Silveray closes £4m investment round to develop flexible digital X-ray detectors
Silveray, who are using their X-ray sensitive material to develop a detector for digital X-ray imaging, today announce their £4m seed investment round, led by Northern Gritstone, with co-investors including Angel Co-Fund, Empirical Ventures, Deep Tech Labs and Hamamatsu Photonics Corporate Ventures.
A key benefit of digital X-ray images is the increase in productivity, as images can be captured and viewed without an image development step, which is the current workflow for traditional X-ray film. However, digital X-ray solutions are often large and have limited flexibility, restricting the ability to capture high-quality X-ray images in tight spaces or on curved surfaces. Silveray’s material allows them to use direct conversion of the incident X-ray photons, in contrast to other imaging techniques that use indirect conversion. Consequently, Silveray’s detectors can be thinner and more flexible than other X-ray solutions on the market, making them more suitable to fit into tight spaces and to image curved surfaces, such as for wrapping around pipes to check for corrosion and weld defects.
Dan Cathie, CEO of Silveray, 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 industry means we are confident of becoming revenue generating in 2025.”
Dr Johnathan Matlock, Co-founder of Empirical Ventures, said: “Within the industrial market (aerospace), there is upcoming legislation being enforced that existing records need to be digitised, as well as all future films. Cost saving calculations show how customers can ultimately save money by adopting DXF. As it stands, Silveray’s DXF is the only technology that can replace current X-ray film. We have strong conviction that Silveray has a strong solution market fit in industrial weld monitoring.”
This round of investment will be used to finalise the development of Silveray’s X-ray detector in collaboration with industrial partners ahead of expanding into the industrial digital X-ray market. In parallel, Silveray will also be working closely with groups in the medical sector to identify beneficial applications of their flexible digital X-ray technology for medical imaging.
About Empirical Ventures
Empirical Ventures leads pre-seed and seed rounds for deep science startups creating century-defining technologies. Co-founded by Dr. Ben Miles (physics) and Dr. Johnathan Matlock (chemistry), they have extensive experience as scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors. The team are looking for exceptional science-led startups that are using the latest technological advances to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing society and our planet. Empirical fills a key need in the DeepTech landscape in the UK by leading due diligence on deep science startups, helping to de-risk early-stage investments for their investors and co-investors. Empirical Ventures operates as an appointed representative of SFC Capital Partners. For more information about Empirical Ventures and its mission, please visit empiricalventures.vc.
About Silveray
Silveray is a spin-out company from the University of Surrey, founded in 2018 to commercialise a novel X-ray-sensitive material. Progress to date has focused on developing and refining the material into a digital X-ray device, known as DXF; a flexible digital detector that produces images through direct conversion of X-ray photons. DXF can be used in a very similar way to traditional X-ray film, and the team are now optimising it for use in a wide range of X-ray imaging applications. Silveray aims to digitise radiographic film to deliver productivity savings to radiographers across all industries where film is still used.
Please visit https://silveray.co.uk/ to learn more
