Bristol-based sensor technology startup Zero Point Motion has closed a £4m pre-Series A funding round to transform positioning and navigation.
The investment is set to fuel the company’s rapid scale-up and team expansion as the company emerges from stealth mode, where they have been working on a scalable, volume-manufacturable process for Zero Point Motion’s next-generation positioning and navigation sensors.
The firm is backed by investors SCVC (the official funding arm of Science Creates), Foresight Group and Verve Ventures, with seed round investor u-blox AG remaining a key strategic partner and customer.
Zero Point Motion says its breakthrough in motion sensing is set to transform defence, space exploration, and autonomous systems where precision and reliability are mission-critical.
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“Our mission is to harness light to redefine the future of sensing,” said Dr Lia Li, founder and CEO of Zero Point Motion.
“We’re working with two of the world’s leading foundries to push MEMS performance beyond its limits. With top-tier investors and partners behind us, we’re laser-focused on delivering our inertial sensors to customers who demand the highest precision and reliability.
“We’ve also brought more integration and packaging R&D in-house, cutting iteration times from eight weeks to just one day.
“This agility, combined with our expanding patent portfolio and multiple newly granted patents—ensures we stay ahead of the curve. Our next milestone: product qualification and customer deployment.”
Recognized as one of Sifted’s ‘16 Bristol-based Startups to Watch’, Zero Point Motion has also secured major government and EU funding, including £1.3m from the UK’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) in 2023, followed by a €2.4m grant from the European Innovation Council Accelerator program.
Harry Destecroix MBE, founder of Science Creates, and cofounder and managing partner of SCVC, added: “We’re thrilled to back Zero Point Motion as they develop a truly category-defining technology.
“By applying cutting-edge quantum approaches to motion sensing, Lia and the team are unlocking massive potential for industries like autonomous vehicles, robotics, and consumer electronics.
“Lia is an exceptional founder—her technical brilliance, vision, and leadership make her exactly the kind of entrepreneur we love to support.”