The 15 Hottest Tech Companies In Cambridge
<img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54c79b2bdd089520218b45c2-1200-924/david-braben-1.jpg" border="0" alt="David Braben">
Cambridge was filled with technology companies long before London's new startup scene began to emerge.
The cluster of hardware and software companies in Cambridge has even been dubbed "Silicon Fen."
The city is a tech hotspot because of its proximity to the science and engineering talent coming out of Cambridge University, its closeness to London, and the relative cheapness of its rents. Apple just opened a new office there, for instance.
<h3>15. Ninja Theory: maker of a cult-classic video game</h3>
Ninja Theory is a video game development company that works with Sony to develop games for PlayStation consoles. As its name suggests, Ninja Theory specialises in action games, often with sword-fighting elements. It uses cinematic techniques and advanced animation to make its games similar to movies in their presentation.
2007 saw the release of Heavenly Sword, a fighting game that used the same kind of motion-capture suits used in Hollywood movies. It might not have been a huge hit, but Heavenly Sword is still a cult classic, and fans continue to demand a sequel.
<h3>14. Sinclair Research: still making electric vehicles of all kinds</h3>
Sinclair Research is the company run by prolific inventor Sir Clive Sinclair.
Sinclair's first hit product was the ZX Spectrum, released in 1982. The British-made computers were a commercial success, and the company released a wave of new tech products. But Sinclair's luck didn't hold, and it was forced to start cutting prices for its product line. Eventually Sinclair's technology products were sold to British businessman Alan Sugar in 1986.
One of Sir Clive Sinclair's most famous inventions is the Sinclair C5, a bizarre one-man electric vehicle. The public hated it, and hardly anyone bought it.
The number of staff at Sinclair dwindled from 140 in the 1980s to just Sinclair himself in 1990. The inventor wasn't deterred, however, and used his savings to fund the development of new ideas. Since then, Sinclair has released an electric bike, an electric wheelchair, an electric underwater scooter, and a folding bike.
<h3>13. Spotify: Stockholm's outpost in England</h3>
The music streaming service is one of Europe's best startup successes stories. But most people don't realise that the company has an office in Cambridge.
Spotify's Cambridge office is used as a customer support base, employing staff who work to help customers who have problems with its software. A look at Spotify's Cambridge jobs page shows that it's also hiring quality assurance managers to work out of the Cambridge office.
<h3>12. Raspberry Pi: the heart of the small computer revolution</h3>
The Raspberry Pi is a tiny computer that can be used to teach people coding, or for hackathon projects.
Starting life in 2006, the Raspberry Pi was inspired by early Cambridge tech like Acorn Computers. The founding team of Raspberry Pi worked together at the University of Cambridge computer laboratory before establishing the Raspberry Pi foundation to produce the devices.
<b>See the rest of the story at Business Insider</b>
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