshire now has one of the highest costs of living in the UK outside London. The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... The Standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people and the way these services and goods are distributed within a population. ... Terminal building, designed by Sir Norman Foster Stansted Airport is a medium-sized passenger airport with a single runway, located in the English county of Essex about thirty miles north of London. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Sildenafil citrate, sold under the names Viagra, Revatio and (in the Indian subcontinent) Caverta, is a drug used to treat male erectile dysfunction (impotence) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), developed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. ...

References

• The Cambridge Phenomenon: The Growth of High Technology Industry in a University Town, Segal Quince & Partners 1985, ISBN 0-9510202-0-X
• The Cambridge Phenomenon Revisited - a synposis of the new report by Segal Quince Wicksteed, Segal Quince & Partners 2000, Download
• The Cambridge Cluster Report 2003, Library House 2003, Download
• The Cambridge Cluster Report 2004, Library House in association with Grant Thornton 2004, Download

See also

• Acorn Computers Ltd
• Andy Hopper
• CADCentre
• Hermann Hauser
• List of places with 'Silicon' names
• Oxford-Cambridge Arc
• Sinclair Research Ltd

Acorn Computers Ltd. ... Andrew Hopper (b. ... The Computer-Aided Design Centre (or CADCentre as it was more commonly referred to, and later formally became) was created in Cambridge UK in 1968 by the UK Ministry of Technology (MinTech - later subsumed into the Department of Trade and Industry or DTI) . Its mission - a very far-sighted one... Hermann Maria Hauser, CBE FREng FinstP CPhys (born 23 October 1948), is an entrepreneur born in Vienna, Austria. ... The following is a list of places with Silicon names, that is, places whose names were (or seemed to be) inspired by the Silicon Valley nickname given to part of the San Francisco Bay Area: Brazilian Silicon Valley - Campinas, Brazil Cwm Silicon - Wales Mexican Silicon Valley - Jalisco, Mexico Silicon Valley... The Oxford-Cambridge (sometimes Oxbridge or Oxford2Cambridge) Arc is a strip of primarily agricultural land between the two English university towns of Oxford and Cambridge, roughly following the Stagecoach X5 bus route, and on the northern rim of the London commuter belt. ... Sinclair Research Ltd was a home computer company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge, England. ...

External links

• SiliconFen.com
• SiliconFenBusiness.com