Investment

Cambridge fabless semiconductor company, Forefront RF, has secured £16m series A funding. Octopus Ventures and Cambridge Innovation Capital have joined existing backers BGF and Foresight Group to provide investment to prepare for the launch of its first product, the FFM51010, for the cellular enabled smartwatch market. Established in 2020, the startup’s patented Foretune technology is based on founder Dr Leo ...

Norwegian Wind Energy developer Kitemill has secured more than €2m of funding from Dutch investment entity Expanding Dreams. “Together with smaller investors and a tax relief grant, the combined package will cover the majority of planned activity for 2024,” according to the company. The company’s technology generates power using a tethered glider, which initially launches itself using a small motor-driven ...

"I cannot imagine the aggravation that researchers from ETH Zurich must have had trying to create an algorithm that stacks random-shaped rocks to make a predetermined-shaped dry stone wall," writes our technology editor...

Fabless touch controller IC company TouchNetix has raised around $12m (actually 120MNOK). Investing companies included: Alliance Venture, Bergan, Calypso Invest, Djerv Holding, Fyrva, Investinor, Investitude, LER Invest, Motor-Trade Eiendom & Finans, R Munkhaugen, Reitan Kapital and Wiski Capital. The financial advisor was Sparebank 1 Markets. “We are delighted to be supported by such a strong base of investors, and that ...

Oxfordshire-based silicon anode research company Nexeon has landed a $80m investment from a consortium including SKC, SJL Partners, BNW Investment and Kiwoom Private Equity. “SKC, a $5bn market cap company, is one of Korea’s leading advanced materials companies, with a strategic focus on rechargeable battery and semiconductor materials,” according to Nexeon. “Through this transaction, Nexeon enters into a strategic partnership ...

Robot grass measuring company E-Nano has raised “a six-figure sum” with University of Sussex backed investor matching service Suss Ventures. “Support from Suss Ventures was key to put us in front of an early-stage fund that could act as lead investor,” according to E-Nano co-founder Christian Von Scheidt. “Their team has been professional all the way through the process, looking for ...

Portsmouth-based Harwin has started manufacturing on its new 1,200m2 of factory floor, scaling-up production of its high-reliability connectors. The total investment in the facility is £3.8m, of which £1m is for equipment. “The additional factory space and equipment enables us to ramp up production to meet volume demands very quickly,” said Harwin operations director Paul McGuinness. “The extra space also ...

Shenzen-based DB investment management (DBI) has joined the Crayfish.io accelerator as the second anchor investor opening up further opportunities for UK and European semiconductor and IoT companies to join the programme and get ‘China-ready’. Two months since its launch, the ‘China-ready’ investment programme for UK and European companies has increased by £2.33m. DBI’s investment focus is on IoT and semiconductors, ...

IoT satellite start ups Fleet Space Technologies and Astrocast, hailing from Australia and Switzerland respectively, have concluded funding rounds raising a combined $16.5m. Fleet raised $7.3m from global funds including Momenta Ventures and Horizons Ventures, while Astrocast raised $9.2m. Fleet’s funding also includes capital from the Kennard family, a customer of Fleet via their equipment hire business Kennards Hire. Fleet ...

UK tech investment is on a high and London-based firms attracted the lion’s share of funding, according to a market survey by London & Partners. British tech firms attracted more venture capital funding than any other European country in 2017. According to data compiled for London & Partners by PitchBook, venture capital investment into the UK’s tech sector reached an ...