Innovations eagerly snapped up by multinationals

The fact that the High Tech Campus Eindhoven has been extremely successful on an international level is certainly no longer news. Thanks to its unique, open innovation ecosystem, the campus has won admiration and respect from countries that have become accustomed to what is required when it comes to high-tech industrial sites. Today this international interest can be seen in branches and investment from an ever-increasing number of multinationals, making the globalization of the High Tech Campus Eindhoven a given.

“Silicon Valley on a postage stamp”, is how the High Tech Campus Eindhoven is often internationally portrayed. And, while it might not be as large as its American counterpart, it is certainly just as unique. Over 100 companies are based there, working on innovations that end up in industries where high-quality technology is the key to new success in business. These companies include global players such as

Philips, NXP, IBM, Moserbaer, Atos Origin and ASML. But the dynamism found on the campus also extends to the many spin-off companies that have found a home there, together with numerous incubators, start-ups and SMEs. The fact that they are neighbors to renowned research institutions such as TNO and the Holst Centre as well as the proximity of the Eindhoven University of Technology all contribute to making this the perfect location.

Global hotspot
A growing number of companies are making their way to the High Tech Campus Eindhoven. “In the last five years the number of branches here has more than doubled,” says Marcel de Haan, Director of Innovation & Technology at BOM Foreign Investments. “The increasingly international character of the business there is especially striking, and now we have the added dimension in the interest expressed by multinational companies. The High Tech Campus Eindhoven is becoming a global hotspot,” says De Haan. “This means even greater international vitality as well as international capital. Major world have certainly discovered the Campus when it comes to technology sourcing, and they are setting up their R&D departments right here in Brabant. This simultaneously makes our region the springboard for these companies into the European market.”

The fact that the High Tech Campus Eindhoven innovations are being eagerly snapped up by multinationals can be seen by the wide array of flags fluttering outside of companies that, just a short time ago, started off as relatively small high-tech businesses. “It means we’ve seen many takeovers,” says De Haan, “which is the international trend.” To mention just a few of these, there is Epyon, founded by students and focusing on making fast chargers for electric vehicles, which has been taken over by the Swiss-Swedish engineering giant ABB. And there is Silicon Hive, which supplies technology for imaging and video signal processing, which has been bought out by the US Intel company. Meanwhile Polymer Vision is set to market its rollable displays through the Taiwanese Wistron, and the takeover of Liquavista by the Korean company Samsung means that the spin-off is now able to market its unique LCD screens internationally. “This clearly demonstrates that companies on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven attract attention on the international stage,” explains the director of innovation & technology. “This allows them to grow even faster and transform their innovations into global success stories.”

Seeing is believing
Aside from takeovers, it is also the new company branches that are contributing to the internationalization of the Campus. Just a few recent and current examples include Texas Instruments, the US company that has housed its Benelux sales office here since 2009, PTC (Parametric), another US company with offices here, Synopsys and Analog Devices, also from the US, which moved from elsewhere in Brabant to Eindhoven. “This is evidence that the High Tech Campus Eindhoven is firmly placed on the international map,” says Bodo de Wit, Senior Project Manager at BOM Foreign Investments. “In our collaborative ventures with the campus, BOM contributes what is required. Of course, this includes regularly highlighting the success story of the Campus, both abroad and to international companies located in Brabant. ‘Seeing is believing,” is what we tell them. And beyond our borders they are also discovering this,” says De Wit. “An increasing number of companies are coming to Brabant to see the High Tech Campus Eindhoven for themselves. We not only give them a guided tour, we also play an active role when companies want to physically set up shop here and provide the required support for takeovers. And sometimes, BOM’s sword is a double-edged one and Epyon, for example, can count on our services as a foreign company, but it was also backed by BOM at an earlier stage when the organization took a participating interest in the company in the form of an equity player.”

Brainport Eindhoven in Brabant has recently been labeled the smartest region in the world by the independent Intelligent Community Forum. “The fact that the world is now coming to the High Tech Campus Eindhoven for its smart solutions only further underscores this award,” says De Haan. “Companies on the campus have struck gold,” echoes De Wit. “And where there’s gold, other prospectors will follow. Be our guest.”