_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Trends
In June 2025, the UK government launched its Modern Industrial Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing- a ten-year plan designed to boost investment and position the nation at the forefront of Industry 4.0. Delivering this vision, however, requires industries to adopt embedded technologies that deliver both efficiency and reliability.
Here, Ross Turnbull, Director of Business Development and Product Engineering at application-specific integrated circuit( ASIC) expert Swindon Silicon Systems, explains why custom ICs are central to driving the UK’ s next wave of industrial transformation.
Building on centuries of British manufacturing expertise and the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0, the UK has set a target of becoming a global leader in advanced manufacturing by 2035.
Achieving this vision requires more than policy and investment; it starts with a strong foundation in microelectronics.
Semiconductors are vital for powering automation, connectivity and intelligent systems that underpin advanced manufacturing. Recognizing their importance to the UK’ s future economy, the government has allocated an additional £ 2.6 billion to fund semiconductor research and development.
The semiconductor ecosystem is diverse, spanning central processing units( CPUs) for general computing, graphics processing units( GPUs) for parallel processing and AIworkloads. It also includes reconfigurable devices such as Field-Programmable Gate Arrays( FGPAs), which can be customized after they are manufactured to meet different application needs.
Each type of semiconductor plays a crucial role in driving the UK’ s industrial ambitions. Among them, however, ASICs occupy a unique position, providing capabilities that other semiconductors cannot match.
aping future
How ASICs are unlocking new potential in UK manufacturing
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