Press Release
December 23, 2022

Tyndall and Silicon Catalyst In-Kind Partnership Positioned to Scale Semiconductor Start-ups

Cork, Ireland, December 23, 2022 - Tyndall National Institute, based at University College Cork, has announced today that it has joined with US-based incubator, Silicon Catalyst, as an In-Kind Partner to their Portfolio Companies. Silicon Catalyst is the world’s only incubator focused exclusively on accelerating semiconductor solutions.

This partnership is timely with the adoption of the European and US Chips Acts this year, and further highlights Tyndall’s reputation for research excellence in photonics devices, advanced photonics packaging & pilot lines. Tyndall continues to rank highly in European research funding, contributing to 10% of the total Irish drawdown from Horizon 2020.

Tyndall joins Silicon Catalyst’s expansive network of In-Kind Partners that enable early-stage companies to tap into the products and services available to enhance their growth. Silicon Catalyst has built an ecosystem of unrivalled support for semiconductor start-ups, granting privileged access to EDA design tools, silicon foundry runs and intellectual property. The incubator also provides networking, access to finance, and expert business acumen, to successfully launch and drive growth for start-ups.

The agreement will connect Tyndall’s cutting-edge research to early-stage and scaling start-ups and SMEs, fuelling the next generation of high-value, deep-tech start-ups. This partnership will allow Tyndall supports and expertise to be offered to all of Silicon Catalyst’s Portfolio Companies globally. Tyndall’s Commercial Director, Peter Smyth, said: “Through this agreement, Tyndall’s infrastructure, comprising of an investment of more than €250m in semiconductor fabrication, characterisation and qualification, will be made available to the Silicon Catalyst portfolio at reduced rates, thus helping these highly differentiated start-ups to shorten time to revenue and achieve scale.”

Head of New Ventures at Tyndall, Peter Finnegan, said: “This symbiotic relationship with Silicon Catalyst will enable Tyndall to bring its own pipeline of exciting semiconductor start-ups to the accelerator programme and it also offers exciting networking opportunities for our early stage ventures.”

Managing Partner at Silicon Catalyst UK, Sean Redmond, said: “We are continuously expanding our ecosystem to serve the best semiconductor start-ups in the industry. Our Portfolio Companies do not need to compromise on any choice they need to make by getting access to exactly what is required to be successful as globally scaling semiconductor companies. We are delighted to welcome Tyndall to our In-Kind Partner programme, leveraging their world-class photonics research centre and IC design expertise.

Silicon Catalyst has engaged with over 800 start-ups worldwide, with 90 companies admitted to the incubation programme. These companies are developing innovative solutions in a variety of areas which are the focus of Tyndall’s research including semiconductor wafer fabrication, quantum materials and devices, micro-electronic and photonic integration and packaging, and biophotonics, bioelectronics, biomedical devices and systems.

About Tyndall National Institute

Tyndall is a research flagship of University College Cork and a leading European deep-tech research centre in integrated ICT (Information and Communications Technology) materials, devices, circuits and systems. Tyndall is Ireland’s largest Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) specialising in both electronics and photonics. Tyndall works with industry and academia to transform research into products in its core market areas of electronics, communications, energy, health, agri-food and the environment. With a network of over 200 industry partners and customers worldwide, Tyndall is focused on delivering human and economic impact from excellence in research. Tyndall is home to a multidisciplinary research community of over 600 people of 52 nationalities, including over 150 postgraduates. More information can be found at www.tyndall.ie

About Silicon Catalyst
“It’s about what’s next”
Silicon Catalyst is the world’s only incubator focused exclusively on accelerating semiconductor solutions, built on a comprehensive coalition of in-kind and strategic partners to dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of development. More than 800 startup companies worldwide have engaged with Silicon Catalyst and the company has admitted 90 exciting companies. With a world-class network of mentors to advise startups, Silicon Catalyst is helping new semiconductor companies address the challenges in moving from idea to realization. The incubator/accelerator supplies startups with access to design tools, silicon devices, networking, and a path to funding, banking and marketing acumen to successfully launch and grow their companies’ novel technology solutions. Over the past seven plus years, the Silicon Catalyst model has proven to dramatically accelerate a startup’s trajectory while at the same time de-risking the equation for investors. Silicon Catalyst has been named the Semiconductor Review’s 2021 Top-10 Solutions Company award winner.

The Silicon Catalyst Angels was established in July 2019 as a separate organization to provide access to seed and Series A funding for Silicon Catalyst portfolio companies.

More information is available at www.siliconcatalyst.uk, www.siliconcatalyst.com and www.siliconcatalystangels.com.