Imperial launches US hub with pledge to create 100 US-UK tech partnerships

Imperial has launched its US hub in San Francisco, making it the first UK university to have a permanent science and tech base on US soil.

Imperial Global USA – the university’s first physical presence in the US – is being launched this week by senior leaders from Imperial at a special event held at Intrinsic (an Alphabet company), hosted by Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, and Imperial alum Wendy Tan White, CEO of software and AI robotics company Intrinsic.

"Our new hub will be a front door in the heart of the Bay Area to help spinouts, academics and innovators create the kind of partnerships that will lead to world-changing scientific discoveries." Professor Hugh Brady President of Imperial College London

Imperial has announced that the new hub will support new science and technology partnerships, advancing Imperial’s pursuit of Convergence Science, by making it even easier for innovators partnering on both sides of the Atlantic to fund and scale their research and create solutions to some of the hardest global challenges.

To ensure Imperial can deliver on this ambition, it is also announcing the creation of a new External Advisory Board that will be chaired by Wendy Tan White, charged with ensuring that the new hub is well connected into the rest of the San Francisco tech ecosystem from day one.

The ambition for 100 new science and technology partnerships in 2025 is built off the back of several successful collaborations that are already taking place including:

• A partnership between Imperial and Agilent Technologies to harness analytical technologies with Imperial research in chemical analysis, life sciences and diagnostics.
• A new collaboration between Imperial and UC Berkeley with Rio Tinto to find sustainable ways to provide the materials the world needs to support the scale up of clean energy.
• Imperial’s new Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, working with US partners to address the critical global issue of our current unsustainable and environmentally damaging food ecosystems, funded by the Bezos Earth Fund.

Watch the Imperial Global USA launch video:

Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London said: “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. Our new hub will be a front door in the heart of the Bay Area to help spinouts, academics and innovators create the kind of partnerships that will lead to world-changing scientific discoveries.”

"California is a gateway for innovation and entrepreneurship, and Imperial College London establishing its first-ever U.S. hub in San Francisco is a win-win." Gavin Newsom Governor of California

The new Imperial Global USA hub in San Francisco is an opportunity for Imperial to continue to champion deep tech entrepreneurship, based on a bedrock of world-leading convergence science and technological innovation in the Imperial WestTech Corridor in London.

Five women founders from Imperial’s flagship women’s entrepreneurship accelerator have joined the President at the launch and spent the week in San Francisco at the new hub, working with Imperial staff to secure partnerships and collaborators to support, fund and scale their startups in the future.

Gavin Newsom, Governor of California said: "California is a gateway for innovation and entrepreneurship, and Imperial College London establishing its first-ever US hub in San Francisco is a win-win. 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. Together, we’re creating opportunities for innovation that will not only benefit California but also drive progress that reaches far beyond our borders."

Peter Kyle, UK Science and Tech Secretary said: “Imperial is the first UK university to set up a science and tech base in the US and its new hub in San Francisco represents a hugely exciting opportunity to bring together the great minds of UK and US research in driving forward discoveries that benefit both our nations and beyond.

“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.”

Wendy Tan White, CEO Intrinsic and Chair of Imperial Global USA's External Advisory Board said: “Imperial College London's new hub is the perfect fit for the San Francisco ecosystem. As a world-leading STEM university which promotes entrepreneurship, Imperial will be able to ignite a powerful, two way flow of ideas, capital, and talent, expanding collaborations with US universities and industry. At the same time, it offers Silicon Valley a bridge into Imperial’s rapidly evolving innovation ecosystem, creating exciting opportunities for transatlantic partnerships”

The launch event is part of a wider programme of events and engagement from Imperial’s leadership, academics and alumni, including a Biotech and Sustainability Salon held on Tuesday, a visit to PSI Quantum, an Imperial linked spinout, and the GBx Gala Dinner on Friday where Imperial are sponsoring the first GBx Emerging Talent Award.

Main image credit: Shutterstock.