UK’s fabless semiconductor company Sondrel secures €6.6M: Know more

Reading-based Sondrel, a fabless semiconductor company, announced on Thursday that it has secured £5.6M (approximately €6.6M) from ROX Equity Partners Limited, through a subscription for new shares.

The company says that due to Sondrel’s strategic importance in the UK’s semiconductor industry, the Secretary of State’s approval was required.

David Mitchard, Sondrel’s interim CEO, says, “We are delighted with this major funding as it will enable Sondrel to grow and expand its presence as one of the world’s leading providers of custom chip design and supply.”

“In particular, it will enable us to rapidly develop our presence in the US where we recently opened an office in Santa Clara to provide a face-to-face service for North American customers wanting to use our renowned turnkey service for ultra-complex chips that goes from architectural specification right through to shipped silicon,” adds Mitchard.

Sondrel: Provider of ultra-complex chips

Based out of the UK, Sondrel specialises in high-end, complex digital Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and Systems on Chips (SOCs).

The company offers a full turnkey service and caters to markets such as high-performance computing, automotive, artificial intelligence, VR/AR, video analytics, image processing, mobile networking, and data centres. Sondrel’s designs have contributed to products by leading technology brands, including Apple, Sony, Meta, Samsung, Google, JVC, Tesla, and Mercedes-Benz.

The company has been supported by long-standing ecosystem partnerships, including Arm, TSMC, and Samsung.

Headquartered in the UK, Sondrel has a global presence with offices in the UK, USA, China, India, and Morocco and is listed on the London Stock Exchange as AIM: SND.

Graham Curren, Sondrel’s Founder, concluded, “This is another great milestone in Sondrel’s more than twenty-year journey. I am so proud of the Sondrel team that their excellent work and vision has won such a resounding vote of confidence by ROX that they have invested millions in the company and its vision of its future.”

The investor

ROX Equity Partners is a UK-based private equity investment holding company, specialises in taking material interests in emerging and established companies leading industry disruption.

As long-term investors, the company offers access to global networks and expertise, seeking innovative individuals and teams dedicated to improving the world.

Miles Woodhouse, Director at ROX Equity Partners Limited, says, “We are impressed by Sondrel’s track record as one of the world’s leading design companies for many years. Our investment is the culmination of many months of due diligence on Sondrel, its business models and management but, most importantly, on its technological solutions that set it apart from rivals enabling acceleration of a customer’s time to market for custom chips, which is so vital in the fast-moving world of electronics.

“In addition, its move into providing a full supply chain service for finished chips creates a repeatable, recurring revenue for the company. We have great confidence that Sondrel will continue to grow and expand its presence around the global market especially in North America where it has great appeal as, being a British company, means it is not constrained by any US trade restrictions,” adds Woodhouse.