Kickstarter startup crowdfunding to come to the UK

Kickstarter, the US crowdfunding phenomenon, is looking to set up in the UK in the autumn.

The company offers start-ups a route to raise funding for specific projects from the general public in return for ‘investor’ benefits. A target amount to raise is set and if that amount is not reached, nothing is funded. Unlike UK crowdfunding venture Crowdcube, the benefits do not currently include shares.

The latest hit project on Kickstarter is Ouya, a low cost games console that comes with its own software development kit (SDK) so that it can be deliberately hacked (or programmed, as we used to say!). The $100 Android-based console is to the Raspberry Pi what the old ZX80 DIY computer kit was to the BBC B Microcomputer.

Over 100 UK companies have already used Kickstarter in the US. Xenonauts, a game by Goldhawk Interactive in London, last month raised $155,000 from nearly 5,000 small investors. However, in order to set up a Kickstarter account, you have to use Amazon Payments and in order to use Amazon Payments you have be an American citizen, and that has caused problems for international companies.

Quartz-like frequency stability from a simple, tiny, silicon chip oscillator? That is the claim of…more »

Cambridge-based power electronics start-up Amantys says the time is right…more »

Researchers from the University of Bristol are looking at the commercial opportunities for spinning off…more »

Bristol start-up Blu Wireless Technology is ramping up its 60GHz development for multi gigabit WiFi…more »

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eoSemi – Start-ups to follow in 2013

Quartz-like frequency stability from a simple, tiny, silicon chip oscillator? That is the claim of fabless start-up eoSemi of Congleton Cheshire: accuracy, small size, low power, low cost, and no micromachining, writes Steve Bush.

Last year it sampled its first product: a 1.5×1.5mm 32kHz timing reference chip for mobile phones.

This year, we will see what the market thinks, and await higher frequency products.

Manufactured using a standard CMOS process, the 32kHz oscillator draws 8µA, delivers accuracy down to ±30ppm, and works from -40 to 85°C – complying with the system design requirements of major 3G handset manufacturers, claimed the firm.

Its IP, ‘accurate timing oscillator circuit’ (Atoc), does not involve physical resonators, micromachined or otherwise, nor squeezing every last error out of the oscillator. It is about error compensation – going so far as to correct for stress in the silicon chip substrate. “We have a technique for tuning oscillators, it could be any oscillator: RC or LC,” said CEO Ian Macbeth. “All the smarts are in the compensation, not the oscillator.”

After manufacture, calibration codes to be applied at power-up are blown into non-volatile memory. Plus there is some continuous re-calibration.

Phone-makers want the product, claims Macbeth, but want to cut the risks associated with small start-ups. Desire was strong enough for phone makers to ask big chip firms to come up with a solution, so eoSemi is having its chips made by a trusted supplier – TSMC, and badged by Tier 1 chip firms.

Previous Startups to follow:

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Blu Wireless pivots to ramp up for 60GHz

Bristol start-up Blu Wireless Technology is ramping up its 60GHz development for multi gigabit WiFi and 4G MetroCell wireless backhaul markets after changing its business model and closing a series of deals with semiconductor and system companies.

Previously a traditional fabless company, BWT ‘pivoted’ its business model earlier this year to instead become a supplier of System IP (SIP) for gigabit communication applications using the unlicensed 60GHz band. This has converted what had previously been Blu Wirelesses’ competitors into potential customers and resulted in multiple contracts, says CEO Henry Nurser. The company aims to expand to over 30 engineers over the next year to deliver its Hybrid Defined Radio Architecture (HYDRA) massively parallel baseband technology to its customers.

The company has applied for 15 patents and its customers are already developing chips for wireless data and video links. “Our HYRDA architecture is currently sized to address the existing 7Gbps WiGig standard but is scalable to 20Gbps and above”, said Nurser.”We think that this should be enough for the next few years.”

“We have confronted some extremely challenging technical problems over the last two years in a very difficult financial environment,” he added. “After a lot of heartache we are now convinced that we have developed a product and business model that works for us, our investors and the end customers.”

The key has been to have a solution to the customers’ overall system design problems in 60GHz, rather than just providing one isolated IP block. “It’s great timing for the SIP business model for gigabit wireless baseband,” he said. “There’s a buzz building around 60GHz via the WiGig Alliance’s promotions as well as the need for a low cost 4G MetroCell backhaul solution, and many companies just don’t have the skills and time to develop this difficult technology in house. Although we can – via partnerships for 60GHz RF – do a complete turnkey chip design for a customer, we anticipate most of our customers will just want to license our baseband SIP. “

Nurser is looking for a mix of new graduates and experienced engineers wanting to get involved in the technology. “We are interested in engineers both from start-ups, and also those who have been exposed to the technical IP standards associated with a large company,” he said. “There are a lot of hidden talent in large IDMs and fabless companies who are looking for an opportunity to show their creativity in a start-up environment, and there’s been a lot of upheaval in these companies over the last few years.”

But training the next generation of engineers is also important for both the company and the long term health of the industry he says. “We need to balance our team with recent graduates as well,” he said. “I definitely want young engineers in the team willing to challenge some of the assumptions of the more experienced – and greyer – ones.”

www.bluwirelesstechnology.com

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Amantys – Start-ups to follow in 2013

Cambridge-based power electronics start-up Amantys says the time is right to take its innovative power semiconductor technology to global markets.

The year-old start-up is investing in its sales operation which will target German, China and Japan, after securing new funding of $8m.

Amantys has designed the Power Drive IGBT module gate driver capable of switching 3.3kV, 1.7kV and 1.2kV.

It has patented technology which will reduce size and power consumption of IGBT-based power switching modules, used in high voltage motor drives and renewable energy systems.

The second generation product, dubbed Power Insight, adds monitoring, diagnostics and an optical communications interface to the power module.

According to Amantys marketing director Richard Ord, this is “a breakthrough in optimising performance and improving maintenance in systems such as wind turbine power converters or traction systems for electrically powered locomotives”.

“What we bring to the market is a driver which supports IGBTs from different suppliers and we very high levels of isolation,” said Ord.

“With the new module we are adding siganlling,” said Ord.

To monitor voltages and gate temperature in the module, it is necessaruy to have a data link. But it has been difficult to achieve the necessary isolation form the high voltage switching in the module. 

Amantys’ approach is to use a fibre optic comms link. 

This adds to the gate driver circuitry to provide simple monitoring and control signals.

This allows the designer to modify gate resistor settings in system via the fibre optic comms link.

Since the drive and module are already characterised, the manufacturer no longer needs to experiment to determine safe operating areas.

The gate drive integrates additional circuitry to monitor and sense a series of key power transistor and gate drive characteristics. Key parameters tracked include drive temperature cycling and number of switching operations to give a leading indicator of potential system faults or failures.

According to Ord, this is a technology which is in the right place at the right time. “The use of IGBT switching is going up dramatically,” he pointed out.

“Traditional applications have been in high voltage motor drives in transportation and factory automation, But now we also see applications in renewable energy systems and hybrid vehicles,” said Ord. 

Now Amantys is expanding its commercial activiteios in the important markets of Germany, China, Korea and Japan.

“Each market requires a different marketing approach”, said Ord.

Future product development will include a high isolation electrical data interface with a proprietary signalling protocol.

“There is the potential to add greater diagnostic functions to the module, with remote monitoring via the internet,” said Ord.

Nicky McCabe, chief operating officer at Moonray Investors said: “We have continued to be really impressed with the success that Amantys has achieved over the last year, bringing new and disruptive products to market.”

ARM is another financial backer of the company and ARM vice president of segment marketing Vincent Korstanje is joining the Board of Amantys to represent ARM’s continued support for its investment in Amantys.

“Amantys’ unique power switching technology delivers significant energy savings in medium and high voltage markets. This year Amantys added the Power Insight product that provides real-time monitoring and control of the power switch in order to further improve energy efficiency and reliability,” said Korstanje.

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Bristol researchers look to VentureFest for commercial spin-off for tilting display

Researchers from the University of Bristol are looking at the commercial opportunities for spinning off a new tilting display technology. 

The researchers are taking part in VentureFest in Bristol on November 7th to talk to entrepreneurs and investors about the Tilt Display they have developed. 

Tilt Display is a display surface about half the size of a standard tablet, such as an iPad, and consists of a collection of individual display components each of which can tilt along one or more axes and move vertically up and down. 

The researchers, through a mobile 3×3 custom built prototype, examined the design space around Tilt Displays to understand users’ initial impressions and looked at how users may interact with these surfaces.  They were also interested in the use of a mobile display, because of the range of opportunities for its use it offers.

“The ability to tilt along multiple axes distinguishes our display from previous actuatable displays,” said Sriram Subramanian, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in the Department of Computer Science’s Interaction and Graphics group. “Such screen versatility opens a range of opportunities for providing an additional integrated information channel to the user.

“These opportunities include collaboration, terrain modeling, 3D video that is beyond auto-stereoscopic 3D and tangible gaming. We can imagine many scenarios that would benefit from the physicality offered by Tilt Displays. However, we need to establish whether users can relate to the new experiences and advantages of using such a device.”

The research found participants were very positive about the Tilt Display concept.  Their first impression was to associate Tilt Displays to a new method of presenting and consuming 3D content and they linked the Tilt Display to other forms of 3D displays, such as those used in cinema. 

A second user study examined two interaction possibilities, one for manipulating the surface of the Tilt Display and the second for conducting everyday interactions. 

A set of six gestures were employed to control all facets of tilt and actuation. The second set, for the low-level interactions of panning, scaling, rotating and selection, found that users preferred on-screen gestures for planar surfaces, but mid-air versions of the same gestures for non-planar configurations. This demonstrates users’ ability to ‘scale up’ their knowledge of gestures to the domain of Tilt Displays.

A video of Tilt Displays is available on YouTube.

www.sciencecitybristol.com/pages/2-venturefest

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Here comes the science bit – ‘while you wait’ DNA analysis for cosmetics

Silicon serial entrepreneur Chris Toumazou is seeing success for his latest startup in the somewhat unexpected area of high street cosmetics.

Toumazou’s latest venture, DNA Electronics, has teamed up with a cloud-based software provider called geneOnyx to provide analysis of DNA to map how ingredients in cosmetics will match with an individual’s genetic profile.

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Finance Yorkshire invests in touch screen pioneer Peratech

Touchscreen pioneer Peratech has arranged £1.2 million funding from Finance Yorkshire’s Equity Linked Fund to expand its North Yorkshire operations, build new laboratory facilities and secure new contracts.

The company is the leader in Quantum Tunnelling Composite technology, invented by David Lussey, Chief Technical Officer. QTC Materials are used in switching and sensing systems and are already widely used in robotics, defence and telecommunications. 

It was the flexibility of Finance Yorkshire’s portfolio of funding options that helped agree the £1.2 million mezzanine deal – a loan investment deal with a small equity-linked exit bonus which suited the company’s current requirements and future expectations.

“We’re in a strong position in that we don’t need the money now as we’re capable of organic growth through the customers and contracts we currently have,” said Chief Financial and Operations Officer Doug Balderston. “But the technology sector grows very fast so leaving it to organic growth alone puts us at a disadvantage because it risks being left behind by competitors. At the moment, we don’t have any competitors, but that’s not to say we won’t have in the future.

“We have used equity or loan investments in the past, but the mezzanine investment deal helps take into account where we will be in the next three to five years and was therefore a better fit for our business model and strategy than perhaps a straightforward equity investment may have been.”

“In the next three to five years, we expect to grow our customer base and increase the value of the business to in excess of £100m,” said Balderston. “We already have a number of significant contracts around the world including Japan and the US which are being managed by our in-house team very effectively. However, we have a desire to grow further and attract more contracts and to do that we need to expand our operations and invest in resources, staff and research and development.

Peratech recently won in the Innovation category at the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for its QTC Technology. It also took the title of British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Regional Management team of the year award 2012 for the north east.

The Yorkshire Finance project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £30 million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, £15 million from Yorkshire Forward’s Single Programme, and £45 million match funding from the European Investment Bank.

Quartz-like frequency stability from a simple, tiny, silicon chip oscillator? That is the claim of…more »

Cambridge-based power electronics start-up Amantys says the time is right…more »

Researchers from the University of Bristol are looking at the commercial opportunities for spinning off…more »

Bristol start-up Blu Wireless Technology is ramping up its 60GHz development for multi gigabit WiFi…more »

View the original article here