Forefront RF, a Cambridge, UK-based fabless semiconductor company, raised £6.7M in funding.
Backers included BGF, which committed a £3.75m follow-on investment, existing investors Science Creates Ventures and Foresight WAE Technology Funds.
The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach.
Commercialising academic research from the University of Bristol, Forefront RF has developed Adaptive Passive Cancellation technology that uses software control to enable connected devices to operate effectively across the increasingly wide range of XGen (3G to 6G) mobile telephony frequency bands, removing the need for a bank of switched SAW and BAW crystal filters. This enables manufacturers to simplify the design and deliver frequency agnostic products, whilst reducing cost and supply chain waste.
In addition to the investment, Forefront RF is launching a fully Tunable Duplexer using the company’s patented adaptive passive cancellation technology. The demonstrator, specifically designed for the 600-1000MHz bands, will show Forefront RF’s Tunable Duplexer technology suitable for the 4G and 5G standards.
The company is led by Ronald Wilting, who was appointed CEO in 2022, bringing 25 years’ experience in radio frequency technology, having worked in engineering, marketing, sales and leadership roles for firms including Ericsson, Qualcomm, NXP and SemiBlocks.
Ronald works closely with Forefront RF’s founders Dr Leo Laughlin and Julian Hildersley, supported by experienced Chair Phil O’Donovan, co-founder and MD of CSR plc (formerly Cambridge Silicon Radio) – a multinational fabless semiconductor company which delivered 4 billion chips and became the market leader in Bluetooth chip technology before being acquired by Qualcomm for $2.5 billion in 2015.
FinSMEs
04/04/2023