A Glasgow tech company specialising in ultrasonics is set to receive a prestigious innovation award.
Novosound, the fast growing Scottish SME and developer of a ground-breaking technique to mass-manufacture printable ultrasound sensors has been feted by peers at the Institute of Physics.
The Business Start-up Award was made in recognition of Novosound’s innovative thin film processes and technologies to drive growth in the modern ultrasound sensor market, a market that has, until now, seen limited product innovation for over 40 years.
Novosound, which is based at Biocity, the biotech incubator located on the M8 just outside Glasgow, was the first spin-out company from the University of the West of Scotland raising £1.5 million at its seed investment round in April 2018 and, in July 2019, received a £1m grant from Scottish Enterprise as part of a £2m project to rapidly scale up the company’s R&D activity and recruit new, highly skilled staff.
Novosound is currently working on a Series A funding round which is expected to conclude later this year
The global ultrasonic market is now valued at $45 billion and growing at over 10% every year.
Dave Hughes, Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Novosound said: “Our technology and new products are already generating a lot of international interest across numerous global sectors including oil & gas, aerospace, and nuclear so to receive such a prestigious endorsement from our highly experienced peers at the Institute of Physics is fantastic for the business and importantly for our highly skilled workforce.”
Institute of Physics President, Jonathan Flint, said: “The IOP Business Awards recognise large and small companies that have built success on the creative application of physics. There are very few awards that do this.
“The application of physics has the potential to produce cutting-edge technologies, and to drive business innovation and growth. It also fuels significant positive societal and economic transformation, both locally and globally.
“Now, more than ever, we need continued investment to ensure a healthy supply of physicists in the UK and Ireland. These awards remind us of that, and of what can be achieved when our talent is encouraged, developed and rewarded.”
The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the professional body and learned society for physics, and the leading body for practising physicists, in the UK and Ireland.
Committed to working with ‘physics-based’ businesses, and companies that apply and employ physics and physicists, the IOP has a rich history of supporting business innovation and growth, and the IOP Business Awards are unique in the UK and Ireland in recognising the significant contribution that physicists and physics make in industry.
There are two categories of awards – Business Innovation Awards and Business Start-Up Awards– so businesses at any stage of their development are eligible; from start-ups to multi-national corporations.
The IOP Business Start-Up Award specifically recognises and celebrates young companies with a great business idea founded on a physics invention, with the potential for business growth and significant societal impact.
The winners will be presented with their awards at a ceremony in the Houses of Parliament tonight (16th October); an evening recognising entrepreneurship and excellence in physics and innovation.