How IP and R&D are Shaping the UK’s Semiconductor Industry

The UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology recently published a new study on the UK's semiconductor sector. 

Some of my key takeaways from an IP perspective are:

▪ 67% of dedicated semiconductor companies active in the UK are primarily involved in research and development, design and IP related activities. Example companies include Arm, Imagination Technologies, and XMOS.

▪ For the UK headquartered SMEs identified through the study, both semiconductor design / IP activity and manufacturing have been important sources of employment growth over the past 5 years.

▪ Between 2020 and 2023 there have been 17 new UK headquartered semiconductor company incorporations, and more than three-quarters of these companies are involved in R&D, design and IP activity.

▪ With its headquarters in Cambridge, Arm makes the East of England a focal point of semiconductor sector activity in the UK. When excluding Arm from the data, the East of England still provides 20% of the UK’s semiconductor firms.