Richardson is known globally as the Telecom Corridor area of Innovation. For more than three decades, Richardson has been the focal point of the telecommunications business in the US with nearly every major US telecom service provider, along with domestic and international suppliers, setting up operations in or nearby the city.
As a result, Richardson has attracted more than 65 internationally based companies to the city and been declared the “International Business Capital of North Texas” by the Texas State Legislature.
The Richardson Economic Development Partnership (REDP) is a recent addition to the Cambridge Network membership. The organization represents a partnership between the Richardson Chamber of Commerce and the City of Richardson, Texas to conduct economic development on behalf of the city. Its role is to attract investment and businesses to the city to increase the tax base, increase employment in the community and increase the overall economy in the city.
During the past 12 years Richardson has diversified its number of technology industry clusters beyond telecom to more than 500 technology-based companies located in the city. While telecom is still a primary industry cluster, semiconductors, software, defense contracting, computer gaming, financial services, cyber security, data centers, nanotechnology and many other clusters have emerged.
To serve the needs of so many tech companies in Richardson and the surrounding Dallas metropolitan communities, the Richardson Chamber of Commerce organized and manages Tech Titans, the technology association for North Texas, the largest technology association in the state of Texas and southwest U.S.
Where is Richardson, Texas? (Image removed) | Why choose Richardson, Texas? Richardson is one of the top four technology clusters in North America.
|
History of technology in North Texas
The North Texas technology prowess began in the 1950s when Texas Instruments’ scientists invented, developed and patented the integrated circuit and Collins Radio (now Collins Aerospace) a major wireless communications company came to the area. To recruit local engineering talent, Texas Instruments’ founders started a technical college for masters and Ph.D level engineers in the early 1960s that was later (1969) absorbed into the University of Texas system and is known today as the University of Texas at Dallas (but is physically located in Richardson). UT Dallas is now a “tier one” research university and highly ranked business school and is currently ranked as the #1 university under 50 years of age in the U.S.
The rapid growth of Dallas Startup Week
With so much innovation and technology talent in the Dallas metro area, local technology business accelerators, technology organizations and local corporations came together to host Dallas Startup Week April 1-5, 2019. When this event began in 2015, it attracted about 2,500 attendees This year’s event attracted more than 10,000 people. As a participating organization, Tech Titans conducted an “Innovation Showcase” recruiting 14 later stage startups seeking series A, B, C rounds of financing to pitch to an audience of about 75 investors (VCs, private equity firms, family offices, corporate investors). The program started out with a panel discussion on the status of investing in North Texas. The panel was comprised of local VCs, the Executive Director of a local tech accelerator, a lawyer who represents startups and the CEO of Tech Titans as moderator. After the startup pitch session concluded, a 90-minute networking reception was held for attendees and provided a chance for startups and investors to meet. Event organizers will follow-up with attendees at the end of year to determine the status of any potential investments or other business commitments.
For more information on the Richardson Economic Development Partnership, please check out the website and watch a short video with details about the “Telecom Corridor® Area of Innovation”.