Ab Fab as chair predicts global growth for Forefront RF after £16m Series A

As Forefront RF unveiled a £16 million Series A, O’Donovan revealed to Business Weekly that, given a fair wind, the young company could emulate the achievement of CSR that was sold to US giant Qualcomm for $2.4 billion in 2015. It is already tipped to make a fortune out of its technology Foretune™!

O’Donovan joined the Forefront board to help it raise its first round of finance in 2020. He said: “Forefront RF has great potential and is following a similar path to Cambridge Silicon Radio which, as a fabless semiconductor company, became the Bluetooth market leader.

“CSR plc was a great British and global, success and, as chair, I am helping Forefront follow a similar path. We have a great team and there will be many challenges ahead but with will, grit and some luck, we will succeed.”

Forefront’s £16 million Series A was backed by existing investors BGF and Foresight Group, alongside new VC partners, Octopus Ventures and Cambridge Innovation Capital.

The cash infusion supports Forefront’s mission to redefine how mobile devices manage complex RF environments, expanding possibilities for connected devices worldwide.

With this investment, the company is set to transition from an early-stage startup to a mature player in RF technology, gearing up for the 2026 launch of its first-generation product, the FFM51010, to the fast growing cellular-enabled smartwatch market.

Ronald Wilting, CEO of Forefront RF said: “Securing this Series A funding underscores the strong confidence our investors have in Forefront RF’s vision and market potential.

“With continued support from Foresight Group and BGF, and new partnerships with Octopus Ventures and Cambridge Innovation Capital, we’re well-positioned to scale rapidly from engineering prototypes to mass production.”

Forefront RF’s groundbreaking technology, rooted in pioneering research by founder Dr Leo Laughlin, empowers mobile device manufacturers to overcome printed circuit board (PCB) size limitations while supporting more frequency bands with simplified, cost-effective designs.

The company’s first solution is aimed cellular-enabled wearables, where every millimetre of PCB is critical and expanding frequency band capabilities is essential.

By replacing bulky fixed-frequency filters and duplexers with a self-configuring tunable duplexer, Forefront RF enables devices to dynamically adjust to any required frequency, reducing overall component list and manufacturing complexity.

This innovation not only saves valuable PCB space but also minimises variants, reducing waste and enhancing supply chain efficiency – creating a win-win for manufacturers and their CSR goals.

Edward Inns of Cambridge Innovation Capital, says: “Forefront RF has created a solution to one of the greatest bottlenecks in mobile data connectivity, based on a decade of advanced research and development.

“Cambridge Innovation Capital is delighted to partner with Forefront RF as it prepares to launch its highly differentiated product lines into the growing wearables market. We look forward to supporting the team as they scale to deliver global impact across billions of connected devices.”

Forefront RF has quickly become a recognised leader in tunable duplexers, pioneering solutions for persistent RF challenges in mobile device design.

Since its founding, the company has pushed the boundaries of wireless technology with its patented Foretune™ technology, a transformative self-interference cancellation system that addresses leakage and interference issues inherent in all wireless devices.

By dynamically inverting and neutralising unwanted signals, much like noise-cancelling headphones, Foretune™ enables cleaner signal transmission and reception in software-defined radio systems.

As well as enhancing device performance, this breakthrough simplifies product design and production processes. With Foretune™, Forefront RF is poised to redefine RF standards and drive significant advancements in next-generation wireless technology.

Law firm Mills & Reeve advised Forefront RF on the raise. Zickie Lim, Head of Venture Capital Investment at Mills & Reeve, said: “This latest funding highlights the potential of Forefront RF’s transformational technology that will not only impact smartphone data connectivity but will enable a more cost-effective and energy efficient production of wearable devices. 

“Forefront RF is an excellent example of the world-leading technology companies that we advise on at all stages of their funding journeys and such businesses put Cambridge on the global map as a centre of technological innovation.”