Pixel-Flo, a University of Sheffield spinout addressing a bottleneck in microLED display manufacturing with its proprietary Continuous-Flow Mass Transfer technology, has raised £5.25 million in Seed funding
The round was led by Northern Gritstone with additional investment from SCVC, the Parkwalk Northern Universities Venture Fund, and German investment firm HTGF.
Pixel-Flo is developing the cost-reduction breakthrough needed for microLED display manufacturing through its scalable, cost-efficient approach. MicroLED is the next wave of display technology, providing 2-5x higher brightness and 2-4x greater efficiency than traditional displays.
Despite this, the volume adoption of MicroLED is limited by the fundamental scalability challenges of mechanical mass-transfer techniques. By comparison, Pixel-Flo’s proprietary fluidic self-assembly technology delivers high, continuous throughput, offering the high performance of MicroLED at reduced processing and material costs. This will make MicroLED-enabled products available at mass-market price points.
Pixel-Flo was founded by Dr Rick Smith, Dr Suneal Ghataora, and Simon Jones. The company expands on novel semiconductor photonic research in Dr Smith’s lab, drawing on LED research from the University of Sheffield’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Simon Jones’s display-industry commercial experience.
The latest oversubscribed funding round will support Pixel-Flo’s transition from laboratory development towards industrial scale-up, expanding their team and relocating to new lab and office space. Pixel-Flo’s international expansion goals are underscored by its recent hiring of Taiwan-based Business Development VP Sanger Hsu, who is focused on early customer engagement in a critical market for display technologies. Last year, Pixel-Flo was part of the NG Sudios cohort, Northern Gritstone’s deeptech venture builder.
Rick Smith, CEO and co-founder of Pixel-Flo, said, “This investment allows us to expand our team and demonstrate our unique technology on a commercial coating system, enabling partnership and evaluation by display manufacturing partners. We are proud to have a fantastic international consortium of complementary investors led by Northern Gritstone supporting our international ambitions to enable huge new market opportunities for microLED.”
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said, “Pixel-Flo is a great example of the deep-tech innovation with global ambitions emerging from the Northern Arc that Northern Gritstone strives to support. As a graduate of our NG Studios venture-building program, the company combines world-class science with a clear path to commercial impact. By developing a scalable, lower-cost solution, Pixel-Flo’s MicroLED mass transfer assembly process has the potential to unlock MicroLED displays for the mass market.”
John Williams, SCVC general partner, said, “Deep Tech is full of breakthrough technologies looking for a problem to solve. Pixel-Flo inverted that — an elegant solution to the bottleneck that has held microLED back, a display technology that outperforms on every metric. The syndicate around them reflects what the management team has already built.”
Anne Umbach, senior investment manager at HTGF, said, “From my experience in displays and printed electronics, I know all too well how challenging it is to scale new display technologies. Pixel Flo’s approach targets precisely this critical bottleneck in the micro-LED market, and this team has what it takes to deliver a key technology for the next generation of displays.”
Professor Sue Hartley, vice-president for Research and Innovation at the University of Sheffield, said, “Pixel-Flo represents the potential impact of the world-class research taking place at the University of Sheffield and the importance of an innovation ecosystem backed by financial investment in helping to realise that potential. The company’s approach to addressing a critical bottleneck in industry, together with its international growth ambitions are an inspiration to other spinout companies emerging from the North of England. I am excited to see the company grow following this new investment.”
