Silicon Catalyst Expands In-Kind Partner Ecosystem with 3 UK-based Companies

These IKPs will provide support to the companies in the Silicon Catalyst Incubator, further expanding the comprehensive ecosystem that enables early-stage companies to tap into the products and services available to enhance the growth of their companies.

The new IKP organizations include:

• Alter Technology UK, a leading supplier of fast turnaround prototype assembly and volume packaging of Microelectronics and Photonics assembly for semiconductor devices
• Codasip, the leader in customizable RISC-V processor IP
• Crypto Quantique, a supplier of quantum-driven hardware root-of-trust design IP

Silicon Catalyst has built an ecosystem of unrivalled support for semiconductor start-ups, granting privileged access to EDA design tools, silicon foundry runs and intellectual property. The incubator provides networking, path to funding and expert business acumen to successfully launch and drive growth. This announcement further highlights the regional importance and focus from Silicon Catalyst for innovative In-Kind Partners to enable business growth for the Portfolio Companies in the incubator.

Sean Redmond, Silicon Catalyst UK
“We are relentlessly expanding our ecosystem to serve the best semiconductor start-ups in the industry. Our Portfolio Companies do not need to compromise on any choice they need to make by getting access to exactly what is required to be successful as globally scaling semiconductor companies. We are delighted to welcome Alter Technology, Codasip and Crypto Quantique to our In-Kind Partner program, enhancing our ability to provide flexible and scalable device packaging, application-specific RISC-V processors and root-of-trust design IP solutions to support the product needs of the innovative companies in our Incubator.”

Alter Technology TÜV Nord UK Ltd has started volume production of plastic encapsulated QFN chip packages in the UK. Most of the semiconductor packaging is currently taking place in sizeable out-sourced assembly and test (OSAT) production lines in Asia, so the Alter plant in Livingston, Scotland, offers a significant capability in the UK. Traditionally UK semiconductor packaging has been centred on low volumes using ceramic and metal packages with batch sizes restricted to 100s of devices packaged in a sequential pattern. The change to this lower-cost and high-volume compatible plastic package technology signifies a 90% decrease in cost and facilitates several thousands to tens of thousands of devices per batch. Alter UK also offer advanced packaging processes and solutions for custom photonics components.

Stephen Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of Alter Technology TÜV Nord UK Ltd said, “Silicon Catalyst’s Portfolio Companies are all on a trajectory to ship large volume semiconductor devices to their global customer base. Being able to work closely with them through their prototype packaging needs all the way to their low-cost large volume packaging final production shipments is a great opportunity for us to work with those startups that we are confident will succeed”.

Codasip is the leader in customizable RISC-V processor IP. With their Codasip Studio customization tools, chip designers can create highly differentiated application-specific RISC-V processor design IP.

Ron Black, CEO, Codasip, commented, “Many semiconductor startups are now struggling to achieve performance gains from scaling semiconductors to smaller nodes. Early adopters of application-specific IP design are seeing the benefits of tailoring their processors to their target markets. Our RISC-V processor design IP combined with the customization capabilities of Codasip Studio enables them to make significant performance gains.”

Crypto Quantique is an IoT security pioneer that has combined cryptography and quantum physics to develop security products that drive end-to-end security and unlock scalability for IoT networks.

Dr. Shahram Mossayebi, CEO and Co-Founder of Crypto Quantique said, “We are delighted to join Silicon Catalyst as part of the In-Kind Partner program, aiming to bring enhanced IoT device security for startups and scale-ups. Our QDID design IP, which has been independently verified as robust against all known cyberattack mechanisms, measures quantum effects occurring in the fabric of silicon wafers to produce unique, unforgeable identities and cryptographic keys on-demand inside chip designs. The identities and keys create roots-of-trust for the chips used in IoT devices and edge nodes. QDID is a second-generation physical unclonable function (PUF) that eliminates key injection and the requirement to store keys in device memories.”

About Alter Technology TÜV Nord UK Ltd
Alter Technology UK has an extensive design and packaging capability, supporting Microelectronics and Photonics assembly of semiconductor devices including ASICs, MEMS, LEDs, Laser Diodes, VCSELs and Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC). Our Fast Turn prototype assembly helps customers with rapid evaluation of new designs. Our state of the art, automated assembly equipment now includes a plastic encapsulation capability for QFN and can support volume ramp-up into the millions of dies per year. Alter UK’s line of robust Photonic Products includes FLAME and REMOTE, narrow-linewidth laser modules for Quantum technology applications and Optical Transceiver for intra-satellite space communications. www.altertechnology-group.com/en/company/alter-technology-uk/

About Codasip
Codasip delivers leading-edge RISC-V processor IP and high-level processor design tools, providing IC designers with all the advantages of the RISC-V open ISA, along with the unique ability to customize the processor IP. As a founding member of RISC-V International and a long-term supplier of LLVM and GNU-based processor solutions, Codasip is committed to open standards for embedded and application processors. Formed in 2014 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, Codasip currently has R&D centers in Europe and sales representatives worldwide. For more information about our products and services, visit www.codasip.com. For more information about RISC-V, visit www.riscv.org.

About Crypto Quantique
Crypto Quantique is an IoT security pioneer. We’ve combined cryptography and quantum physics to develop security products that drive end-to-end security and unlock scalability for IoT networks. www.cryptoquantique.com

About Silicon Catalyst
It’s About What’s Next® - Silicon Catalyst is the world’s only incubator focused exclusively on accelerating semiconductor solutions - including Photonics, IP, MEMS, sensors, materials and life science - building a large coalition of in-kind and strategic partners to dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of development. More than 700 startup companies worldwide have engaged with Silicon Catalyst and we have admitted 88 exciting companies. With a world-class network of mentors to advise startups, Silicon Catalyst is helping new semiconductor companies address the challenges in moving from idea to realization. The incubator/accelerator supplies startups with a path to design tools, silicon devices, networking, path to funding, banking and marketing acumen to successfully launch and grow their companies’ novel technology solutions. Silicon Catalyst has been named the Semiconductor Review’s 2021 Top-10 Solutions Company award winner.

The Silicon Catalyst Angels was established in July 2019 as a separate organization to provide access to seed and Series A funding for Silicon Catalyst portfolio companies.

More information is available at www.siliconcatalyst.uk, www.siliconcatalyst.com and www.siliconcatalystangels.com.