News: Suppliers
29 September 2026
UK launches Semiconductor Catapult to strengthen sovereign capabilities in AI hardware and defense
Aiming to strengthen its supply chains and accelerate semiconductor technologies from concept to reality, the UK has launched Semiconductor Catapult, which provides customers with access to UK semiconductor supply chain integration, design, system test and validation, delivering long-term economic benefit to the UK.
Following publication of the UK Government’s AI Hardware Plan, to address a critical gap in UK AI infrastructure the Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult transitioned over this summer to become the Semiconductor Catapult, developed from its existing capability to focus on R&D for energy-efficient, deployable systems to accelerate the journey from AI research to real-world deployment, for data centers and industry.
UK-wide national asset
The Semicondcutor Catapult works on complex engineering challenges and is the only place in the UK, and one of the few places in Europe, with co-located, multi-disciplinary teams spanning RF and microwave, photonics, power electronics, advanced packaging, and quantum. With capabilities in design, development, integration, advanced packaging, test and validation, it can provide end-to-end solutions for complete products, leveraging UK supply chains for silicon and compound semiconductors.
Customers work with the Catapult on commercial and collaborative R&D projects, accessing specialist engineering expertise, laboratories and equipment to reduce technical risk, validate new technologies and accelerate product development.
The Catapult serves the UK market from its labs in Newport, Bristol and Glasgow, working with start-ups, SMEs and large businesses.
Market priorities
The Semiconductor Catapult focuses on four key technology sectors:
- Advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration: supporting chiplet and system-in-package architectures to overcome scaling limits;
- Power electronics and thermal management: enabling high-density AI hardware and supporting next-generation infrastructure;
- Photonics and optical interconnects: advancing data infrastructure and emerging applications (including silicon and quantum photonics and sensing);
- RF and mixed-signal integration: facilitating next-generation RF solutions for beam-forming applications and analog integration.
In the first phase, the Catapult will establish an integration-ready capability and core silicon capabilities that enable customers to validate architectures and reduce early-stage risk. In the second phase, the Catapult will demonstrate mature, system-level integration capability and clear routes to scale-up and small-volume production.
National capability
The Semiconductor Catapult aims to enable companies to scale and grow the UK economy by translating leadership in R&D into products, manufacturing capability and stronger supply chains.
“The market opportunity for the UK in AI hardware and defence is moving quickly,” notes CEO Caroline O'Brien. “The Semiconductor Catapult ensures more of the technologies, supply chains and economic benefits created by semiconductor innovation are developed and retained in the UK,” she adds. “The Semiconductor Catapult strengthens and builds new UK supply chains, supports start-ups, SMEs and large companies so they can be anchored long-term in the UK.”
“By bringing together multi-disciplinary expertise, specialist facilities and system-level integration capability, the Semiconductor Catapult will help companies reduce risk and accelerate their route to market,” she continues. “We bridge gaps in device innovation, test, validation and scale-up, particularly in heterogenous design, photonics integration and in RF, serving the AI hardware and defence markets.”
“Semiconductors are the critical infrastructure behind AI hardware, defence, energy and communications. The decisions made today will determine where the technologies, companies and economic value behind those markets are created,” O’Brien concludes.
CSA Catapult appoints head of quantum
