Bristol is a major center for semiconductor companies specializing in the design, development and manufacturing of semiconductor components and systems. And the city is poised to expand even further as a semiconductor hub, thanks to recent government support. In early 2024, the U.K. government announced $20 million in funding for the city’s new Semiconductor Innovation and Knowledge Center, an initiative designed to accelerate the introduction of new chip technologies and support skills development in the semiconductor sector.
Here are some of the key companies driving the industry forward.
Semiconductor Companies in Bristol
- Picocom
- Graphcore
- CEPRO
- Icera
- XMOS
Top Semiconductor Companies in Bristol
Picocom is a 5G open RAN baseband semiconductor and software company that designs and markets open RAN standard-compliant baseband SoCs and carrier-grade software products for 4G and 5G small cell infrastructure. Picocom is privately venture capital-funded with offices in Bristol, as well as Hangzhou and Beijing, China.
Graphcore specializes in creating advanced AI and machine learning accelerators. Its latest innovation, the Intelligence Processing Unit, is said to boost the speed at which developers can run and train complex machine learning models. Founded and headquartered in Bristol, Graphcore has additional offices in Cambridge and London, as well as Gdansk, Poland, and Hsinchu, Taiwan.
CEPRO works with homebuilders to design, develop and deliver funded community microgrids, and operate them long-term, in order to enable energy customers to benefit from clean, local, renewable energy generation at a lower cost. CEPRO is headquartered in Northeast Bristol, but employees are afforded the flexibility to manage their personal and professional lives effectively.
Icera says it’s developed the world’s first market-proven, high-performance soft modem technology, including mobile broadband data cards and USB sticks, cellular modules for laptops and mobile internet devices, for mobile broadband phone and data devices. Since the launch of its first product in 2007 in Japan, 40 additional global operators have approved this technology on their networks. Icera’s office is located in Bristol.
XMOS is a fabless semiconductor company on a mission to change how we deploy systems on silicon. XMOS claims to disrupt system-on-chip, or SoC, economics and time-to-market forecasts by enabling embedded software engineers to create custom SoC solutions. It says it accomplishes this by loading software onto its hardware platforms. A Certified Great Place to Work, XMOS is headquartered in Bristol, with other offices in the United States and Hong Kong.
