Chip developer Tusk IC has been spun out from KU Leuven with capital provided by the Gemma Frisius Fund.
KU Leuven has officially taken the wraps off its latest spinout, Tusk IC, a millimetre wave frequencies chip developer that has received an undisclosed sum from the university’s Gemma Frisius Fund.
Despite being officially announced now, Tusk IC was founded earlier this year and has had an active website since February.
Tusk IC is designing services and high-frequency measurements for silicon millimetre wave circuits from 10 to 600 GHz. Millimetre waves are able to penetrate certain materials, such as plastic, and are impervious to weather conditions such as rain and fog.
The technology has applications in radars for self-driving cars, telecoms, including 5G networks, and industrial quality control.
Tusk IC builds on research led by Patrick Reynaert and his research group Esat-Micas in the department of electrical engineering.
Raf Moons, director of Gemma Frisius Fund, said: “The Gemma Frisius Fund has already financed several Esat-Micas spin-offs with a focus on integrated circuit design in the past 20 years.
“Given the experience and technical skills of the founding team, we are convinced that Tusk IC also has all the hallmarks to become a success story.”
