Where the UK’s semiconductor strategy falls short – Paragraf CEO Simon Thomas

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5.0 • 6 Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2023

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr Simon Thomas, co-founder and CEO of Paragraf, explains why the UK’s semiconductor strategy doesn’t do enough to support the country’s microchip industry, how wonder material graphene could revolutionise electronics, and how semiconductors have become less of a focus for the Silicon Fen area.

Cambridge-based Paragraf specialises in graphene-based electronics, a material with highly promising capabilities that could prove to be the perfect alternative to silicon in electronic devices due to its conductivity and power efficiency. It has raised more than $85m in funding. In this episode, Thomas – who has a background in physics, engineering and material science – explains how graphene could produce chips that "operate 1,000 times faster than today's computers". Elsewhere, he delves into the “interesting process” of Paragraf acquiring US chip firm Cardea Bio, which closed in May 2023, and takes aim at the government’s lack of clarity when it comes to a long-term semiconductor vision.

Transcript

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0:00.0	If we take the base properties of graphene, it's about a thousand times more conductive than silicon,
0:11.0	which means that if you were to put graphene into a silicon chip, it will potentially operate a thousand times faster.
0:25.6	I think if we're talking about the semiconductor industry, Silicon Fenn, over the past few years there's been somewhat of a decline in the focus in that area.
0:30.6	It's been replaced by more advanced technologies.
0:33.6	I won't hold back from saying there are attractive environments around this world where paragraph
0:40.3	could have a bigger presence than it has in the UK in the future because there are clearer plans,
0:46.3	there are clearer objectives in those areas and those plans and objectives are being supported
0:53.3	by the administrations that are there.
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1:34.6	Hello and welcome to the UKTN podcast, a weekly chat with the founders of some of the UK's high
1:40.9	growth tech companies and other key stakeholders. In this series, we'll be exploring
1:45.9	what entrepreneurship looks like in the UK right now, as well as getting tips from some of our
1:50.6	most innovative business leaders and discussing the hot topics in the tech world. I'm your host,
1:56.7	Jane Wakefield, and I'm joined today by Dr Simon Thomas, the chief executive of Paragraph. Hi Simon.
2:03.6	Hi Jane, great to be here with you. Now Paragraph is the first company in the world to mass
2:09.2	produce graphene based electronic devices. So first up, let's talk about graphene. It's been
	...

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