Market Review
The state of the UK semiconductor sector
CIE talks to chair of the Semiconductor Leadership Group and Techworks CEO Charles Sturman about the latest strides in the UK semiconductor landscape
Can you provide a summary of your career background and what your current positions involve? I started out working at Acorn Computers (the forerunner to ARM) in the 1990’s after studying Electronics at Southampton University. Since then, I have held various leadership roles in engineering, product line, business development and go-to- market, corporate strategy, and new business venturing at TTPCom, Motorola, ARM, HiSilicon and u-blox. I have also been instrumental in two successful start-ups. Through these roles, I have gained over 30 years of experience in VLSI, embedded systems, IoT, computing and wireless communications (2G, 3G, LTE, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth). I am also the author of more than ten papers and books and hold a master’s degree in electronic and information engineering from Southampton University. I joined TechWorks as CEO in March 2023 at a time when deep tech and semiconductors could hardly be more relevant and critical to national prosperity and security at a global level. My role is to help drive collaboration between industry, academia and government in order to promote the semiconductor and deep tech sectors and grow business opportunities for the UK.
Can you explain what Techworks (The UK Semiconductor Trade Association) is and its role? Techworks is the UK deep tech and semiconductor trade association and consists of 270 member companies in semiconductor design, manufacturing and fab equipment supply, automotive electronics and IoT cyber security. We run a number of industry working groups which enable cross-industry collaboration in all things deep tech and chip related, together with a number of thought leadership and networking events throughout the year.
18 December/January 2024
Our Semiconductor Leadership Group consists of executives from across the UK semiconductor industry and is supported by Techworks’ broader activities. The leadership group was created to identify and promote the strengths and opportunities which face the UK semiconductor sector and to support the Government by providing expert advice and recommendations to inform policy which can deliver the most positive impact. We have already published two papers, the most recent one was a response to the government semiconductor strategy, and this really dug into the specific challenges and needs faced by real companies today and expected tomorrow. This paper provides
Components in Electronics
specific input into the debate around government intervention and support in the context of the international campaign to grow regional semiconductor capabilities. I am delighted to chair this group, working with some of the smartest and most passionate people I know in the UK today, including leading tech firms such as Imagination, Bourns, McClaren, Paragraf, Plessey, Pragmatic and XMOS.
How did the UK semiconductor market fare in 2023 compared to the year before?
We have seen some incredible industry advances in the last 12 months, coupled with an awakening across UK government
and parliament in general around the strategic importance of semiconductors to our way of life in the UK and future prosperity for the country. Although the initial focus of the government strategy has been on early-stage R&D and innovation, we do have significant capability in manufacturing in the UK and a number of globally successful mid-size companies who are set to scale-up. The government is aware of this and there are ongoing discussions to see what measures would be appropriate to support the whole value-chain in an age where many developed countries are heavily investing in their domestic capabilities.
Ultimately, to earn ourselves a seat
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