prabhuUK-based graphene electronics technology company Paragraf has announced the addition of £3.4m to its series A round, with Draper Esprit joining as significant investor, bringing the total to £16.2m.
The round was led by Parkwalk and included investment from IQ Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, Cambridge Enterprise, the commercialisation arm of the University of Cambridge and Partners Investment Company, as well as several angel investors.
First products
The additional funding will enable Paragraf to significantly accelerate the delivery of its first graphene-based electronics products to market, transitioning the company into a commercial, revenue-generating entity.
Tipping point
As graphene appears to be reaching its tipping point in many low-cost applications such as road surfacing, paint and clothing where its improved wear resistance properties are offering benefits, the widely speculated, high-performance electronics applications have remained tantalisingly out of reach.
Paragraf’s patent-protected break-through approach to graphene synthesis has enabled the company to develop some of the first graphene electronics devices using standard mass production scale approaches.
Paragraf has achieved very early delivery to market of its first product, a super-high sensitivity magnetic field detector with order of magnitude performance enhancements over existing sensors.
The technology also provides operational capabilities over temperature, field and power ranges that no other device can currently achieve.
On the back of this success the company has made a strategic decision to take on additional financing, enabling the business to super charge its development roadmap.
Dr Simon Thomas, CEO and Co-founder of Paragraf, said: “By accepting additional investment Paragraf is demonstrating its drive and commitment to rapidly productising its game changing graphene technologies, accelerating the timeframe in which these devices can be developed and, importantly, delivered to market.”
David Cummings, Partner at Draper Esprit, said “Graphene is known to be a material with huge potential, but Paragraf’s approach takes this into the realm of the commercially possible.
“We’re delighted to be able to support this dynamic company in accelerating the delivery of its first graphene-based electronics products and are looking forward to working closely with them as they continue to develop their technology.”
