An electronics manufacturer based in Sedgefield has secured $80 million of funding to build a new fabrication plant.

PragmatIC Semiconductor, a world leader in flexible electronics, says the Series C funding will be used to build a second FlexLogIC fabrication plant (fab) at Sedgefield, to meet the growing demand for ultra-low-cost flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs) to connect everday objects to the Internet of Things.

The IoT describes physical objects that are embedded with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies, and that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks.

“This successful Series C round is a testament to the potential for our technology to enable trillions of smart items and address key UN sustainable development goals,” said CEO Scott White.

“Our FlexLogIC-002 fab will deliver significantly higher capacity than our first line, whilst still maintaining our signature ultra-low capex, fast production cycle time and minimal carbon footprint. In addition to supporting our continued commercial ramp, it provides a template for rolling out a distributed global network of FlexLogIC systems, offering a Fab-as-a-Service (FaaS) for dedicated production on major customer sites.”

Erik Langaker, independent Chair of the Board, added: “This capital raise is a fantastic recognition of the achievements of Scott White, Richard Price and their team. The round has been subscribed by a highly qualified select group of industrial and individual investors with significant experience in the semiconductor industry. Their backing will enable the team to more than double in size over the next 12 months and expand capacity to fulfil the rapidly growing demand for electronics in everyday objects.

PragmatIC’s development over the past few years has seen the launch of its flagship ConnectIC product line of ultra-low-cost FlexICs, as well as its FlexIC Foundry service enabling innovative designers to create more pioneering products and advance them rapidly from concept to reality.

This year it has demonstrated a huge improvement in complexity and computing capability for non-silicon chips by producing flexible microprocessors. These include the iconic 6502 and PlasticArm, an ultra-minimalist system which is 12 times more complex than previous flexible electronics.

“Billions of everyday objects could benefit from being part of the Internet of Things, but to continue to scale sustainably we need to explore new approaches for embedding intelligence into everyday objects,” said Dipesh Patel, chief technology officer at Arm.

“We see massive potential for it to be adopted with global impact.”

 

 

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