UK chip incubator startups secure over £10M in funding

Twelve semiconductor startups taking part in the UK’s ChipStart scheme have raised over £10mn in funding from private investors and grants, the British government announced today.

Launched in October 2023, ChipStart is an incubator programme. It aims to provide early-stage chip designers with the technical and commercial support they need to bring new products to market.

Run by semiconductor accelerator Silicon Catalyst.UK, the £1.3mn initiative offers nine months of training and mentorship. It also opens up access to design tools, IP, and prototyping capabilities as well as a network of private investors.

Among the 12 startups, London-based MintNeuro recently secured a £100k grant from Innovate UK. The company is developing neural chips to help patients suffering from neurological conditions.

Another cohort member, Wave Photonics, has raised £4.5 million for its technology that simplifies the design of photonic chips, which use light instead of electrical signals. Such chips can enable more efficient operations in a wide range of applications, from datacoms to biosensing and quantum computing.

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“The individual mentors and in-kind partnerships gave us easy access to expertise and tooling that would be difficult to find elsewhere,” said Wave Photonics CEO James Lee. 

ChipStart’s second cohort

Eleven more startups joined the second cohort of ChipStart in June. Among them, POM Health is developing biosensors to create a wearable for female hormone monitoring. Nanomation is another interesting addition to the group, working on nanomaterial software to create more powerful and efficient chips.

Nine out of the 11 startups are spinouts from UK universities.

“British researchers across the country are leading in R&D in this essential field and the support we are delivering through ChipStart is helping their ideas become reality,” said Minister for Science Patrick Vallance.

Building on the UK’s strength in chip design and R&D is a key target of the country’s semiconductor strategy. The UK houses six semiconductor clusters and over 100 chip design and IP companies, including tech giant Arm.