The BritChips Podcast: Hero(n)ic Performance for FPGAs

In this episode of The BritChips Podcast, Alexander Montgomerie-Corcoran discusses Heronic Technologies’ innovative approach to automating the design of bespoke AI hardware, the journey of entrepreneurship, and the importance of collaboration and research. Alex shares insights into their target market in broadcast and pro AV, their AI-based video upscaling technology, and the challenges of funding and revenue generation. The conversation also touches on the value of mentorship through ChipStart and the future aspirations for Heronic Technologies.And you’ll also learn why Alex and Cofounder (and CTO) Petros Toupas chose to call their startup Heronic. It’s all Greek to me!The BritChips Podcast is proudly sponsored by Silicon Catalyst UK, Official Partner of the government-funded ChipStart UK semiconductor incubator.Contents (timings approximate)00:00 Introduction to Heronic Technologies04:56 Research and Development at Imperial College09:50 Partnership with Altera14:48 Focus on Video Processing and AI Upscaling20:16 Commercial Arrangements and Revenue Model24:31 Future Aspirations and Market ExpansionTakeaways (yup, AI-generated !)* Heronic Technologies specializes in automating bespoke AI hardware design.* The startup journey began with a previous venture called Colabo.* Collaboration at Imperial College led to the formation of Heronic.* Designing chips is a complex and lengthy process.* Customer relationships are crucial for success in the semiconductor industry.* The target market includes broadcast and pro AV sectors.* AI-based video upscaling is a key product offering.* Pilot projects have shown significant performance improvements.* Funding has been a challenge, but initial revenue is being generated.* ChipStart provides valuable mentorship and industry connections. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com