Amcor announces strategic investment in Pragmatic Semiconductor
The companies will work together to explore ways to integrate FlexICs into Amcor’s portfolio of sustainable packaging solutions
In its continuing efforts to discover and develop innovative technologies for the packaging industry, Amcor (NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC) announced today its strategic investment in PragmatIC Semiconductor, a world leader in ultra, low-cost electronics.
Based in the United Kingdom, PragmatIC Semiconductor develops flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs) beyond the scope of conventional electronics. Their ConnectIC® family of radio frequency identification and near-field communications (RFID/NFC) integrated chips can be embedded into packaging to store and relay information to devices such as smartphones. This technology enables smart packaging applications across the entire product lifecycle – from manufacturing and supply chain management to consumer engagement and even material recovery.
Frank Lehmann, Vice President Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing at Amcor, said, “As the global diversified packaging leader, Amcor is well-positioned to tap into early-stage, cutting-edge innovation around sustainability and digitization. We are delighted to partner with PragmatIC Semiconductor to explore ways to leverage and integrate these flexible, integrated circuits into our portfolio of more sustainable packaging solutions.”
Scott White, PragmatIC Semiconductor CEO, said, “We are pleased to partner with an industry leader like Amcor. This investment is a testament to the value Amcor continues to place on innovation and our collective vision on how packaging can be used to connect customers and consumers with the information they need.”
Amcor’s USD$5 million investment was part of the Series C funding round of more than USD$90 million for PragmatIC Semiconductor. This investment follows the recent investment by Amcor Corporate Venturing in ePac in April of 2021.
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About Amcor
Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal-care, and other products. Amcor works with leading companies around the world to protect their products and the people who rely on them, differentiate brands, and improve supply chains through a range of flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and services. The company is focused on making packaging that uses less materials, is increasingly recyclable and reusable, and is made with more recycled content. Around 47,000 Amcor people generate $12.5 billion in annual sales from operations that span about 230 locations in 40-plus countries. NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC
About Pragmatic Semiconductor
Pragmatic Semiconductor is a leader in semiconductor innovation, creating ultra low cost, ultra thin, flexible integrated circuits (‘electronic chips’).
Pragmatic’s chip is produced without silicon, using thin-film semiconductors to create flexible integrated circuits that are thinner than a human hair, and are significantly cheaper and faster to produce than silicon chips. This provides a compelling alternative for many mainstream electronics applications, as well as enabling new applications not possible with silicon.
Pragmatic’s chips can be embedded into almost anything, bringing connectivity and intelligence to everyday objects. Example applications include radio frequency identification (RFID) and near field communications (NFC) giving objects unique digital identities as well as enabling objects to interact with their environment. This has benefits across the entire product lifecycle, including inventory reduction, traceability, counterfeit detection, proof of provenance, and customer interaction. Pragmatic’s technology can also be used to help reduce food waste, improve the return and recycling of singleuse packaging, and enable item-level traceability within a universal system for recapture, sorting, cleaning, and return.
Our foundry service uniquely allows agile hardware design, exponentially accelerating solution development and time-to-market. Examples include proprietary RFID protocols, time/temperature indicators, fingerprint sensors, wearable smart patches for healthcare, flexible display drivers, and novel microprocessor architectures.
We also offer a Fab-as-a-Service model that enables secure, dependable, localised semiconductor supply through manufacturing directly on a customer’s site. This highly scalable distributed production allows cost effective, high-volume fabrication of flexible integrated circuits.
Pragmatic is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with our first fab operating in Sedgefield, and a second fab under construction at our new 15-acre Pragmatic Park site in Durham.
For more information please contact pr@pragmaticsemi.com