The Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult has relaunched as the Semiconductor Catapult. It will now support AI hardware and defence chip companies from sites in Newport, Bristol and Glasgow, under a £1.1bn plan that includes £150m for buying chips from UK startups.
The government-backed technology centre announced its new remit on 29 September. It had previously focused mainly on compound semiconductors, and now covers a wider set of technologies.
The relaunch delivers on a commitment in the government's AI Hardware Plan, published in June, to refocus the Catapult on AI hardware.
What changes
The Catapult will work with startups, SMEs and larger companies on four technical areas: advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration; power electronics and thermal management; photonics and optical interconnects; and RF and mixed-signal integration.
Its role is to provide engineering staff, laboratories and specialist equipment. That helps companies validate chip designs and take technical risk out of them before they commit to commercial deployment.
Work will run in two phases. The first will set up integration and core silicon capabilities for validating semiconductor architectures. The second will add system-level integration and a route to scale-up and small-volume production.
"The market opportunity for the UK in AI hardware and defence is moving quickly," said Caroline O'Brien, chief executive of the Semiconductor Catapult. She added that the aim is to keep more of the technology, supply chains and economic value in the UK.
The capital around it
The Catapult is one part of a larger funding package. The June AI Hardware Plan set out:
- £750m for a new national AI supercomputer
- £400m for next-generation AI chips, including £150m ringfenced to buy novel chips from UK startups and companies
- £18m for a hardware security R&D programme
- a new hardware investment fund backed by up to £150m from the British Business Bank
For early-stage chip companies, access to the Catapult's facilities is a form of non-dilutive support. Validation work that founders would otherwise pay for out of equity rounds can be done on shared, publicly funded equipment instead. The £150m procurement commitment could also give them their first large customer.
The sector
A government-commissioned study estimated UK semiconductor revenue at £10.6bn in 2024/25, across 297 dedicated companies employing about 16,350 people. It identified inference chips, photonic interconnects, advanced packaging and power electronics as the main growth areas, which correspond closely to the Catapult's four focus areas.
South Wales, Bristol and the Glasgow corridor are already three of the country's main chip clusters, and the Catapult's sites sit in each of them. The Catapult said its facilities will also support work in data centres, communications, clean energy and transport.
Original source: UKTN — https://www.uktech.news/semiconductor/uk-launches-expanded-semiconductor-catapult-targeting-ai-hardware-and-defence-20260929
