Plug and Play, a pioneering US innovation platform for startups, has today announced it will be partnering with MIRA Technology Park, Europe’s leading automotive R&D cluster, to create the UK’s first Mobility Innovation Hub.

  • Globally renowned Silicon Valley firm has partnered with MIRA Technology Park to create UK’s first Mobility Innovation Hub
  • Move marks major step forward in helping the UK mobility sector innovate and exploit research in emerging technologies
  • Startup accelerator and investor Plug and Play plans to establish an Innovation Hub at the MIRA Technology Park, bringing together some of the world’s best start-ups to help major mobility focused corporates innovate

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play is the world’s largest innovation platform. It specialises in corporate innovation and the development of early-to-growth stage technology startups, bringing together the best startups, entrepreneurial investors, and ambitious global corporations. The exciting move marks the first time the technology accelerator has brought its well-proven business model to the UK.

Situated at the heart of the nation’s automotive sector, the Mobility Innovation Hub will be located at the MIRA Technology Park. It provides extensive R&D facilities and access to highly-skilled engineering expertise, thereby immersing the successful startups in a rich eco-system to facilitate their rapid growth. The unique partnership, supported by key government bodies such as Zenzic, the self-driving UK hub organisation created by government and industry to accelerate the self-driving revolution in the UK, will enable OEM and Tier 1 corporates to fast track their innovation agendas whilst supporting startups to prove their concepts and find routes to market for their innovations.

Mike Olmstead, CRO at Plug and Play, said: “With the global mobility industry facing unprecedented change amid megatrends in EVs and connected and autonomous vehicles, the need to accelerate innovation, through investment in talent and technology has never been greater. Having already established a successful track record in the US and the rest of Europe, the high-quality of startups and academic research emerging from UK universities makes it an attractive market to enter. As such, we knew the MIRA Technology Park – with its prime location in the heart of the UK mobility sector, pioneering facilities and high-profile tenants – was the right fit for us. We look forward to achieving some great things from this exciting collaboration.” 

Jack Bartlett, responsible for Global Strategic Development at MIRA Technology Park, said: “We considered for some time how we could facilitate innovation, when we discovered Plug and Play and got to grips with their unique business model it was very clear that this was the right solution. Our collaboration will provide large corporate organisations in the mobility sector with a means to innovate, utilising the benefits of the established and proven Plug and Play innovation model and the locational benefits of MIRA Technology Park. With future mobility technologies evolving at such a rapid pace, the importance of collaboration between enterprising startups, investors and established organisations cannot be overstated. Plug and Play’s decision to set up their UK mobility operations here will be a major step forward in how the UK industry will develop and deploy the next generation of automobiles.”

Daniel Ruiz, CEO of Zenzic, said: “Attracting a pioneering innovation platform such as Plug and Play to the UK represents a huge opportunity for the nation’s mobility industry to break fresh ground in self-driving technologies. The move is a real testament to the great work MIRA Technology Park has done in recent years in pooling together the best minds, investment and facilities into one location in order to drive cutting-edge developments that will benefit future mobility for all.”

A renowned automotive ‘technology cluster’, MIRA Technology Park is currently home to 40 mobility sector companies, including many iconic brands and they collectively employ over 1,200.

For further information about HORIBA MIRA, please email horibamira@whistlepr.co.uk.