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01 Apr 2025
Investor BGF leads series A venture round in compound semiconductor spin-out from the University of Sheffield.
Phlux Technology, a UK startup that was spun out of research into low-noise infrared sensors at the University of Sheffield, has attracted £9 million in a series A round of venture funding.
The funding, led by UK-based BGF, is intended to accelerate the firm’s expansion, and exploit its development of antimonide-based semiconductor alloys that result in better detector performance at the critical 1550 nm wavelength.
Phlux says it will use the latest investment, which follows a £4 million seed funding round led by Octopus Ventures in 2022, to scale its team, ramp up production, and launch two new product ranges targeting optical communications and sensing systems.
CEO Ben White, who co-founded Phlux with Sheffield professors of electronic engineering Chee Hing Tan and Jo Shien Ng, said in a company statement:
“This funding comes at a pivotal moment as demand for high-speed optical communication systems is growing enormously. By developing world-class, high-performance infrared sensors, we are enabling industries to push the boundaries of connectivity, efficiency, and security by removing a technology bottleneck that has persisted for over 20 years.”
Higher sensitivity
According to Phlux, its latest ultra-low-noise infrared sensors promise to improve the performance of communications systems dramatically - enabling up to five times higher data rates for both free-space and fiber-based systems.
“Early engineering samples have shown sensitivity improvements of 5 dB or more are realisable, compared to current commercial devices,” it claims.
“Additionally, Phlux’s infrared sensors will play a crucial role in advanced sensing technologies that include driver-assisted safety features in vehicles, industrial automation, defense and security, and high-precision gas sensing.”
The firm first showed off its “Aura” range of avalanche photodetectors (APDs) at last year’s SPIE Photonics West event, claiming that they were 12 times more sensitive than traditional best-in-class indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) APDs.
As a result, it said, the operating range of lidar, laser rangefinders, and optical fiber test equipment incorporating the devices can be extended by up to 50 per cent. Advanced methane imaging is another potential application area, where Phlux has previously collaborated with Bristol-based QLM.
And because the higher APD sensitivity allows the use of lower-power lasers and smaller optical apertures, systems can be reduced in size and weight by up to 30 per cent, while system cost is nearly halved.
Thermal management is also said to be made simpler, because the Aura APDs operate at up to 85°C without performance degradation.
Disruption ‘overdue’
Phlux is showing off its sensors at the Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) conference taking place in San Francisco this week, and is scheduled to attend SPIE’s forthcoming Defense + Commercial Sensing event in Orlando, Florida, as well as the giant LASER World of Photonics trade show in Munich this summer.
Owen Metters from returning investor Octopus Ventures commented on the new round: “When we first invested in Phlux, we were impressed with both the team’s expertise in developing novel semiconductor materials, and their ambition to revolutionize infrared sensing.
“We’ve been delighted with their progress to date and are excited to see this funding deployed to grow the team and bring two exciting new product ranges to market.”
Luke Rajah, a partner at BGF, added: “Phlux has developed a game-changing technology in a sector that’s long overdue for disruption. With strong academic roots, early commercial traction, and a compelling roadmap, the team is well-positioned to lead in infrared sensing."
Other photonics companies in the BGF portfolio include M Squared Lasers and Cambridge-based Zomp, which is developing advanced flow cytometers.
M Squared received £6.4 million backing from BGF in a series of funding rounds from 2012 onwards - although in 2020 it sold part of its stake in the Glasgow laser manufacturer.
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