Sheffield company face "overwhelming" demand to manufacture new computer safety microchips
“As AI is identifying hundreds of critical vulnerabilities, it is clear that huge swathes of technology are open to attack”
A Sheffield company that has developed the world's first memory-safe computer chip is accelerating production after experiencing "overwhelming" demand.
SCI Semiconductor, which was founded in 2022, has already fabricated its first devices and has secured orders to the value of over £2m.
It has also won Government contracts totalling £7.7m and agreed partnerships with Google Research and Microsoft as the team work to tackle cyber security concerns related to a computers memory storage.
Memory safety is the key factor in around 70 per cent of cyber attacks, as traditional software allows memory to be freely accessed - providing flexibility for developers but creating vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers.
It also means coding flaws can bring down an entire system, as in the 2024 CrowdStrike outages.
SCI Semiconductor - started by by industry veteran Haydn Povey, Silicon Valley executive Krishna Anne, and leading Microsoft Research specialist Dr David Chisnall - has said that AI is now identifying critical vulnerabilities that they hope their devices can tackle.
The Sheffield-based company, with offices in Cambridge, create ‘ICENI chips’ that embed security into the computer architecture, dividing memory into trusted compartments and tightly controls how it is accessed.
Increased production is set to be supported by PXN Ventures and Mercia Ventures.
Haydn Povey, chief executive at SCI Semiconductor, said: "The problem of memory safety is finally being taken seriously.
Additionally with so much code generated by AI, the question is how much of it is fit for purpose and what risk that could pose to systems.
"Memory safe technology helps overcome these challenges. Since unveiling our ICENI chip earlier this year, demand has been overwhelming. The funding will enable us to step up production and develop a new generation of chips here in the UK."