About this episode

The episode discusses how Oxford is positioning itself as a global hub for deep tech through community building and events like OX Tech Week.

What would it take for Oxford to rival Silicon Valley or Boston as a global destination for deep tech? In this episode of Oxford Plus, host Susannah de Jager sits down with Dr Christiaan de Koning and Michael Collyer, co-founders of the Founders and Funders community, to explore how Oxford is organising itself for a new chapter in innovation. What started as a small gathering during COVID has grown into a 4,000-strong network and a registered foundation connecting researchers, founders, investors, and institutions across the city. Now, with UK startup funding reaching $7.8 billion in Q1 2026 alone – a 60% increase year on year , Oxford is well placed to capture a growing share of that momentum. Christiaan and Michael discuss why the city's problem is not a lack of capital or talent but a lack of connection, and how their upcoming OX Tech Week aims to change that by creating a visible, city-wide platform for the ecosystem. From the Oxford Innovation Map to the vision of making Oxford the global home of deep tech, this is a conversation about what happens when a city that has always excelled at discovery starts to organise itself around building, scaling, and global relevance…

People in this episode

Host: Susannah de Jager

Guests: Dr Christiaan de Koning, Michael Collyer

Topics covered

• deep tech
• innovation
• startup ecosystem
• networking
• city-wide festival

Keywords

• Oxford
• deep tech
• innovation
• Founders and Funders
• OX Tech Week
• startup funding
• networking

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Founders and Funders, Oxford Innovation Map

Places: Oxford

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