UltraSoC receives further funding from Octopus Investments

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom -- June 26, 2013 -- UltraSoC today announced that it has successfully closed a funding round of $2.3million by securing further investment from Octopus Investments bringing the total investment in the business to date to $7.5m. The investment will help fund the expansion of the Company as it takes its revolutionary debug and optimisation silicon IP technology to market, licensing it to major semiconductor companies globally.

The product, UltraDebug®, is a system-level debug and optimisation capability for multiple heterogeneous processor cores including graphics cores and custom accelerators. UltraDebug® is a library of advanced, feature-rich debug IP at the leading edge of embedded systems and will enable the Company’s licensees the early detection of software and hardware bugs as well as other important optimisation capabilities for memory interfaces and system fabrics.

UltraSoC’s technology is anticipated to be rolled out in silicon chips in the latter part of 2013 through the Company’s lead customer. This imminent silicon validation of UltraDebug® on an advanced process node will represent a significant milestone in the Company’s development enabling new licensees a high level of confidence in the adoption of UltraDebug®.

UltraSoC’s CEO Karl Heeks said: ‘We are grateful to Octopus for their continued support for the Company and the additional value and commitment they bring by working closely with the team here to help us realise the potential of our technology. We are approaching a very exciting period for the Company where our innovative and much-needed debug and optimisation IP is now entering the marketplace. We believe our customers will see significant benefits from adopting a universal debug which ultimately will provide them with a competitive advantage and significant time-to-market advantages. This investment will enable expansion of the team which will be necessary as we service pent-up demand from leading semiconductor companies.’

Luke Hakes, a Principal on the Ventures Team at Octopus, commented: ‘We are looking forward to continuing to partner the team at UltraSoC as they enter the next stage of development and start to bring their technology to market later this year. Having worked with the team since 2010 they continue to deliver and this is a significant and exciting milestone for the business.’

‘UltraSoC has developed an impressive product created by their world class engineering team that addresses the growing need in the semiconductor industry for advanced debug solutions. With companies developing increasingly sophisticated electronic devices, UltraSoC’s debug solution can play a critical role in validating the technology and optimising the performance of these devices bring significant advantages to its customers. The opportunity is huge and the technology has the potential to support the industry as it continues to innovate and deliver the next generation of electronic devices.’

The Company, which is backed by Octopus, is pioneering advanced debugging technology for the embedded systems increasingly used in everyday products from cars to mobile phones. The Company is developing a universal debug, UltraDebug® that will support any silicon IP from any semiconductor vendor, which will facilitate the increasingly complex system-on-chips (SoCs) that are required to provide the functionality and performance of sophisticated electronic products.

About UltraSoC Technologies

UltraSoC Technologies is a VC-backed independent provider of SoC infrastructure to enable rapid development of embedded systems based on advanced SoC devices headquartered in Cambridge. For more information please visit www.ultrasoc.com or contact Dr Karl Heeks on 01223 422133.

The Ventures Team at Octopus

The Ventures team at Octopus are straight talking human investors that back talented people rather than specific sectors. We focus on identifying fast growth businesses which can scale explosively to create, transform or dominate an industry. We can invest from £250,000 to £5 million and prefer to partner teams based in the UK.

The work of our Ventures team is supported by access to the Octopus Venture Partners, a network of approximately 100 outstanding business leaders, entrepreneurs and private investors providing an invaluable wealth of expertise and resource for our portfolio companies, as well as investing on a deal-by-deal basis alongside Octopus venture funds. This blend of knowledge and skill has allowed us to help many great companies across several sectors thrive in recent years, including: Zoopla; Graze.com; SwiftKey; and, Secret Escapes.

 About Octopus Investments   

Founded in 2000, Octopus is one of the UK’s fastest growing investment management companies. We currently manage £3 billion assets on behalf of 50,000 customers. We offer a straight-talking approach to investments, exceptional customer service and a range of products that do what they say they will.

Working closely with over 3,000 financial advisers and wealth managers, often via strategic partnerships, we provide tax efficient investment solutions and discretionary fund management services to retail investors. Our core products include a range of venture capital trusts, enterprise investment schemes, inheritance tax services and a discretionary fund management solution.

We focus on areas of the market that are inefficient and where we believe hard work pays off for our customers. Our four areas of investment expertise are: ventures; specialist finance; smaller companies; and multi manager. We have dominant or high-growth positions in all of these markets, and invest into some of the UK’s most dynamic smaller companies, providing a wide range of funding options for exceptional businesses.

Over the last decade, Octopus has won a number of awards for its customer-driven product design and services. We’ve twice been voted one of the best 100 SMEs to work for, we’re one of only two investment firms to have ever been rated AAA for service by Citywire, and in November 2012 we were awarded the Financial Adviser 5 Star Award for quality service from investment product providers.

For more information visit www.octopusinvestments.com