Bristol University spinout Forefront RF secures £6.7m investment
Semiconductor designers Forefront RF have raised £6.7 million in their latest round of funding, led by investors BGF, Science Creates Ventures, and Foresight Group.
The company aims to simplify the designs of multi-band smartphones, wearables, and IoT Devices, making them more globally accessible. Following research at the University of Bristol’s Communication Systems and Networks Laboratory, Dr Leo Laughlin and Julian Hildersley moved to establish Forefront RF in 2020.
This latest investment follows an initial round of funding in 2021, which raised £1.5 million to recruit a team of experts and accelerate the launch of its products. The company has since brought on CEO Ronald Wilting and Chair Phil O’Donovan, who provide experience in radio frequency technology and fabless semiconductor businesses respectively.
Dr Laughlin said: “We’re delighted to receive further funding to support the delivery of the next stage of Forefront RF’s growth strategy. Forefront RF is well positioned to capitalise on strong global growth prospects, addressing an industry wide challenge with our cutting-edge technology.”
Forefront RF’s unique Adaptive Passive Cancellation technology uses software control to enable connected devices to operate effectively across XGen mobile telephony frequency bands, from 3G to 6G.
This removes the need for a bank of switched SAW and BAW crystal filters, ultimately allowing manufacturers to simplify designs while reducing cost and supply chain waste.
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