The company also revealed plans for a limited second close, with an additional £20 million already earmarked for key investors. The round was co-led by M&G’s Catalyst and UK Infrastructure Bank, alongside new participants such as Northern Gritstone, Latitude, and MVolution Partners. Existing investors, including British Patient Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital, and Prosperity7 Ventures, also contributed.

This financial boost will enable Pragmatic to accelerate its expansion within the UK, responding to global demand for its technology. Key to this expansion is the construction of the 3rd and 4th fabrication lines at its Pragmatic Park facility in Durham. Over the next five years, the company plans to build at least eight manufacturing lines in the UK, a move that is set to create over 500 highly skilled jobs in the North East and Cambridge regions.

Pragmatic’s manufacturing lines are poised to produce billions of chips, catering to a wide array of applications across sectors such as consumer, industrial, and healthcare. A notable application includes smart packaging for fast-moving consumer goods, which aims to enhance recycling and waste management, contributing to a circular economy. Other potential uses involve wearables, sensors, and flexible controllers.

The investment reflects confidence in Pragmatic’s technology, particularly in its potential to replace traditional silicon chips in numerous applications. A key appeal for investors, constituting over 70% from the UK, is the significantly lower carbon footprint of Pragmatic’s semiconductor manufacturing process compared to conventional silicon chip fabrication.

David Moore, CEO of Pragmatic, commented on the funding round: “This successful Series D round is a clear testament to the massive opportunity for our innovative technology to enable item-level intelligence in virtually any object on the planet. Our global customers value our ultra-thin and flexible form factor, our breakthrough low cost of customisation and rapid production cycles, as well as the lower environmental footprint compared to silicon. Scaling our manufacturing capacity on the UK’s first ever 300mm wafer production lines at our site in Durham will enable us to deliver hundreds of billions of chips to customers worldwide over the coming decade.”

He further noted the demand for Pragmatic’s unique Fab-as-a-Service deployment model, a modular approach to semiconductor manufacturing, providing an efficient, localised, and secure chip supply.

John Flint, CEO of UK Infrastructure Bank, remarked on the investment’s significance: “The Bank has an important role in unlocking finance to scale up domestic supply chains, like semiconductors, which are critical to the UK’s transition to net zero. Our investment in Pragmatic backs a British business to accelerate development of a first-of-a-kind technology which not only cuts the carbon emissions of semiconductor production, but which will drive growth in the local economy in the North East.”

Niranjan Sirdeshpande, Global Head of Investments at M&G Catalyst Strategy, emphasised the need for patient capital in supporting disruptive tech firms like Pragmatic. He stated: “We developed Catalyst to play a leading role in enabling businesses to scale their operations, provide expertise and partner with them all the way to success. Long term capital put to work in this way not only supports economic growth but can capture value for people’s pensions and savings as we transition to a more sustainable economy.”

Erik Langaker, Chairman of Pragmatic, concluded: “In a challenging investment environment, this capital raise is a fantastic recognition of the strength of the company and the value of its unique technology. With this funding, Pragmatic will be able to scale its foundry capacity to produce billions of chips to meet the demand from global, blue-chip organisations that are developing innovative new use cases only possible because of Pragmatic’s flexible integrated circuits.”