Twelve semiconductor startups participating in the UK's ChipStart programme have raised over £10 million in funding from private investors and grants, the UK government announced today.
ChipStart is an incubator program launched in October 2023. Its goal is to provide early-stage chip designers with the technical and commercial support they need to bring new products to market.
The £1.3 million initiative, run by semiconductor accelerator Silicon Catalyst.UK, offers nine months of training and mentoring, as well as access to design tools, intellectual property and prototyping skills, as well as a network of private investors.
Among the 12 startups, London-based MintNeuro recently secured a £100,000 grant from Innovate UK. The company develops neural chips to help patients with neurological diseases.
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Another member of the group, Wave Photonics, has raised £4.5 million for its technology that simplifies the design of photonic chips that use light instead of electrical signals. Such chips can enable more efficient operations in a wide range of applications, from data communications to biosensing to quantum computing.
“The individual mentors and in-kind partnerships gave us easy access to expertise and tools that would be difficult to find elsewhere,” said James Lee, CEO of Wave Photonics.
ChipStart's second cohort
Eleven more startups joined ChipStart's second group in June. Among them, POM Health is developing biosensors to create a wearable device to monitor female hormone levels. Nanomation is another interesting new addition to the group, working on nanomaterial software to develop more powerful and efficient chips.
Nine of the eleven startups are spin-offs from British universities.
“British researchers across the country are leading research and development in this important field and the support we provide through ChipStart is helping to turn their ideas into reality,” said Science Minister Patrick Vallance.
A key aim of the country's semiconductor strategy is to build on the UK's strengths in chip design and research and development. The UK is home to six semiconductor clusters and over 100 chip design and IP companies, including technology giant Arm.
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