- The Company originated as a spin-out from the University of the West of Scotland.
- The Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund led a 拢3.3 million round.
- The new sensor technology is the world鈥檚 first truly flexible ultrasound sensor with the ability to operate continuously at high temperatures and offer higher resolution images.
Foresight Group (鈥淔oresight鈥�) is pleased to announce a 拢2.0 million investment as part of a 拢3.3 million round into award-winning novel thin film ultrasound technology company Novosound Ltd (鈥淣ovosound鈥� or the 鈥淐ompany鈥�).听 The Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund led the round, investing 拢1.5 million alongside 拢500,000 from the Foresight Scottish Growth Fund, financed by the Scottish Growth Scheme through a combination of Scottish Government funds and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and 拢1.3 million from existing shareholders including Par Equity, Kelvin Capital, Gabriel Investments, the University of the West of Scotland, and the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.
Novosound was established in 2018 by Dave Hughes, CTO, and Richard Cooper, CEO, as a spin-out from the University of the West of Scotland, where Hughes invented its core IP during his time as a Research Fellow.听 Cooper brings industry expertise as a successful technology entrepreneur.
Ultrasound sensors produce sound waves with frequencies above the audible range of humans which transmit through an object to measure or image internal features. Commonly known for its use in maternity wards and other hospital departments, ultrasound imaging is also extensively applied in industrial settings as a safe Non-Destructive Testing (鈥淣DT鈥�) technique for revealing below-surface deformities, cracks or corrosion.听
Utilising the latest thin film deposition techniques, Novosound鈥檚 patented innovation represents a turning point for ultrasound sensor technology.听 Operating in a high growth market valued at 拢35 billion, the Company has developed a unique thin film core material which eliminates limitations associated with existing ultrasound sensor solutions.
The new sensor technology has enabled the company to produce higher resolution imaging, 鈥榝it and forget鈥� sensors that can operate continuously at high temperatures, and the world鈥檚 first truly flexible ultrasound sensor.听 Whilst the technology will allow the Company to develop products for the healthcare and wearables markets in future, at present, applications of the technology centre around the NDT market. Novosound鈥檚 flexible sensors can significantly improve the inspection of curved surfaces in aerospace, automotive and industrial applications. Its 鈥榝it and forget鈥� sensors, with the ability to withstand high temperatures and be permanently installed, enable completely new applications such as the real-time monitoring of high value oil and gas assets, to predict necessary maintenance and greatly reduce downtime.
The investment will allow the Company to match fund a 拢1.0 million R&D grant for product development from Scottish Enterprise and pursue its ambitious expansion plans into global markets and new industries.听 The Company will draw on Foresight鈥檚 track record of supporting the growth of early stage, innovative technology companies, and Williams鈥� extensive expertise in ultrasound NDT techniques currently applied by its F1 team.
Andrew Bloxam, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight, commented:听鈥淣ovosound is a brilliant example of the type of disruptive technology and team that we look for. Its early traction in NDT really stood out to us. There is also huge potential for other markets that it has not yet pushed into, which makes it a really exciting opportunity.鈥�
听Matthew Burke, Head of Technology Ventures, Williams Advanced Engineering, said:听鈥淥ur technical specialists were excited to see Novosound鈥檚 game changing NDT technology and immediately realised potential applications within our operations and industry sectors. With this investment we look forward to applying our product development and manufacturing capabilities to support the growth of Novosound.鈥�
Dave Hughes, Founder and CTO of Novosound added:听“This investment is really exciting for the team at Novosound as it will help us scale our operations and launch our advanced sensors for industrial monitoring and inspection. We are delighted to be working with the Foresight and Williams who have proved themselves thus far as the ideal partners for our growing technology business.”
