Supercharging networks

Southampton Science Park resident AccelerComm has secured nearly £6m in a Series A funding round led by IQ Capital alongside existing investors Bloc Ventures and the IP Group. The investment will be used to expand the current team, drive US and global expansion, and develop the technology further as demand for the company’s cutting-edge technology grows.

AccelerComm - a University of Southampton spinout founded by Professor Rob Maunder in 2016 – was recently named in the EE Times Silicon 100: Emerging Start-ups to Watch. The company came to join the Science Park's business  community in 2016 and now occupies more than eleven times its original space. Enabling growth is the very foundation of the Science Park’s  approach, with flexible terms designed to support expansion at the pace and scale that SMEs like AccelerComm need.

Low latency and high spectrum efficiency are crucial in protecting cellular and other radio networks from insufficient capacity, low data rates, sparse coverage and poor quality-of-service. Despite the roll-out of early 5G networks these factors remain an issue that risk stifling new revenue opportunities across multiple sectors. AccelerComm’s channel coding IP corrects transmission errors in mobile, small cell and satellite communications caused by noise, interference and poor signal strength.

The company’s CEO, Tom Cronk, explains: “From gaming and VR to automated robotic manufacturing lines and telemedicine, the use cases on the road to 5G appear almost limitless. But a critical roadblock remains – latency. For more than 15 years a research team led by Prof. Maunder, first at the University of Southampton and now at AccelerComm, has been working to solve the challenge to deliver on the 5G promise of a low latency, high throughput experience. We are delighted to have closed our Series A funding round, which will help us further develop and deploy our already market leading technology to help improve the efficiency of networks for many years to come.”

David Leftley, CTO and co-founder of Bloc Ventures, commented: “We believe we have the makings of something very special in AccelerComm, something we have not seen in the UK since the early days of ARM.”

“We have little doubt that the AccelerComm technology will form an essential part of the next generation of wireless communication systems (including 5G networks) over the coming years and look forward to being part of that story,” said Lee Thornton, Investment Director at IP Group.

Max Bautin, Managing Partner at IQ Capital added: “AccelerComm’s track record of selling to globally very sophisticated blue-chip customers and deep IP are very impressive. The amazing founding team combining cutting edge academic and industry knowledge with ex ARM DNA gives AccelerComm incredible growth potential.”

The evolution and funding of AccelerComm is just of the many businesses that have gained such success and accolades at Southampton Science Park. If you are interested in learning more about AccelerComm or any of the other innovative businesses  read our insightful business success stories today.