Global Business Innovation Programme in Canada - Semiconductors

The Global Business Innovation Programme is structured around three main stages and each business will have a designated Innovate UK Business Growth innovation & growth specialist to support them for at least the duration of the offering, including developing a work plan to capitalise on the opportunities identified. The three main stages of the Global Business Innovation Programme are

• Get ready: A two-day workshop to build knowledge and understanding of the market and potential opportunities, including how to do business, cultural aspects, how to protect your IP, and training on how to better articulate your value proposition.
• Visit the market: Explore the opportunities first-hand through meetings with key companies, research organisations, and potential collaborators and partners, through pre-arranged meetings and organised matchmaking.
• Exploit the opportunity: An exploitation workshop and one-to-one support from an Innovate UK Business Growth innovation & growth specialist to help you follow up and maximise the opportunities identified through the programme.

To apply for this programme, you must:

• Be a UK based innovation-led company with ambitions to grow and internationalise
• Be a company with fewer than 250 employees
• Be CEO, Founder or senior decision maker and able to attend and complete all activities

Canada has a long-standing semiconductor industry with strengths in design, photonics, and telecommunications. The sector includes over 500 companies conducting research and development, including over 100 design firms, 30 applied research laboratories and 5 commercial facilities in areas such as compound semiconductors, microelectromechanical systems and advanced packaging.

In 2020, the Canadian semiconductor industry generated $28.8 billion in total output and supported over 120,000 jobs, including over 11,500 R&D personnel.  Almost one-tenth of in-house R&D in Canada was performed by the semiconductor industry

The semiconductor industry relies on international cooperation and Canada is working with like-minded nations to build resilient semiconductor supply chains. In January 2024, Canada and the UK renewed their Memorandum of Understanding concerning cooperation over Scientific Research and Innovation which highlights semiconductors as a particular area of focus and fundamental to economic growth, prosperity and security.

NRC IRAP and Innovate UK plan to launch a Canada-UK joint R&D funding competition on semiconductors in Spring 2025. One of the objectives of the GBIP is to help facilitate introductions and potential collaborations that might benefit from support under this programme.

Technologies of interest include, but are not limited to:

• compound/WBG semiconductors
• semiconductor design/intellectual property (IP)
• advanced packaging
• heterogeneous/hybrid integration
• photonics (including Silicon Photonics)
• emerging materials
• prototyping and low volume piloting
• processing

Key application areas include:

• high-voltage systems (including utilities, industry and public power systems)
• sustainable Technologies (including Electric Vehicles, batteries, solar, wind)
• communications (including Wi-Fi, cellular 5G and 6G, satellite)
• sensors
• data centres

Applications are open to all UK SMEs focusing on the above technology areas.

• Explore joint opportunities to do business with Canada
• Find potential innovation collaborators and partners
• Improve company value proposition to global partners and investors
• Understand potential funding collaboration

Download a recording of the applicant briefing here.

Applications close: 19^th January 2025

Get ready workshop: 18^th March – 19^th March 2025

Visit the market: 26^th April – 2^nd May 2025

Exploit the opportunity workshop: 8^th July 2025