5G and satellite ‘smart antenna’ designer Sofant Technologies raises £740k in oversubscribed funding round
‘Smart antenna’ designer Sofant Technologies has completed a follow-on fundraise of £740,000 in an oversubscribed funding round led by venture capital investor EMV Capital.
The fundraise builds on last year’s £2.3m pre-series A round for the Edinburgh-based 5G and satellite communications antenna developer. Participation in the round included key existing investors, including Kelvin Capital and the Scottish Investment Bank.
Reflecting strong developments over the year, the funding round includes a price per share uplift of 40% in under a year since its last investment round in July 2020.
Sofant is expected to benefit from the rollout of 5G across the UK. It plans to use the new funding to expand its commercial team, as the company accelerates its system integration with satellite network operators and other final users.
Sofant is the UK’s leader in radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS)-based antennas for satellite and 5G telecoms systems. The company’s proprietary, highly efficient patented radio technology platform provides the UK and Europe with a homegrown, industry-leading technology solution to several major challenges facing wireless communication systems. In satellite communications and 5G its technology reduces the power consumption of electronically scanned antenna arrays by more than 70%, with lower production and maintenance costs compared to other emerging solutions.
Since the 2020 investment round, Sofant has developed growing industry recognition, with support from global manufacturers and application-specific development partners. Sofant has also hired a new CFO to support the scale-up of commercial activities within the business.
Amongst Sofant’s development programmes are prototype antenna arrays funded by the European Space Agency and the European Commission.
EMV Capital is a venture capital investor focused on B2B companies in the healthcare, sustainability and industrials sectors. EMVC’s investments in UK, Israel and the US cover a range of technologies including robotics and AI, machine learning, materials science, IoT, advanced engineering, power electronics and health-tech.
Sofant CEO David Wither said, “This top-up investment is a vital part of the preparation for our series A funding round.”
“Our engineering team has made significant progress on the development of our core technology platform. We have also built an ecosystem of corporate partners who will play key roles in the commercialization of Sofant’s disruptive, low power antenna technology”.
Dr. Ilian Iliev, managing director of EMV Capital commented, “Since our initial investment, we have seen the Sofant team make rapid progress in this strategically vital technology for the UK’s telecoms sector.”
“In the aftermath of Covid-19, supply chain consolidation and strategic reliability has become a key priority for Western governments. Sofant is well-positioned to provide this homegrown, reliable partner in building safe, reliable and fast connectivity systems.”
