3 April 2023: BGF, one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland, today announces the commitment of a £3.75 million follow-on investment  into Forefront RF, to support its continued disruption of the global radio frequency market for  mobile technologies. The investment is part of a £6.7 million round alongside existing  investors Science Creates Ventures and Foresight Group. 

Forefront RF, headquartered in Cambridge, is a fabless semiconductor company established to make multi-band smartphones, wearables and IoT Devices simpler to design and more  globally accessible. BGF originally backed Forefront RF in 2021, helping to boost its  technical delivery team and accelerate the development of its technology. This latest funding round will help the company capitalise on strong industry trends and take advantage of  global market dynamics to drive further growth.  

Commercialising academic research from the University of Bristol, Forefront RF has developed a unique Adaptive Passive Cancellation technology that uses software control to  enable connected devices to operate effectively across the increasingly wide range of XGen  (3G to 6G) mobile telephony frequency bands, removing the need for a bank of switched  SAW and BAW crystal filters. This enables manufacturers to simplify the design and deliver  frequency agnostic products, whilst reducing cost and supply chain waste.  

In addition to the investment, Forefront RF is launching a fully Tunable Duplexer using the  company’s patented adaptive passive cancellation technology. The demonstrator,  specifically designed for the 600-1000MHz bands, will show Forefront RF’s Tunable  Duplexer technology suitable for the 4G and 5G standards. 

The company is led by a highly talented and specialist team. Ronald Wilting was appointed  CEO in 2022, bringing 25 years’ experience in radio frequency technology, having worked in  engineering, marketing, sales and leadership roles for firms including Ericsson, Qualcomm,  NXP and SemiBlocks. Ronald works closely with Forefront RF’s founders Dr Leo Laughlin  and Julian Hildersley to deliver on the company’s ambitious growth strategy, supported by  experienced Chair Phil O’Donovan, co-founder and MD of CSR plc (formerly Cambridge  Silicon Radio) – a multinational fabless semiconductor company which delivered 4 billion  chips and became the market leader in Bluetooth chip technology before being acquired by  Qualcomm for $2.5 billion in 2015. 

Ronald Wilting, CEO, Forefront RF, remarked: “We’re delighted to receive further  investment from BGF to support the delivery of the next stage of Forefront RF’s growth  strategy. Forefront RF is well positioned to capitalise on strong global growth prospects,  addressing an industry wide challenge with our cutting-edge technology.” 

Phil O’Donovan, Chair of Forefront RF, added: “Forefront RF has built an experienced  and highly specialised team to bring its pioneering technology to market. We are excited to  embark on this next chapter of the company’s mission and are grateful to our investment  partners for their continued support.” 

Dennis Atkinson, investor at BGF, commented: “Forefront RF has developed a leading  technology solution and highly compelling proposition for a rapidly growing global customer 

base. We look forward to continuing our work with Ronald and the talented Forefront RF team as they embark on their next stage of growth.” 

Harry Destecroix, investor at Science Creates Ventures, commented: “We’re delighted  with the progress Forefront RF has made since our early investment in 2021. It has been  great to support the company to date and we look forward to its continued growth and  success.” 

Bill Yost, investor at Foresight WAE Technology Funds, commented: “Forefront RF’s  technology has the potential to disrupt a significant market, and we are pleased to support  the company in its continuing commercial and technical progress.” 

For more information regarding Forefront RF and its technology platform email  [email protected]. 

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About Forefront RF 

Forefront RF, a Cambridge-based fabless semiconductor company, was co-founded in 2020  by Dr Leo Laughlin and Julian Hildersley to change the way global smartphones, wearables  and IoT devices are designed. Commercialising academic research from the University of  Bristol, Forefront RF’s chip enables connected devices to operate across the increasingly wide  range of XGen (3G to 6G) mobile telephony frequency bands. Forefront RF’s Adaptive Passive  Cancellation technology redesigns the radio frequency (RF) system in a wireless enabling  manufacturers to simplify the design and deliver of frequency agnostic products, whilst  reducing cost and supply chain waste. https://www.forefrontrf.com/ 

About BGF 

BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested over £3.5bn in more than 500 companies, making  it one of the most active growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland. Investing from a  balance sheet of c. £2.5bn, BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient  outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it  backs. BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 15  offices. BGF models have now been set up in Canada and Australia, with other countries  evaluating the opportunity to replicate this.  

www.bgf.co.uk / @BGFinvestments 

About Science Creates Ventures 

Science Creates Ventures, headquartered in Bristol, was founded to back exceptional teams  building game changing UK-based deep tech companies with investment and qualified  mentorship. We get excited by truly standout technology that has the potential to disrupt 

existing industries or create entirely new ones, and we love investing at the early stages of a  company’s journey. 

We’re a team of serial entrepreneurs, investors and scientists who have unique insight into  the challenges facing young deep tech companies. We bring a hands-on, tailored approach  to supporting and mentoring our portfolio companies, focusing on setting them on the best  path for growth and success from the outset. www.sciencecreates.co.uk/ventures/ 

About the Foresight WAE Technology (FWT) FundsForesight and WAE Technologies  started their investment collaboration in 2016 with the launch of the Foresight WAE  Technology (FWT) EIS Fund. 2019 saw the launch of a sister fund, the Foresight WAE  Technology (FWT) VCT share class, which sits within the Foresight Solar & Technology VCT  plc. These two funds target investment in companies developing innovative and  transformational technologies and where we believe Foresight’s and WAE’s expertise and  services can be harnessed to assist with the development of the businesses, with the  objective of achieving successful exits at high-value multiples. 

For more information please go to: https://fwt.foresight.group/ 

About Foresight Group 

Foresight Group was founded in 1984 and is a leading listed infrastructure and private equity  investment manager. With a long-established focus on ESG and sustainability-led strategies,  it aims to provide attractive returns to its institutional and private investors from hard-to access private markets. Foresight manages over 350 infrastructure assets with a focus on  solar and onshore wind assets, bioenergy and waste, as well as renewable energy enabling  projects, energy efficiency management solutions, social and core infrastructure projects and  sustainable forestry assets. Its private equity team manages eleven regionally focused  investment funds across the UK and an SME impact fund supporting Irish SMEs. This team  reviews over 2,500 business plans each year and currently supports more than 250  investments in SMEs. Foresight Capital Management manages four strategies across six  investment vehicles with an AUM of £1.4 billion.  

Foresight operates across seven countries in Europe and Australia with AUM of £12.3*  billion. Foresight Group Holdings Limited listed on the Main Market of the London Stock  Exchange in February 2021. https://www.foresightgroup.eu/shareholders 

*Based on Foresight Group unaudited AUM as of 31 December 2022. 

About WAE Technologies (“WAE”) 

WAE Technologies is a world-leading technology and engineering services business  delivering pioneering innovation to improve performance, efficiency and sustainability to a  global customer base. Combining cutting-edge technological advances and the industry’s  best engineers with precision and speed to market derived from the ultra-competitive  environment of motorsport, WAE’s capabilities cover a wide range of disciplines. The company provides ground-breaking innovation covering advanced battery and  electrification technologies and product development; aided by advanced simulation, testing, 

rapid prototyping and volume manufacturing. Working in close collaboration with our  customers, WAE remains committed to meeting the continued sustainability challenges of  the 21st Century. 

The company can trace its foundations back to 2010 when Williams Grand Prix Engineering  Limited began diversifying its operations; a division which later became Williams Advanced  Engineering. WAE has grown from an embryonic business in 2010 to a company which  employs approximately 500 people engaged in leading-edge and transformative  technologies for a growing list of Tier 1 clients. 

Following the acquisition by Fortescue Metals Group, which completed in March 2022, WAE  will continue to service its existing customers and commercialise new technology  opportunities, in addition to playing a key role in supporting Fortescue’s decarbonisation  strategy. 

The Company was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation 2018. For more information see www.wae.com, follow on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.