Zarah ChoudharyNew wave of semiconductor start-ups will join ChipStart, a Government-backed incubator programme driving the Plan for Change by helping companies scale up, create jobs, and boost growth.
ChipStart aims to provide technical expertise and commercial support to help UK-based semiconductor innovators grow and create high-skilled jobs.
Companies from the first two cohorts are already on track to raise over £40m in private investment.
Semiconductors are a cornerstone of the UK’s tech economy, with the sector already worth £10bn and projected to grow up to £17bn by 2030.
ChipStart – delivered by SiliconCatalyst.UK – has successfully helped early-stage semiconductor companies turn their ideas into real-world products by providing mentorship, industry connections, and access to design tools.
Science Minister, Lord Vallance said: “The UK’s semiconductor industry is vibrant with innovation, and this third cohort shows just how much potential we have with many exciting start-ups.
“This sector holds incredible promise, and with the right partnerships, it will lead us into a future of greater economic growth and technological advancement – a key pillar of our Plan for Change.”
Sean Redmond at Silicon Catalyst UK said: “We have been delighted with the high quality of new semiconductor startup applications we received for our third cohort of ChipStart from across the UK semiconductor clusters.
“Our now proven incubation process, that provides no cost design tools and chip manufacturing, will help these competitively selected companies attract the right private investment at the right time, launching them onto the global semiconductor stage.
“With the help of our experienced semiconductor executive advisors, which includes co-founders of Arm, we can help these young companies make great decisions and build the next generation of UK semiconductor unicorns.
“The next ten years of semiconductors will be a race to a £2tn industry. These new UK scale-ups will be in pole position to win that race.”
James Lee, co-founder of Wave Photonics, said: “ChipStart was fantastic preparation for raising and deploying our seed round to deploy our new approach to photonics design for quantum technologies, sensing and datacentre applications.
“As well as training and connection to mentors, ChipStart helps you directly plug into the UK semiconductor ecosystem and learn from the successes of the previous generation of UK semiconductor startups.”
