Northern Gritstone is leading a £4 million seed investment round into Manchester-based X-ray technology company Siveray.
Silveray has raised the funding as it heads towards a first product launch in 2025.
Investing alongside Northern Gritstone, an investment company focused on science and technology businesses in the North of England and chaired by former Goldman Sachs economist Lord Jim O’Neill, are deep tech investors Empirical Ventures, Deeptech Labs, and Hamamatsu Ventures.
Also chipping in is ACF Investors (formerly the Angel CoFund) a privately managed and commercially focused venture capital fund founded in 2011.
Since initial funding from Northern Gritstone in 2023, Silveray has accelerated product development using its sensitive flexible material that converts x-rays into digital x-ray images at the point of use. The seed round will enable the company to complete development of its first DXF product ready to launch in 2025 to industrial users of radiographic film.
Silveray’s CEO, Dan Cathie, said: “Silveray’s initial goal is to digitise radiographic film, so that radiographers are no longer restricted to exposing, developing, viewing, and storing film.
“Early customer engagement in industrial means we are confident of becoming revenue generating in 2025 and Northern Gritstone’s investment will help us achieve that,” he said.
Silveray was founded at the University of Surrey in 2018 by Professor Ravi Silva and relocated to Greater Manchester in 2022 to “gain access to the North of England’s rich talent pool and resources.” The company has worked closely with X-ray specialists” at the University of Manchester to develop its innovative direct conversion detectors and also works with the universities of Leeds and Sheffield.
Northern Gritstone has made 28 investments and has £312 million predominantly raised from pension funds to invest into science and technology companies in the North of England.
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said: “The progress made by the Silveray team since our initial investment in 2023 has been phenomenal. Dan Cathie and his team have the enviable combination of innovation and entrepreneurialism having developed a novel digital x-ray solution with numerous applications which are already disrupting the analogue x-ray market. We are delighted to continue our support of Silveray as it builds its commercial traction, helping the team on its path to success.”
