Harwell, Oxford, UK, 21st April 2021 / Helix Technologies, developer of resilient, precision antennas for GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems), is pleased to announce it has completed a significant investment round led by the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), managed by Midven, supported by Helix’s existing shareholders and incoming private investors. The funding round is geared at rapid growth as Helix commences manufacture of its precision GNSS antennas.
Following successful participation in Wayra’s Intelligent Mobility programme and venture capital investor Seraphim’s Space Camp in 2020, Helix has generated strong industry and investor networks, and anticipates accelerated growth in 2021 and beyond.
This funding round will enable Helix to strengthen its engineering team, build its IP portfolio and launch its first commercial antenna products in mid-2021. It will also provide the foundation from which Helix can raise further investment to start scale-up to mass production.
“We’re delighted to have the Midven team and the UKI2S fund onboard as an investor in Helix. We are now able to confidently demonstrate our technology to lead customers in defence, aerospace and automotive sectors, and anticipate moving forward into production of our super-accurate GNSS antennas”, commented James Lewis, CEO of Helix.
Andy Muir, Director at Midven, said, “We believe this is an important strategic investment for the UK which will unlock safe, autonomous mobility. Helix’s location at our partner Harwell Campus, home to the Harwell Space Cluster, is perfect to aid their growth”.
About the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S)
UKI2S is a national seed investment fund that helps the UK to build innovative businesses, leverage private investment and grow jobs. UKI2S achieves this by nurturing new businesses arising from the great science undertaken in the UK; providing the patient, long-term committed capital and strategic advice these companies need. UKI2S is usually a founder investor and often the sole investor in the very earliest stages. Over the past decade and more UKI2S has built a substantial track record with 57 portfolio companies created – with only £15m of capital from UKI2S – that between them have attracted over £500m of later stage investment and now have a combined market value of over £750m. UKI2S works closely with its partners – led by STFC, BBSRC and NERC, which are all part of UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) and Dstl – and is aligned with the Catapults and Innovate UK to create the best environment for innovation to flourish and in turn, boost the UK’s competitiveness and productivity by commercialising key technological advances in industrial biotech, ag tech, healthcare, medicine, clean energy, materials, artificial intelligence, software and space. UKI2S is independently managed by specialist venture capital firm Midven www.midven.co.uk
For more information, please visit www.ukinnovationscienceseedfund.co.uk.
About Helix Technologies:
Helix is a UK-based privately funded start-up located at the Harwell Campus near Oxford, noted for its cluster of space-tech businesses. The company is developing antennas for high accuracy GNSS location and high-bandwidth datacomms, and the precision manufacturing processes necessary for their manufacture.
About the Technology:
With variants for GPS and Galileo GNSS constellations (BeiDou and GLONASS versions are in development), Helix’s antennas are multi-frequency resonant devices with tightly targeted frequency discrimination. They utilise multiple helical conductor filaments on a high dielectric constant ceramic core. The resilient, selective nature of the design assures integrity of data delivered to the receiver enabling positional accuracy to 10cm to be computed, which is demanded by the automotive industry for safe autonomous vehicle deployment. Moreover, the helical antenna pattern’s resonance means that troublesome reflected signals, typical of modern cities’ ‘urban canyons’ are ignored, while the on-frequency accuracy makes the system resilient to ‘noisy neighbour’ spectrum interference and deliberate jamming. All this comes in a compact and robust form factor light enough for drones and small enough for vehicle aesthetics.
James Lewis
Chief Executive Officer
Helix Technologies Ltd
M: +44 (0)7903 849974
E: james.lewis@helixtechnologies.co.uk
PR Contact
Emma Pickup/Richard Anderson
Sciad Communications
T: +44 (0)20 3405 7892
E: UKI2S@sciad.com
© UKI2S and Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Limited. All Rights Reserved. UKI2S is managed by Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Limited which is Authorised and Regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN 148549. Registered in England and Wales. Company Number 2500898. Registered Address: Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Limited, 1 Scott Place, 2 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3AA.
