Since I launched the BritChips podcast series back in April, I've had a fair few conversations with founders and leaders of UK semiconductor startups. And it's perhaps no surprise how many of my guests had cut their teeth at what is undoubtedly the most successful global semiconductor design company to have come out of the UK - I'm referring of course to Arm.What's perhaps not so well known is what Arm is giving back to the industry, and in particular, to startups. In 2020, Arm launched Flexible Access for Startups, a programme which gives early-stage chip design companies access to Arm's huge IP portfolio for absolutely nothing, along with free tools, free training, and free support.What’s the catch?Frankly, there isn’t one, as Neil Parris, Arm’s Director, Partner Success and Business Models, explains in this BritChips podcast.So, if you are looking to launch a semiconductor startup - or you know someone who is - then listen in to find out how Arm can help you get a leg-up in the market! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com
--------
26:52
--------
26:52
BritChips podcast: Shining a new light on spectral imaging
Let me say from the outset that 'spectral imaging' has nothing to do with photographing ghosts.It's about capturing light across a wider range of wavelengths than the human eye can perceive. And the way this light interacts with various materials produces unique spectral 'fingerprints' which can be used to identify the composition of the materials.And that explanation has exhausted my meagre knowledge of spectroscopy. So let me leave it to someone who understands this stuff far better than me.I therefore defer to Gwen Wyatt-Moon, who is the CEO and one of the four founders of Cambridge-based imaging startup, Prospectral.Prospectral is one of the ten UK semiconductor startups selected for the third cohort of the government sponsored ChipStart incubator, which is managed by Silicon Catalyst UK.Gwen, along with Cambridge University researchers Tom Albrow-Owen (CTO), Oliver Burton (CSO) and Peter Christopher (CIO), are developing a microscopically thin filter called a metasurface that sits on top of industry-standard imaging sensors to form the basis of lightweight, portable spectroscopes.And not only can Prospectral's technology be used for materials analysis, it can also be used, for example, to improve object recognition in autonomous vehicle control systems, or in ultra-compact medical devices as well as many other applications that currently depend on high-cost, lab-based spectral imaging kit.You can hear Gwen describe Prospectral's journey in this episode of BritChips: Conversations with movers ands shakers in the UK semiconductor startup scene. I’m sure you’ll find it most enlightening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com
--------
25:17
--------
25:17
BritChips podcast: Stan the Man
There is an English proverb attributed to 14th century poet and writer Geoffrey Chaucer that reads, 'Mighty oaks from little acorns grow'.Here's my version.'A mighty arm from a little acorn grew.'Hold onto that thought.If you didn't know Stan Boland and looked him up on LinkedIn, you'd read that he is an Investor and Advisor.If you do know him, you might say that is a bit of an understatement.Boland led the team responsible for the separation of what became the UK's most successful semiconductor design company, Arm, from troubled set-top box and PC manufacturer, Acorn, for which he was CEO.(See what I did there?)That was a bit of a career change for a guy who had spent his formative years running foreign exchange trading for aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and then as Group Treasurer for what was at the time the UK's flagship mainframe computer manufacturer, ICL.That was merely the start of Boland's illustrious career in the UK semiconductor industryOver the next twenty-five years, Boland founded, led, scaled and sold globally successful UK chip companies, joined other UK tech startups as CEO, chaired a deep tech industry trade association, and now sits on the board of yet another a UK startup that has the potential to give Nvidia a good run for its money!Yet he's still much younger than me!All I can say is find a comfy chair, kick off your shoes, lay back and spend the next hour or so listening in awe to Stan Boland tell his story. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com
--------
1:08:09
--------
1:08:09
BritChips podcast: Cool Hand Rob - The Kelvin Quantum Story
Quantum computers like it cold. Very cold indeed. We're talking about temperatures close to absolute zero (-273.15°C)However, off-the-shelf electronics subsystems that connect them to the outside world do not like it anywhere near as cold. Typically, about -40°C is as cool as they go.Which means that the electronics have to sit outside the cryogenic environment, connected to the quantum computer with hundreds, if not thousands, of wires depending on the size of the computer.The problem is, these wires carry heat which is detrimental to the cryogenic environment.Belfast-born Robert Graham leads the team at University of Glasgow spinout, Kelvin Quantum, which designs ultra-low temperature interface systems that sit in the same cryogenic environment as a quantum computer and connect directly to the outside world with just four wires.Kelvin Quantum is one of the start-ups selected for the third cohort of the Government-sponsored ChipStartUK programme, managed by incubator Silicon Catalyst.UK.In this podcast, Robert explains how he was invited to lead the quantum computing project at the University of Glasgow and manage the spin-out process to a successful conclusion.Robert describes the challenges the team faced in modelling and testing their designs in the absence of tool kits suitable for cryogenic semiconductor systems, and the many potential use cases beyond quantum computing.There's so much to learn from Robert's efforts to commercialise leading-edge technology designed to be used in the most unforgiving of environments. So get listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com
--------
36:07
--------
36:07
BritChips podcast: EnSilica - Brazil by Design
If anyone should be known as the godfather of the Brazilian semiconductor industry, my vote would go to Brazil-born tech industry veteran Julio Leão da Silva Jr (or simply, Julio Leão). But he would be too modest to accept.Julio is Director of Engineering - Design Services BU & Brazil Design Centre Director at Abingdon-based, AIM-listed 'fabless' semiconductor design and supply start-up (and now scale-up) EnSilica. Basically, he founded and now runs EnSilica's operations in Brazil.How that came to pass is as much a story about the on-again, off-again, and now on-again development of the Brazilian semiconductor industry (yes, it does exist!) as it is about a shrewd move (and a modicum of serendipity) by EnSilica cofounder and CEO, Ian Lankshear, who grabbed the opportunity to hire Julio and his colleagues when political winds in Brazil forced the closure of the country's former state-owned semiconductor company, CEITEC.In this BritChips podcast, Julio explains how, armed only with a 15-slide pitch deck, he led the mission to find new careers for the 35 semiconductor engineers about to lose their jobs at CEITEC, and why the timing was so propitious for EnSilica.Who knows, perhaps this will prompt other UK semiconductor start-ups to consider opening design centres in Brazil.But first they'd need to find themselves a godfather! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com
Conversations between award-winning tech industry analyst Anthony Miller and movers and shakers in the UK semiconductor start-up scene. anttheantidote.substack.com
UK