TECH BYTES
Paragraf, the Cambridge company poised to bring graphene-based electronics to market, has raised an additional £3.4m, bringing the total value of its Series A round to £16.2m. The fresh cash comes from Draper Esprit, which joins the funding round led by Parkwalk, which also included investment from IQ Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners and Cambridge Enterprise, the commercialisation arm of Cambridge University. Paragraf says the additional funding will enable it to significantly accelerate the delivery of its first graphene-based electronics products, transitioning the company into a commercial, revenue- generating stage. It has a novel approach to synthesising so-called ‘wonder material’ graphene, which has enabled it to develop some of the first graphene electronics devices
using standard mass production scale approaches. Its first product, a super- high sensitivity magnetic field detector with performance enhancements over existing sensors, has already been delivered to a customer. According to Paragraf, this technology provides operational capabilities around temperature, field and power ranges that no other device can currently achieve. Dr Simon Thomas, CEO and co-founder of Paragraf, said: “By accepting additional investment, Paragraf is demonstrating its drive and commitment to rapidly productising its
game-changing graphene technologies, accelerating the time frame in which these devices can be developed and, importantly, delivered to market.” David Cummings, partner at Draper Esprit, added: “Graphene is known to be a material with huge potential, but Paragraf’s approach takes this into the realm of the commercially possible. We’re delighted to be able to support this dynamic company in accelerating the delivery of its first graphene-based electronics products and are looking forward to working closely with them as they develop their technology.”
Paragraf is demonstrating its drive and commitment"
Will 2020 be the year blockchain breaks through
into the mainstream? Probably not, but an event in January will discuss what the future is for this decentralised ledger technology. Ray Anderson, CEO of mobile payment specialist Bango, and Pali Surdhar, chief security officer at nCipher, are the speakers at the Cambridge
Ninja Theory has revealed it is working on a sequel
VividQ, which is developing novel holographic displays from its base at Castle Park in Cambridge, has raised £2.4m in the second closing of its seed funding round. FluxUnit – OSRAM Ventures, the University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC) and existing angel investors all contributed to the oversubscribed seed round. The company is aiming to drive the mass adoption of holographic display in consumer electronics, and the investment will allow VividQ to accelerate the adoption of its software. The company is already working with partners in China, Japan and the US.
to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. The game was showcased as part of the unveiling of Microsoft’s next-generation console, the Xbox Series X. A release date has yet to be announced, but with the Series X not due to hit the shops until Christmas 2020, it’s likely to be 2021 before we can get our hands on the Cambridge studio’s latest work.
Network business lecture 'What’s happening with
Revenue and profits are soaring at SDI, which
blockchain?' It takes place on 23 January at the Hauser Forum at 6pm. Book online at cambridgenetwork.co.uk
makes instruments to help scientists working in digital imaging. The company’s latest interim results saw revenue increase by 42% to £11.45m, while pre-tax profits were up 36% to £2m. Furthermore, SDI continues to be active in the acquisition space, and after the end of the reporting period announced it had brought Norfolk-based Chell Instruments for £4.3m.
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