Genomics giant Illumina, which is expanding its Cambridge UK operations, has agreed to call off a proposed $1.2 billion cash takeover of fellow Californian business Pacific Biosciences.

The companies shook hands on a potential merger in November 2018 but have been frustrated by a failure to date to win regulatory approval.Illumina issued a statement today saying it would honour a merger agreement pledge to pay Pacific a $98m termination fee.

The statement read: “Considering the lengthy regulatory approval process the transaction has already been subject to and continued uncertainty of the ultimate outcome, the parties decided that terminating the agreement is in the best interest of their respective shareholders and employees.”

Francis deSouza, president and CEO of Illumina, went into greater detail. He said: “We believe this proposed combination would have broadened access to Pacific Biosciences sequencing technology, significantly expanded and accelerated innovation, and ultimately increased the clinical utility and impact of sequencing.

“I’d like to thank our employees, as well as the Pacific Biosciences team, for their unwavering dedication and commitment throughout this process. Moving forward, we will continue to look for ways to increase the impact and benefit of sequencing technologies for researchers, clinicians, and most importantly, patients.”

Pacific CEO Michael Hunkapiller, added: “We are disappointed that our customers and other stakeholders will not realise the powerful advantages of integrating the sequencing capabilities of our two companies.

“With that said, we are confident in the future of Pacific Biosciences as we continue to pursue improved sequencing accuracy and throughput that can be utilised in an ever-expanding number of applications.”

• Photograph by CDBeckwith/Wikipedia

Apple has confirmed it has acquired Cambridge UK image technology business Spectral Edge for an undisclosed sum.

As we reported yesterday, all the Spectral Edge directors had quit to be replaced by an Apple legal eagle based in California. The US technology business confirmed our story today but declined to disclose details concerning the amount paid for Spectral Edge or its plans going forward.

Spectral Edge directors resigned in November and were replaced by Peter Denwood, director, Corporate Law – International at Apple.

Apple intends to fuse the Spectral Edge imaging technology into its smartphone enhancements, just as it used speech technology from VocalIQ in Cambridge to return fire on Amazon’s Alexa.

In July, Business Weekly revealed that Apple was moving its Cambridge research hub from 90 Hills Road to a new building at 30 Station Road which provides 79,000 sq fit of space with the capacity to accommodate up to 800 people. Regeneration specialist Brookgate, regional contractor R G Carter and fund Aviva Investors started work on Apple’s new facility in October 2019. Completion is due in July 2021.

We speculated that this was to accommodate a fresh acquisition: Apple eased into Cambridge via the acquisition of little-known speech technology startup VocalIQ. Image enhancement technology looked to be a natural bolt-on if Apple could find the right player in the market. Spectral Edge certainly appears to fit the bill. 

In April 2018 Spectral Edge raised $5.3 million from existing investors Parkwalk Advisors and IQ Capital. The new money was to expand the company’s R & D team and support the development of real-world applications for its technology in key areas of focus – notably smartphones, webcams and security applications. 

The team, which in 2014 spun the business out of academic research at the University of East Anglia, has developed a mathematical technique for improving photographic imagery in real-time, also using machine learning technology. 

The technology – which can be embedded in software or in silicon – is designed to enhance pictures and videos on mass-market devices. Mooted use cases include for enhancing low light smartphone images, improving security camera footage or even for drone cameras.

US technology giant Apple, which is growing its space requirements in Cambridge UK, appears to have acquired Spectral Edge, a University of East Anglia spin-out commercialising enhanced image fusion technology from The Bradfield Centre at the Science Park.

All Spectral Edge directors have resigned and been replaced by Peter Denwood, Director, Corporate Law – International at Apple.

In July, Business Weekly exclusively revealed that Apple was moving its Cambridge research hub from 90 Hills Road to a new building at 30 Station Road which provides 79,000 sq fit of space with the capacity to accommodate up to 800 people. Regeneration specialist Brookgate, regional contractor R G Carter and fund Aviva Investors started work on Apple’s new facility in October 2019. Completion is due in July 2021.

We speculated that this was to accommodate a fresh acquisition: Apple eased into Cambridge  via the acquisition of little-known speech technology startup VocalIQ. Image enhancement technology looked to be a natural bolt-on if Apple could find the right player in the market. Spectral Edge certainly appears to fit the bill. 

In April 2018 Spectral Edge raised $5.3 million from existing investors Parkwalk Advisors and IQ Capital. 

The new money was to expand the company’s R & D team and support the development of real-world applications for its technology in key areas of focus – notably smartphones, webcams and security applications. 

The team, which in 2014 spun the business out of academic research at the University of East Anglia, has developed a mathematical technique for improving photographic imagery in real-time, also using machine learning technology. 

The technology — which can be embedded in software or in silicon — is designed to enhance pictures and videos on mass-market devices. Mooted use cases include for enhancing low light smartphone images, improving security camera footage or even for drone cameras.

Neither Spectral Edge nor Apple could be contacted for up-to-date comment at the time of writing.

Cambridge UK graphene electronics technology company Paragraf has added £3.4 million to its series A round with Draper Esprit joining as significant investor, bringing the total haul to £16.2m. 

The round was led by Parkwalk and included investment from IQ Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, Cambridge Enterprise, the commercialisation arm of the University of Cambridge, and Partners Investment Company, as well as several angel backers. 

The extra funding will enable Cambridge University spin-out Paragraf to significantly accelerate the delivery of its first graphene-based electronics products to market, transitioning the business into a commercial, revenue-generating entity.

As graphene appears to be reaching its tipping point in many low-cost applications such as road surfacing, paint and clothing where its improved wear resistance properties are offering benefits, the widely speculated, high-performance electronics applications have remained tantalisingly out of reach. 

Paragraf’s patent-protected break-through approach to graphene synthesis has enabled the company to develop some of the first graphene electronics devices using standard mass production scale approaches.

Paragraf has achieved very early delivery to market of its first product, a super-high sensitivity magnetic field detector with order of magnitude performance enhancements over existing sensors. 

The technology also provides operational capabilities over temperature, field and power ranges that no other device can currently achieve. On the back of this success the company has made a strategic decision to take on additional financing, enabling the business to super charge its development roadmap. 

Dr Simon Thomas, CEO and co-founder of Paragraf, said: “By accepting additional investment Paragraf is demonstrating its drive and commitment to rapidly productising its game changing graphene technologies, accelerating the timeframe in which these devices can be developed and, importantly, delivered to market.”

David Cummings, Partner at Draper Esprit, added: “Graphene is known to be a material with huge potential, but Paragraf’s approach takes this into the realm of the commercially possible. 

“We’re delighted to be able to support this dynamic company in accelerating the delivery of its first graphene-based electronics products and are looking forward to working closely with them as they continue to develop their technology.” 

Paragraf is a spin-out from the Centre for Gallium Nitride group of Professor Sir Colin Humphreys in the Department of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge. 

Building on significant know-how and IP, Paragraf has developed atom-layer-thick two-dimensional materials, with a focus on graphene. Through its growing IP portfolio, Paragraf is applying these materials to a range of advanced electronic, energy and medical devices to benefit society.