The UK semiconductor industry is spread between chip design, processor technology, specialist materials and manufacturing. Cambridge is closely linked with processor design. South Wales has a large compound semiconductor base. Bristol has produced several chip businesses, while Scotland has silicon and silicon-carbide manufacturing.

The size of the sector is also bigger than it may first appear. The Semiconductor Sector Study 2026 by the UK government identified 703 companies active in semiconductor work, with 295 being dedicated India’s semiconductor companies. Those dedicated companies generated an estimated £10.6 billion in UK revenue during 2025 and directly employed about 16,350 people.

The country earns much of its semiconductor revenue from design rather than mass chip production. The same government study found that design accounted for 79% of revenue among dedicated firms. This explains why several of the best-known semiconductor companies in the UK sell processor designs, custom chips or intellectual property rather than operating huge silicon factories.

This article covers 10 major names based on their UK operations, products, technical work and recent business activity. It is not a strict revenue ranking because private businesses do not always publish their financial numbers, while some companies sell finished chips and others make money from licences, wafers or chip-design work.

Quick Look at the Top Semiconductor Companies in the UK

Rank	Company	UK Base	Main Work
1	Arm	Cambridge	Processor IP and silicon
2	IQE	Cardiff	Compound semiconductor wafers
3	Pragmatic Semiconductor	Cambridge / Durham	Flexible integrated circuits
4	Graphcore	Bristol	AI processors and compute systems
5	Imagination Technologies	Kings Langley	GPU, AI and processor IP
6	EnSilica	Oxfordshire	Custom ASICs and chip supply
7	XMOS	Bristol	Programmable processors and voice chips
8	Cambridge GaN Devices	Cambridge	Gallium nitride power devices
9	CML Microsystems	Essex	RF and mixed-signal semiconductors
10	Clas-SiC Wafer Fab	Fife	Silicon-carbide wafer fabrication

1. Arm

Founded	1990
Headquarters	Cambridge, England
FY2026 Revenue	$4.92 billion
Main Business	Processor IP, compute platforms and silicon

Arm is easily the biggest name in this list of semiconductor companies in the UK. The company started in Cambridge in 1990 as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple and VLSI Technology.

For most of its history, Arm has made money by licensing processor designs rather than manufacturing the chips itself. Other companies use Arm technology inside phones, servers, cars, embedded devices and many other electronic products. Arm says more than 350 billion chips based on its technology have shipped since the company began.

Its business has now started to move beyond licensing alone. Arm introduced the AGI CPU in March 2026, its first production silicon product, with AI data centres as the target market. Revenue for the year ended March 31, 2026 reached $4.92 billion, up 23% from the previous financial year.

Unique Offerings

• Arm processor architecture and CPU IP
• Compute Subsystems for chip developers
• Arm AGI CPU
• Processor licences used by chip companies worldwide

2. IQE

Started	1988
Headquarters	Cardiff, Wales
FY2025 Revenue	£97.3 million
Main Business	Compound semiconductor wafers

IQE has been part of the Welsh semiconductor industry since 1988, when its first manufacturing operation opened in Cardiff under the name Epitaxial Products International.

The company does not make the finished processors that people normally picture when they hear the word chip. It makes epitaxial wafers and advanced semiconductor materials used by other manufacturers.

Its products support wireless communications, photonics, power electronics, displays, aerospace equipment and other electronics. The company works with materials such as gallium arsenide, gallium nitride and indium phosphide.

IQE reported £97.3 million in revenue for 2025. It also completed an £81 million fundraising in May 2026. In July, the company announced a $14 million production order for products linked with AI and data-centre use.

That manufacturing base makes IQE one of the better-known compound semiconductor companies in the UK.

Unique Offerings

• Compound semiconductor epitaxy
• Gallium nitride and gallium arsenide materials
• Indium phosphide products
• UK manufacturing in Cardiff and Newport

3. Pragmatic Semiconductor

Established	2010
Headquarters	Cambridge, England
Manufacturing Base	Durham, England
Main Business	Flexible integrated circuits

Pragmatic Semiconductor makes chips that are physically flexible. The company started in 2010 and now has its head office at Cambridge Science Park, with manufacturing operations in County Durham.

Its FlexIC products use a flexible substrate rather than the rigid form normally associated with semiconductor chips. They are thin and made for jobs where putting a normal silicon chip on every item would not always make financial or practical sense.

NFC labels, packaging, product authentication, healthcare products and connected consumer goods are some of the uses the company targets.

Pragmatic also manufactures in Britain. Its Pragmatic Park facility in Durham produces flexible chips, while its foundry offers 300mm wafer production.

In June 2026, the company introduced NFC Protect PR1311, a flexible chip for product authentication and tamper detection. Pragmatic had earlier secured £182 million to expand its UK manufacturing capacity.

Few semiconductor companies in the UK combine flexible-chip design with this type of domestic production.

Unique Offerings

• Flexible integrated circuits
• NFC chips for packaging and authentication
• 300mm flexible semiconductor production
• Chip production based in Durham

4. Graphcore

Founded	2016
Headquarters	Bristol, England
Owner	SoftBank Group
Main Business	AI processors and compute systems

Graphcore started in Bristol in 2016 with Nigel Toon and Simon Knowles as its founders. The original idea was to build a processor specifically for machine intelligence rather than adapt a normal general-purpose processor for the job.

The company’s best-known processor is its Intelligence Processing Unit, usually shortened to IPU. Graphcore has also worked on the software and computing systems needed to use its processors.

SoftBank bought Graphcore in 2024. The company still keeps its headquarters in Bristol, where several of its main technical teams remain based.

Graphcore has since added engineering teams outside Britain, but semiconductor development remains an important part of its Bristol operation. This gives the UK a locally founded processor business in the AI hardware market.

Unique Offerings

• Intelligence Processing Unit technology
• AI processor design
• Compute systems and supporting software
• Semiconductor engineering team in Bristol

5. Imagination Technologies

Established	1977
Headquarters	Kings Langley, England
Company Type	Private
Main Business	GPU, AI and processor IP

Imagination Technologies has been part of British chip design for decades. Its main office is in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, and it also has UK offices in Cambridge and Bristol.

Many people know the company through PowerVR, its graphics processor technology. Imagination licenses GPU designs that can go inside phones, cars, embedded systems and other devices.

The company now also sells AI compute technology and RISC-V processor IP. Its Catapult CPU family is based on the open RISC-V instruction set.

Imagination therefore remains one of the semiconductor companies in the UK to know for graphics and processor design, even though it does not operate as a large chip manufacturer.

Unique Offerings

• PowerVR GPU technology
• GPU IP for automotive and mobile products
• Edge AI compute IP
• RISC-V processor designs

6. EnSilica

Founded	2001
Headquarters	Abingdon, Oxfordshire
H1 FY2026 Revenue	£12.7 million
Main Business	Custom ASICs and chip supply

EnSilica works with companies that need a chip designed for a particular product or job. It started in 2001 and now has UK design offices in Oxfordshire, Bristol, Cambridge and Sheffield.

Its engineers work on RF, mmWave, mixed-signal and digital ASICs. The company’s customers come from areas such as automotive electronics, industrial equipment, communications and space.

EnSilica follows a fabless model, which means it designs and supplies chips without owning a major wafer plant of its own. Manufacturing partners handle the fabrication work.

The company reported £12.7 million in revenue for the first half of FY2026, compared with £9.3 million in the same period one year earlier. Chip-supply revenue reached £3.9 million.

It remains smaller than Arm or IQE, but custom ASIC work gives EnSilica a clear place among listed semiconductor companies in the UK.

Unique Offerings

• Custom ASIC and SoC design
• RF and mmWave chips
• Mixed-signal semiconductor design
• Chip design and final supply under one contract

7. XMOS

Founded	2005
Headquarters	Bristol, England
Main Platform	XCORE
Main Business	Programmable processors

XMOS started in Bristol in 2005. Its main product family is XCORE, a processor architecture that can handle control, input and output, digital signal work and AI tasks on the same device.

Audio and voice processing have been important parts of the company’s business for years. Its chips can also work in industrial control, robotics, edge processing and computer-vision products.

XMOS says XCORE technology is already used in more than 39 million systems.

The company added another voice product in July 2026 with the VocalFusion XVF3620, which includes noise reduction, acoustic echo cancellation, microphone beamforming and automatic gain control.

XMOS is one of the specialist semiconductor companies in the UK that has built its business around programmable chips instead of standard CPUs.

Unique Offerings

• XCORE processors
• Voice-processing chips
• Audio DSP products
• Edge processing and real-time control

8. Cambridge GaN Devices

Founded	2016
Headquarters	Cambridge, England
2025 Series C	$32 million
Main Business	Gallium nitride power semiconductors

Cambridge GaN Devices, or CGD, came out of the University of Cambridge in 2016. Giorgia Longobardi and Florin Udrea founded the company to develop gallium nitride power devices.

Gallium nitride, usually called GaN, is used in power electronics where efficiency, heat and size matter. Chargers, data centres, industrial equipment and electric vehicles can all use this type of device.

CGD developed ICeGaN, its own GaN technology, with control and protection functions placed into the design. The company works as a fabless chip business, so outside manufacturing partners produce the devices.

It raised $32 million in Series C funding in February 2025. In June 2026, CGD announced a long-term partnership with NXP Semiconductors for power-conversion systems used in automotive, industrial and data-centre products.

CGD represents the power-electronics side of semiconductor companies in the UK, rather than processors or graphics chips.

Unique Offerings

• ICeGaN technology
• 650V GaN power devices
• Products for electric vehicles and data centres
• Power semiconductor research from Cambridge

9. CML Microsystems

Founded	1968
UK Base	Essex, England
FY2026 Revenue	£20.45 million
Main Business	RF, microwave and mixed-signal semiconductors

CML Microsystems has a much longer history than most of the newer chip businesses on this list. Its semiconductor work dates back to 1968.

The company makes components mainly for communications equipment. Its work includes RF, microwave and mixed-signal semiconductor products used for wireless voice, data and other communications systems.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2026, CML reported £20.45 million in revenue. Semiconductor products accounted for £18.56 million of that figure, with the rest coming from design and development work.

CML does not receive the same public attention as Britain’s newer chip start-ups, but it remains one of the established semiconductor companies in the UK with its own communications-chip business.

Unique Offerings

• RF semiconductor products
• Microwave chips
• Mixed-signal devices
• Communications-focused semiconductor design

10. Clas-SiC Wafer Fab

Founded	2017
Headquarters	Lochgelly, Fife, Scotland
Wafer Size	150mm SiC
Main Business	Silicon-carbide wafer fabrication

Clas-SiC Wafer Fab is based in Lochgelly, Fife, and started in 2017. Its business centres on silicon-carbide power devices rather than normal silicon processors.

The company’s facility can process 150mm silicon-carbide wafers and supports MOSFET and diode production. Customers can use the plant for research work, prototypes and low- to medium-volume manufacturing.

The 2026 government semiconductor study describes Clas-SiC as the UK’s only pure-play silicon-carbide foundry. Scotland also has several other semiconductor businesses involved in silicon, MEMS, chip design and specialist materials.

Clas-SiC differs from many semiconductor companies in the UK because fabrication is the centre of its business rather than licensing or chip design.

Unique Offerings

• Dedicated silicon-carbide foundry
• 150mm SiC wafer processing
• MOSFET process design kits
• Prototype and medium-volume production

Why the Semiconductor Industry Is Important in the UK

Chip Design Brings in Much of the Revenue

The UK government estimates that design accounts for 79% of dedicated semiconductor company revenue in the country. Arm is the largest example, but Imagination, Graphcore, EnSilica and XMOS also show how important chip design remains to the sector.

A British semiconductor company does not need to own a factory to sell technology worldwide. Processor architecture, graphics IP and custom chip designs can all be licensed or manufactured through outside fabs.

South Wales Has a Strong Compound Semiconductor Base

Cardiff and Newport have become important locations for compound semiconductor work. IQE has its headquarters in Cardiff and manufacturing operations in both Cardiff and Newport.

Compound semiconductors have uses in communications, photonics, power electronics and sensing, so the Welsh cluster works on a different part of the market from Cambridge’s processor-design companies.

Britain Still Manufactures Specialist Chips

The country does not have the same large advanced-chip production capacity found in the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturing nations, but specialist manufacturing still takes place here.

Pragmatic makes flexible semiconductors in Durham. IQE manufactures compound semiconductor wafers in Wales. Clas-SiC runs a SiC foundry in Scotland. The government study also identifies other UK manufacturing names such as Semefab and Nexperia’s UK operation.

Scotland Has Its Own Semiconductor Base

Scotland’s semiconductor history goes back several decades, and current activity includes foundries, chip design, silicon materials and battery electronics.

The 2026 government study names Clas-SiC, Semefab, Cirrus Logic, Dukosi and several other specialist businesses as part of the Scottish semiconductor sector.

New Demand Is Coming From Computing and Power Electronics

More computing capacity means more demand for processor technology, data-centre hardware and supporting semiconductor products. Arm, Graphcore and IQE already have business connected with this area.

Power electronics is another important part of the market. Electric vehicles, industrial equipment and data centres need efficient power conversion, which creates work for companies such as Cambridge GaN Devices and Clas-SiC.

That variety is one reason semiconductor companies in the UK cannot be judged only by revenue or the number of chips they manufacture.

Conclusion

The top semiconductor companies in the UK cover very different parts of the chip business.

Arm remains the largest British name and reported $4.92 billion in FY2026 revenue. IQE has built a large compound-semiconductor wafer business from Wales. Pragmatic manufactures flexible chips in Durham, while Graphcore develops processors for machine intelligence from its Bristol base.

Imagination Technologies, EnSilica and XMOS add more chip-design work. Cambridge GaN Devices develops GaN power devices, CML Microsystems works mainly on communications semiconductors, and Clas-SiC runs a specialist silicon-carbide foundry in Scotland.

The UK has built much of its semiconductor business around processor IP, custom chip design, compound materials and specialist manufacturing rather than only large silicon factories.

That also means there is no single company that suits every requirement. Anyone choosing between semiconductor companies in the UK first needs to know whether the requirement is processor IP, a custom ASIC, flexible electronics, compound wafers, power devices or actual wafer fabrication.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the largest semiconductor company in the UK?

Arm is the largest UK-headquartered company covered in this list and reported revenue of $4.92 billion for FY2026.

Does the UK manufacture semiconductors?

Yes. Companies in Britain manufacture compound semiconductor wafers, flexible integrated circuits, silicon-carbide devices and other specialist products, although large-volume advanced silicon manufacturing is more limited.

Which semiconductor companies in the UK work on AI chips?

Graphcore develops processors for machine intelligence, while Arm has moved into production silicon with its AGI CPU. XMOS also works on chips for edge processing, and Imagination licenses GPU and AI compute IP.

Is Arm a British semiconductor company?

Yes. Arm was founded in Cambridge in 1990 and still has its global headquarters there, although SoftBank Group remains its controlling shareholder and Arm shares trade on Nasdaq.

Which UK semiconductor companies are publicly listed?

Arm trades on Nasdaq, while IQE, EnSilica and CML Microsystems are quoted on the AIM market in London.

Where are the main semiconductor centres in the UK?

Cambridge, Bristol, South Wales and Scotland are important locations, while the government’s 2026 study also identifies semiconductor activity in London, Southampton, the North East and other parts of Britain.

Which semiconductor companies in the UK make power devices?

Cambridge GaN Devices develops gallium nitride power semiconductors, while Clas-SiC works with silicon-carbide power devices and IQE supplies compound semiconductor materials used in power electronics.