Advanced debug

UltraSoC Technologies has raised £400,000 of equity investment from the South East Seed Fund, managed by Finance South East, and the Iceni Seedcorn Fund.

The company was founded in 2005 as a spin-out from the universities of Kent and Essex and is based on research carried out by Prof Klaus McDonald-Maier and Dr Andrew Hopkins and their team. Research and development will continue at Essex’s Colchester Campus.

The funds will be used to develop and market UltraDebug: a multi-processor system-on-chip (SoC) debug support platform.

UltraDebug will enable the embedded systems industry to create more advanced and reliable products in markets such as automotive and consumer devices.

The potential impact of such advanced debug facilities is considerable as, typically, more than half the cost of product development is spent on debugging and verification of embedded systems. The impact of product failure on the economy is estimated to be more than $60bn (£42bn) a year in the US alone.

Dr Karl Heeks, UltraSoC's chief executive officer, said: ‘We are delighted to have both the Iceni Seedcorn Fund and Finance South East involved in this funding round. We are particularly gratified that the quality and promise of our technology and the strength of our team has enabled us to secure this funding in such a challenging investment environment.’

The South East Seed Fund supports the development of young businesses on a commercial investment return basis and seeks to invest in opportunities that it believes have the highest potential for success.

The Iceni Seedcorn Fund was established to assist the commercialisation of innovation from within its six partner institutions, which include Essex University. Dr John Read, the chairman of the Iceni Investment Advisory Board, who has held many senior posts in the semiconductor industry, will be joining the board of UltraSoC as chairman.