BritChips

Anthony Miller
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Conversations between award-winning tech industry analyst Anthony Miller and movers and shakers in the UK semiconductor start-up scene. anttheantidote.substack.com

  1. 2D AGO

    The BritChips Podcast: Hero(n)ic Performance for FPGAs

    In this episode of The BritChips Podcast, Alexander Montgomerie-Corcoran discusses Heronic Technologies’ innovative approach to automating the design of bespoke AI hardware, the journey of entrepreneurship, and the importance of collaboration and research. Alex shares insights into their target market in broadcast and pro AV, their AI-based video upscaling technology, and the challenges of funding and revenue generation. The conversation also touches on the value of mentorship through ChipStart and the future aspirations for Heronic Technologies. And you’ll also learn why Alex and Cofounder (and CTO) Petros Toupas chose to call their startup Heronic. It’s all Greek to me! The BritChips Podcast is proudly sponsored by Silicon Catalyst UK, Official Partner of the government-funded ChipStart UK semiconductor incubator. Contents (timings approximate) 00:00 Introduction to Heronic Technologies 04:56 Research and Development at Imperial College 09:50 Partnership with Altera 14:48 Focus on Video Processing and AI Upscaling 20:16 Commercial Arrangements and Revenue Model 24:31 Future Aspirations and Market Expansion Takeaways (yup, AI-generated !) * Heronic Technologies specializes in automating bespoke AI hardware design. * The startup journey began with a previous venture called Colabo. * Collaboration at Imperial College led to the formation of Heronic. * Designing chips is a complex and lengthy process. * Customer relationships are crucial for success in the semiconductor industry. * The target market includes broadcast and pro AV sectors. * AI-based video upscaling is a key product offering. * Pilot projects have shown significant performance improvements. * Funding has been a challenge, but initial revenue is being generated. * ChipStart provides valuable mentorship and industry connections. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com

    32 min

  2. JAN 8

    BritChips Newsflash: Singular Photonics senses success at Renishaw

    We kick off the now video-enhanced third series of BritChips with a Newsflash from Shahida Imani, cofounder and CEO of Edinburgh-based imaging sensor startup Singular Photonics. Singular Photonics recently announced the first commercial integration of its SPAD (single photon avalanche diode)-based image sensor technology in the inVia™ confocal Raman microscope developed by Gloucestershire-headquartered Renishaw, one of the world’s leading engineering and scientific technology companies. Shahida explains the innovative technology behind their single photon avalanche diodes and how the partnership with Renishaw evolved over time. She discusses the importance of building trust between a startup and a large company, the integration of their technology into Renishaw's products, and the anticipated market applications. Shahida also shares insights on revenue generation and future prospects for Singular Photonics. This is a fantastic achievement and a truly significant milestone for Singular Photonics which was spun out from the University of Edinburgh and incorporated in 2024. Singular Photonics was among the first cohort of UK semiconductor startups in the government-sponsored ChipStart programme, managed by Silicon Catalyst UK. You can also hear the full story about Singular Photonics and Shahida’s journey in the BritChips podcast Singular Photonics - New Vision for SPADs here on Substack or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com

    10 min

  3. 12/19/2025

    BritChips Newsflash: weeteq's first silicon hits the decks

    In this 11-minute BritChips Newsflash, Martin returns to the BritChips studio to explain the significance of this milestone, the transition from FPGA to silicon, and the implications for customer engagement and future applications in power optimization and data centres. Key takeaways * weeteq is a Glasgow-based startup focused on power and control system optimization. * The Ultra Edge chip is a significant milestone for weeteq, marking their first proprietary silicon. * Transitioning from FPGA to silicon allows for faster processing and optimization. * Initial testing of the Ultra Edge chip is expected to take three to four weeks. * Customers are eager to evaluate the Ultra Edge chip, with timelines varying by application. * weeteq aims to create universal models for different applications to expedite customer validation. * The company is working with both OEMs and tier one semiconductor companies for integration. * Future applications include power optimization for data centers and grid technology. * weeteq’s ambition includes manufacturing the Ultra Edge chip at scale in the future. * The company is exploring partnerships to advance their technology in the power conversion space. You can listen to Martin’s full-length BritChips podcast, weeteq - Honing the Edge on Power Electronics, here on Substack or by searching for BritChips on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This Newsflash will also be available on the BritChips YouTube channel. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com

    11 min

  4. 12/15/2025

    BritChips podcast: Our educational system isn't creating entrepreneurs!

    The final BritChips podcast for 2025 is both special and different. It’s special is because my guest is a tech pioneer who would get my vote were there to be an election for the role of UK semiconductor industry National Treasure. He’s Royal Society fellow, David May, the architect who led the development of the transputer, the first microprocessor designed for parallel computing. He’s also the creator of May’s Law, in which he states that ‘software efficiency halves every 18 months, compensating Moore’s Law’ (and if you don’t know what Moore’s Law is, then you’re probably listening to the wrong podcast!). David also played a key role in starting two microelectronics companies, Inmos and Xmos, where he led the microprocessor design activity. He is now Professor of Computer Science at the University of Bristol, where he mentors some the UK’s up-and-coming deep tech entrepreneurs. I was introduced to David about six months ago and subsequently met him at his home in Bristol in October. There we had a long chat about ‘life, the universe and everything’ in the semiconductor industry. During the conversation David mentioned a talk he gave earlier this year to budding entrepreneurs at Bristol University in which he posited that (and I quote), “Our educational system isn’t creating entrepreneurs”. David agreed to repeat the talk for a BritChips podcast, which we recorded a couple of weeks later. Now, David’s speech originally ran for about 20 minutes. However, this podcast runs for nearly double that, and if you have ever had the privilege of chatting with David, you will understand why (though it was mainly my fault for interrupting him with questions!) So settle back for the next 37 minutes and hear David air his provocative views on entrepreneurship, innovation and so much more. Here’s some of his key messages: * The UK educational system is not producing enough entrepreneurs. * Creativity and innovation should be prioritized in education. * Students often lack the confidence to lead their own ventures. * Real-world experience and mentorship are crucial for aspiring entrepreneurs. * Curriculum changes are necessary to foster entrepreneurship. * Social enterprises should be more prevalent in the market. * Sustainable practices in technology are essential for the future. * The UK semiconductor industry needs more ambitious funding. * Education should focus on experiential learning and teamwork. * The know-how in technology must be passed on to future generations. BritChips will return with Series 3 in the new year. [P.S. I must apologise that David sounds like he was speaking to me through a cushion in a long tunnel. I have improved the clarity as best I can, and the transcript should help, so may I only ask that you please bear with.] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com

    37 min

  5. 11/25/2025

    BritChips podcast Extra Slice - Apitronix

    Ed French reckons that Apitronix has developed the world’s most powerful real-time processor with 220 RISC-V cores. But that’s a mere fraction of the number that he believes their novel architecture can scale to! As I see it, the achievement is not whether the Apitronix chip, called Cerebellum, is indeed ‘the world’s most powerful real-time processor’ - even though it makes a great website headline! It’s the novel architecture designed by renowned real-time operating system entrepreneur - and Apitronix CTO - Ken Tindell that is the significant technology breakthrough. Ken’s design enables all 220 processor cores to be individually programmable and operate together with minimal degradation in performance. In this excerpt, Ed, who teamed up with Ken in 2024 to found and lead Apitronix, explains how they plan to scale up from two cores implemented on an FPGA (field-programmable gate array - basically a configurable and programmable off-the-shelf chip) to a 220-core prototype Cerebellum chip early next year. Spoiler alert! As Ed puts it, “it’s more or less cut and paste - it’s not rocket science”! You can listen to the full BritChips audio podcast ‘Scaling to 200’ on Substack or by searching for ‘BritChips’ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. All BritChips video clips are also available on the YouTube BritChips channel. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com

    2 min

  6. 11/25/2025

    BritChips podcast: Apitronix - Scaling to 220

    Ed French reckons that Apitronix has developed the world’s most powerful real-time processor - one with with 220 RISC-V cores. But that’s a mere fraction of the number that their novel architecture can scale to! In this BritChips podcast, Ed - who describes himself as an incurable engineer - chats about the various startups he’s founded and invested in over the past thirty years before he teamed up with renowned real-time operating system entrepreneur Ken Tindell to launch Apitronix. The conversation delves into the founding of Apitronix, the innovative chip architecture being developed, and the steps towards creating a 220-core chip primarily designed for the automotive industry. Ed highlights the unique messaging system that allows for efficient communication between cores, making the chip architecture scalable and adaptable to various programming languages. Ed discusses the importance of partnerships, the challenges of securing funding, and the potential applications of their technology in machine learning and real-time control systems. He also highlights the significance of the UK government-sponsored ChipStart program in their journey and his aspirations for the future of Apitronix. You can watch a tow-minute excerpt of this podcast in the accompanying BritChips Extra Slice video clip available on Substack and on the YouTube BritChips channel. This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Just search for ‘BritChips’. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com

    56 min

  7. 11/20/2025

    BritChips podcast: Blueshift Memory - Breaking down the wall

    If you are not in the semiconductor industry, you may think that the ‘von Neumann bottleneck’ has something to do with the shape of a German beer bottle. On the other hand if you are in the semiconductor industry, you will know that the von Neumann bottleneck is basically what you get when computer memory can’t feed data fast enough to the processor. It’s more colloquially known as the ‘memory wall’, and it tends to grow bigger as developments in processor speed advance faster than those in memory technology. Peter Marosan believes he has an answer to that problem. He’s the founder and CTO of Cambridge-based semiconductor memory startup, Blueshift Memory, and he’s developed a novel memory architecture that has the potential to speed up memory access one-thousand times. Telling the Blueshift story on this BritChips podcast is Helen Duncan. Helen joined Blueshift in 2021 in the newly created role of Chief Marketing Officer, and quickly became the face of the startup to the outside world. She was the obvious candidate to take on the CEO role some three years later, allowing Peter to focus full-time on leading the Blueshift technology team. You can hear Helen Duncan talk about her journey from Project Manager at Plessey Microwave to CEO of a semiconductor startup (with a long spell in the tech media industry in between!) by listening to this BritChips podcast, ‘Blueshift Memory: Breaking Down The Wall’. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com

    38 min

  8. 11/12/2025

    BritChips Podcast: Quantopticon - Crossing the Chasm

    “Accelerators and incubators get you to a certain level. But you’re down here and you need to get up there, and you have to cross this chasm in between.” This is how Dr. Mirella Koleva, Cofounder and CEO of quantum photonic software design startup, Quantopticon, describes the conundrum facing many entrepreneurs after they have participated in startup support programmes. In fact, Mirella had participated in a number of incubators and accelerators in North America and ended up living in the USA for four years. She returned to the UK and joined the third cohort of the UK government-sponsored ChipStart.UK semiconductor incubator programme earlier this year. There’s something else you might find interesting about Mirella. The other cofounder of Quantopticon is renowned quantum photonics physicist, Dr. Gaby Slavcheva - Mirella’s mother! It doesn’t matter whether you can tell your entangled photon sources from, well, your untangled ones, there is much to learn from Mirella’s experience bringing a deeptech software startup to market. You can hear it in this BritChips podcast, Quantopticon - Crossing the Chasm. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com

    46 min
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About

Conversations between award-winning tech industry analyst Anthony Miller and movers and shakers in the UK semiconductor start-up scene. anttheantidote.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Anthony Miller
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Anthony Miller
  • Show Website
    BritChips