Cambridge start-up secures £23m for its software-based approach to GPS

A Cambridge start-up has secured up to £23m of investment for its software-based approach to GPS positioning following a multi-round Series C funding round.

FocalPoint Positioning, a Cambridge University spinout, is a deep tech company which is looking to revolutionise the accuracy of GPS and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

Based at Chesterton Mill and started in 2015, FocalPoint was founded to improve navigation placement and better meet the needs of 21st century organisations and individuals.

The start-up’s groundbreaking Supercorrelation software enables a new class of satellite positioning receiver that can measure the directions of the incoming signals. This allows the new receivers to ignore reflected signals, as well as fake ‘spoofed’ signals, making them particularly useful in urban environments.

Fraudsters, criminal networks and maritime pirates all use spoofing to broadcast fake satellite signals, which appear in one place but are actually in another, to confuse traditional receivers. This presents a critical threat to businesses and consumers, particularly as the criminals’ techniques become more sophisticated and the cost of spoofing technology goes down.

FocalPoint’s unique Supercorrelation technology can instantly detect spoofed signals and ignore them, as well as pinpointing where the signal is actually coming from. It is touted to be the only consumer-grade product in the market capable of these unique performance characteristics.

FocalPoint CEO Scott Pomerantz commented: “We are delighted at this show of confidence in FocalPoint from new and established investors amidst a challenging market backdrop. Our IP portfolio is strong, this injection of capital will enable us to move faster to meet the demands of several big customers in the US and South East Asia, and to accelerate our IP portfolio growth.”

FocalPoint Founder, President and CTO Ramsey Faragher commented: “It has been an amazing experience to grow this company from an idea in my head to an established and world-leading GNSS technology provider. As we continue to add more GNSS customers and partners to our list, I’m excited to be now developing further IP to grow our footprint into other radio technologies and even larger markets.”

Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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