A deep tech company which claims to improve the accuracy of GPS and other global satellite positioning systems ten-fold has raised £6 million.
Draper Esprit has invested the money into FocalPoint, which operates out of Cambridge and Bristol, with founders drawn from Cambridge University’s Experimental and Theoretical Physics department, BAE Systems and the European Space Agency.
It says its technology can measure the direction of arrival of satellite signals on consumer grade technology for the very first time and deliver 10x improvement in accuracy, sensitivity and integrity of satellite positioning for any device.
Draper Esprit was the sole investor in this Series B round, joining previous investors including Passion Capital, IQ Capital, Cambridge Angels, Rockspring Nominees, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Demis Hassabis.
Its world-leading IP solves the fundamental limitations of satellite positioning systems such as GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou. The company plans to use the funds raised to accelerate deployment of next-generation positioning technology into chipsets and devices across mobiles, wearables, vehicles and IoT.
Global satellite positioning systems currently face major inaccuracy problems caused by obscured, reflected and weak satellite signals. This is an increasingly pressing security concern with the rise of location-based services such as ride hailing, autonomous vehicles, robots and IoT devices, all of which rely on accurate positioning to be able to operate effectively and safely.
FocalPoint’s two flagship Supercorrelation and D-Tail technologies solve these problems, providing unprecedented accuracy for GNSS systems. When combined, the technologies provide centimetre-level positioning indoors and outdoors, with a large range of use-cases from consumer to business and government.
“This is an important moment for our team. Signing our first deal with u-blox to integrate Supercorrelation into a commercial chip has increased the demand for our products from a multitude of different industries and use cases,” said CEO Ramsey Faragher.
“This funding will help us to meet that demand and enable Supercorrelation and D-Tail to improve the lives and businesses of people across the globe.”
David Cummings, Partner at Draper Esprit, said: “The inaccuracy and security weakness of current GNSS technology is a global concern for consumers, policymakers and businesses alike, but Ramsey and the team at FocalPoint have made huge progress in solving both of these critical legacy issues.
“At Draper Esprit we’re really excited to be backing them through the next stage of growth as this next-generation positioning technology is rolled out to devices we all rely on.”