Pixel-Flo, a University of Sheffield spin-out developing technology to address a major manufacturing bottleneck for MicroLED displays, announced it has raised £5.25 million in Seed funding. The oversubscribed round was led by Northern Gritstone, with participation from SCVC, Parkwalk’s Northern Universities Venture Fund, and HTGF (High-Tech Gründerfonds).
The funding will support Pixel-Flo’s transition from laboratory development to industrial-scale manufacturing, including expanding its team, relocating to larger laboratory and office facilities, and accelerating commercialization efforts.
Founded by Dr. Rick Smith, Dr. Suneal Ghataora, and Simon Jones, Pixel-Flo builds on semiconductor photonics research from the University of Sheffield. The company has developed a proprietary Continuous-Flow Mass Transfer process that aims to significantly reduce the cost and complexity of manufacturing MicroLED displays.
MicroLED technology offers substantially higher brightness and energy efficiency than conventional display technologies, but widespread adoption has been constrained by the limitations of existing mechanical mass transfer methods. Pixel-Flo’s fluidic self-assembly approach is designed to provide continuous, high-throughput manufacturing while reducing both processing and material costs, potentially enabling MicroLED displays to become commercially viable across products ranging from smartwatches to large-screen televisions.
The company is also expanding internationally, having recently hired Sanger Hsu as Vice President of Business Development in Taiwan to strengthen customer engagement in one of the world’s leading display manufacturing markets. Pixel-Flo previously participated in Northern Gritstone’s NG Studios deep-tech venture builder program.
KEY QUOTES:
“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.”
Dr. Rick Smith, CEO and Co-founder of Pixel-Flo
“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.”
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone
“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.”
John Williams, General Partner at SCVC
“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.”
Anne Umbach, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF
“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.”
Professor Sue Hartley, Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the University of Sheffield
