Panel Session Investment Business Development Scaleup

Location: Stage 2 - Wed, 1 Jul 2026 · 12:00 – 12:45 (Europe/London) (45 minutes)

What It Really Takes to Scale a UK Series D business

Overview

Raising £300m+ as a UK-incorporated business is rare. Doing it in Deeptech while building manufacturing capability from the ground up, is even rarer!

This session goes inside that journey.

Featuring a candid fireside conversation with Richard Price, Co-founder of Pragmatic Semiconductor, alongside Emma Walsh, Head of TMT within Barclays Business Banking, the discussion explores what it really takes to scale from breakthrough innovation to a globally competitive, later-stage business.

Pragmatic Semiconductor is a UK pioneer in flexible electronics, developing ultra-thin, low-cost semiconductors that unlock new use cases across IoT, consumer products and supply chains. The company has raised over £300m to transition from research-led innovation into industrial-scale production and international growth.

Barclays Innovation Banking supports high-growth businesses through its Innovation Escalator, a model designed to back companies from ideation through to IPO, connecting them with capital, expertise and networks as they scale. Barclays have been proud to be appointed as one of Pragmatic's banking partners and look forward to supporting the business on its growth journey going forward.

In a highly practical and honest discussion, Richard will share:

What it takes to raise £300m+ from global investors as a UK-based company
The reality of scaling from early-stage to Series C/D in DeepTech
Balancing dilution, control and long-term ambition
Building infrastructure, talent and manufacturing capability at scale
The inflection points that define whether a business breaks through or stalls

This is a rare opportunity to hear directly from a founder who has done it, moving beyond theory to the real decisions, trade-offs and pressure points behind building a category defining UK success story.

Bringing together investors, ecosystem players and founders across the scale up journey to learn from real insights and shared experience.

Hosted by

Emma Walsh

Emma Walsh leads the Technology, Media and Telecommunications team at Barclays Business Bank, where she and her team support the funding and growth of early‐stage businesses across some of the UK's most important growth sectors. Emma previously developed and delivered the Climate Tech strategy for Business Banking, working closely with partners including Carbon13 and Sustainable Ventures. Prior to Barclays, Emma was COO and Director of…

Speakers

Richard Price

CTO & Co-Founder at Pragmatic Semiconductor

Richard Price is CTO and co-founder of Pragmatic Semiconductor, a UK-based pioneer in flexible electronics. With over 25 years’ experience in developing and commercialising innovative technologies, Richard holds a BSc and PhD in Chemistry from Durham University and is inventor/co-inventor on more than 30 patent families. As CTO, he has guided Pragmatic from concept to volume production of its FlexIC products, enabling scalable and…

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