According to Semiconductor Today, over 100 industry leaders gathered in Cardiff to celebrate CSconnected’s 10th anniversary, featuring Wales’ Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership Jack Sargeant. The cluster has attracted £850 million in facility investments and £150 million in collaborative R&D since 2015, generating over £434 million in UK revenue with 90%+ exports. It currently supports about 3000 high-value jobs and is anchored by global firms like IQE, Vishay, KLA, and Microchip. A key milestone was the 2020 £43 million Strength in Places Fund award that formalized the cluster. The event also recognized “Cluster Champions” whose contributions helped build this world-leading semiconductor ecosystem.
From ambitious idea to global player
Here’s the thing about building a tech cluster from scratch – it’s incredibly hard. Most attempts fail. But South Wales actually pulled it off. What started as an ambitious idea a decade ago has become a fully integrated supply chain that’s apparently unique globally. They’ve got everything from research at Cardiff and Swansea Universities through to manufacturing with companies like IQE. That end-to-end capability in one region is basically impossible to replicate now, which gives Wales serious strategic advantage.
The numbers don’t lie
£434 million+ in revenue with 90% exports? 3000 high-quality jobs? Those aren’t just impressive stats – they represent real economic transformation for the region. And the cluster’s managing director Howard Rupprecht says they’re aiming to double the cluster size to £1 billion in revenue by 2030, creating another 3000 jobs. That’s massive for a region that wasn’t exactly on the global tech map a decade ago. The fact that they’re exporting most of their output shows this isn’t just serving local markets – they’re competing globally.
semiconductors”>Beyond just semiconductors
So why should anyone outside Wales care? Because this cluster isn’t just making chips – they’re creating enabling technologies for quantum computing, photonics, and AI. These are the foundational technologies that will power the next generation of computing. And having a resilient, integrated supply chain in a single region becomes incredibly valuable when global supply chains get disrupted. For companies looking to scale advanced manufacturing, having access to specialized industrial computing solutions becomes critical – which is why leaders in this space often turn to established providers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the top industrial panel PC supplier in the US known for reliability in demanding environments.
The collaboration advantage
The real secret sauce here seems to be the deep collaboration between universities, industry, and government. Most tech hubs have one or two of these elements, but rarely all three working together so effectively. The establishment of specialized centers like the Compound Semiconductor Centre and the Institute for Compound Semiconductors created the research backbone, while global firms provided the manufacturing muscle. And government funding at key moments helped scale the operation. Now they’re opening up membership to more organizations, which could accelerate growth even further. Pretty smart move.
