Funds boost for Northern Ireland pioneers of wearable technology


Funds boost for Northern Ireland pioneers of wearable technology

A Belfast-based wearable technology company has secured a six-figure sum in a funding round.

ntennaWare, which was founded last year as a spin-out from Queen’s University, raised the support through a seed funding round led by QUBIS, the commercialisation arm of Queen’s.

The round also included Techstart NI investment from Techstart Ventures, which supports start-ups.

The process was part of economic development agency Invest NI’s Access to Finance suite of funds.

AntennaWare creates “high-performance antenna solutions” for wearables, focusing on the medical and sports sectors.

Co-founders Dr Matthew Magill and Dr Gareth Conway have almost 25 years of experience in the wearable technology sector.

They have carried out extensive research at The Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) part of Queen’s University Belfast.

ECIT’s Centre for Wireless Innovation (CWI) is the largest research base in physical layer wireless in the UK and one of the most innovative in the world.

Dr Magill said: “AntennaWare’s patented technology can greatly increase the range and reliability of wearable wireless devices they are integrated into.

“The wearable devices can transmit further, with less dropouts and using less power, which helps facilitate applications thought previously impossible for medical monitoring, sports and fitness, wireless audio and wireless proximity detection.”

Co-founder Dr Conway added: “We are delighted to partner with QUBIS and Techstart Ventures which has enabled us to commercialise our world-leading antenna research.

“We are confident our antenna technology will be the go-to solution in the exciting and fast growing wearable technology sector.”

Hal Wilson, partner at Techstart Ventures, added: “Gareth and Matt have identified an opportunity to commercialise their unique technology in a number of interesting and growing markets.

“We are pleased to become their investment partner to help them realise their ambitions.”

Oisin Lappin, corporate finance manager at QUBIS, said: “We’re delighted to support AntennaWare as the company takes it next steps in the market.

“Wireless connectivity is an increasingly common feature in our everyday lives. AntennaWare has an exciting patented technology with application in a variety of markets including healthcare and sports.”

Techstart NI is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth & Jobs Northern Ireland Programme.

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