S
SCI Semiconductor
Memory-safe CHERI microcontrollers for embedded and safety-critical systems
About SCI Semiconductor
SCI Semiconductor is a Cambridge deeptech company founded in 2022 by Haydn Povey and Krishna Anne that commercialises memory-safe microcontrollers based on CHERI / CHERIoT hardware architecture to prevent memory-safety vulnerabilities that drive most cybersecurity exploits in embedded and safety-critical systems. Its ICENI (CHERI-based) processor family targets critical infrastructure, defence, automotive and medical markets, building on Digital Security by Design research from the University of Cambridge and SRI International with open-source CHERIoT collaboration involving Microsoft. After a £2.5 million seed led by Mercia Ventures in May 2025, SCI Semiconductor raised a heavily oversubscribed £5 million equity round in September 2026 co-led by Mercia Ventures and PXN Ventures with Black Opal and Osney Capital to ramp production of memory-safe chips amid more than £2 million in orders, £7.7 million in government contracts and partnerships with Google Research and Microsoft. Sources: Tech.eu 9 Sep 2026; Mercia; PXN Ventures.
Source: Dealroom company dataAt a glance
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 2023
- Headquarters
- Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Employees
- 32
- Open positions
- None listed
- Dealroom signal
- 87.8/100
- Industry
- Security, Semiconductors
- Sub-industry
- Device security & Antivirus
- Sector
- Cybersecurity, Semiconductor Designers and Manufacturers, Chips and Processors, SoC (System-on-Chip), DT and LS, out of stealth, UKis Digital and technologies, uk is8 digital and technologies, science-based
- Technology
- Deep Tech
- Business model
- Manufacturing
- Client focus
- B2B
News
More headlines
Open roles
Funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EARLY VC✓Equity / VC | Sep 2026 | $6.6M | $26M | Black Opal Ventures · PXN Ventures · Osney Capital · Mercia Ventures | ↗ |
| GROWTH EQUITY NON VCOther financing | Apr 2026 | $3.1M | $15M | Undisclosed | — |
Growth signals
Latest recorded traffic for SCI Semiconductor is 3.6K monthly website visits, up 33.3% over the last three months. SCI Semiconductor's team grew 166.7% over the past year.
Similar companies
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Investments and acquisitions
Recent portfolio relationships for companies that also act as investors or acquirers.
SCI Semiconductor in the Sheffield ecosystem
The SCI Semiconductor office with the hot startups, most funded companies and investors around it. Hover or tap a pin.
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Investors
From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.
Seed1 investor entered at this stage
Mercia Ventures
Series A3 investors entered at this stage
PXN Ventures
Black Opal Ventures
Osney Capital
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
team presence
Market sentiment
An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about SCI Semiconductor on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
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