Cambridge Consultants – the deep tech powerhouse at one with Cambridge’s tech ecosystem

And as the company looks ahead to the second annual Cambridge Tech Week in September, it is keen to reflect on its influential role within Europe’s largest technology cluster.

Speaking from CC’s headquarters on Cambridge Science Park, Chief Commercial Officer Tim Fowler offers an entirely positive view of a symbiotic relationship: “We see Cambridge Innovation and Cambridge Consultants as being closely intertwined. What we do as a company reflects the way of thinking that exists in Cambridge, largely because of the intellectual curiosity that was originally fostered by the university.

“Similarly, Cambridge’s tech ecosystem can trace many of its characteristics back to Cambridge Consultants as one of the key players in the Cambridge phenomenon of the 1980s.

“We are both a reflection of that phenomenon and it is a reflection of us. So Cambridge Tech Week is the perfect way to showcase who and what we are – and what we can achieve together on that global stage.”

In Tim Fowler’s view, that performance will be driven by bold new deep tech innovation. By this he means the development of technologies, services and products that have never been seen before – and that provide a defensible commercial advantage to those who get to market first.

“This is what characterizes our work for clients at CC – whether that’s here, in the United States, Singapore or Japan – and it’s again tied to Cambridge thinking,” he says. “Deep tech innovation is about confronting the status quo and challenging the norms, especially when they’re holding industries back.

“But to apply technology to these problems requires a depth and breadth of expertise – radical science and engineering – that you can only find in places like Cambridge and Cambridge Consultants. Where else do you find a place where, say, biologists and semiconductor engineers sit shoulder to shoulder, except in an ecosystem and company like ours?”

The company and ecosystem’s reflection also shows that it has succeeded in transforming ingenious ideas from start to finish, from academia and research, into commercial value.

Tim puts it this way: “You clearly need more than just a technical idea to build a business, you need to understand where the value is. You need to know how to access markets, you need to have people who have experience with what you’re likely to go through, because otherwise you can spend a lot of time solving a problem that’s already been solved.

“So this is where CC can help – where entities like the Cambridge Angels network and the VC community can help – to play back that expertise, which is similar to what you see in Silicon Valley as well.”

CC has noticed a growing energy from within Cambridge to promote itself and engage on the world technology stage – evidenced by initiatives such as Cambridge Tech Week and Innovate Cambridge. Implicit in this mission is ensuring that breakthrough technology is translated into meaningful business and societal impact.

“Here, the role of a deep tech strategy is not just about creating value, but capturing it,” says Tim Fowler. “And the most important thing about capturing value is that it has to be hard to copy. If you’ve worked hard enough and smart enough to create something that’s great, make it hard to copy.”

“There is nothing better than a patent or a trade secret to protect your business. And if it is truly valuable, you can exploit that value over the long term, extract that value.”

As a Gold Founder Sponsor, CC plans extensive participation during Cambridge Tech Week, welcoming business leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators to the Science Park buildings for lab tours showcasing exciting developments in quantum technology, biotech, AI & data analytics and more.

Catherine Joce, Head of Sustainability at CC, will lead a discussion on how to accelerate the growth of climate tech start-ups. And Tim himself will talk about how to seize opportunities from deep tech. Expect part of his message to be a rallying cry for the future, with a reminder that anything is possible if Cambridge sets its mind to it.

“When you’re in Cambridge, it’s very easy to imagine that because everyone is doing these great things in our ecosystem, this is what the rest of the world looks like. Of course, it’s not – and we have to constantly remind ourselves of that special deep tech thinking that’s at the heart of it. We shouldn’t take it for granted.

“Incredible things have come out of Cambridge, whether it’s the first single-chip Bluetooth device, the first low-cost machine for sequencing the human genome, or the Alexa in your kitchen – these technologies have come out of Cambridge.”