Uber's former Silicon Valley tech campus, RocketSpace, seeks London start-ups

RocketSpace, the Silicon Valley tech campus that housed unicorns such as Uber and Spotify, is opening a London centre for high-growth start-ups.

The London branch, to be located in Regents House near Angel tube station, will support up to 1,500 people from early 2017.

Start-ups will receive collaborative office space, a multi-gigabit internet connection and event space as well as access to hands-on workshops, peer group roundtables and networking events.

But those start-ups will need to have funding already in place, and teams of between one and 100 people.

Duncan Logan, RocketSpace founder and CEO, said: "London's tech community continues to rapidly expand and drive innovation. Creating a physical presence here is critical to our expansion strategy and mission to build an ecosystem for innovation to thrive, across a global network of campuses. We are very excited about working with London's tech entrepreneurs, who are creating some of the most disruptive technologies of the future."

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which currently occupies Regents House, will act as the development partner for the RocketSpace campus. Other supporters include UK Trade Investment (UKTI) and London & Partners.

Simon McNamara, chief administrative officer at RBS, said: "It's a real testament to the UK's thriving tech community that a pioneering company like RocketSpace has chosen the UK as their first office outside of the US. We recognise that the technology industry will be a key growth area for the UK in the coming years so we are delighted to play a part in helping RocketSpace locate here, as we aim to build stronger links with innovative start-ups."

RocketSpace Silicon Valley was first opened in 2011 and boasts alumni including Uber, Spotify, Blippar and SuperCell.

"RocketSpace gave us access to resources we needed when we opened our first San Francisco office and it was a great launchpad for our growth in the region," said Ambarish Mitra, CEO and co-founder of London-based Blippar. "Being a member gets you much more than a great office."

Caroline Preece

Caroline has been writing about technology for more than a decade, switching between consumer smart home news and reviews and in-depth B2B industry coverage. In addition to her work for IT Pro and Cloud Pro, she has contributed to a number of titles including Expert Reviews, TechRadar, The Week and many more. She is currently the smart home editor across Future Publishing's homes titles.

You can get in touch with Caroline via email at caroline.preece@futurenet.com.