Northern Gritstone Leads £4 Million Seed Round Into X-Ray Technology Company Silveray

Northern Gritstone, the investment company focused on science and technology businesses in the North of England and chaired by Lord Jim O’Neill has announced a combined £4 million seed extension investment into Silveray. The investor consortium includes existing investors Northern Gritstone and ACF Investors and welcomes deep tech investors Empirical Ventures, Deeptech Labs, and Hamamatsu Ventures.

Since initial funding 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.

Digital images generated at the point of use save time and money compared with traditional radiographic film. Silveray’s flexible DXF detectors can also be wrapped around pipes and fed into tight spaces to check for corrosion and weld defects unlike existing rigid digital flat panel detectors.

Silveray plans at a later stage to apply its material to healthcare where a flexible mammography detector, for example, could be shaped around the breast without the need for uncomfortable compression.

Originally founded at the University of Surrey in 2018 by Professor Ravi Silva, Silveray relocated to Greater Manchester in 2022 to gain access to the North of England’s rich talent pool and resources. In particular, the company has worked closely with X-ray specialists at the University of Manchester to develop its innovative direct conversion detectors.

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.”

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 industrial means we are confident of becoming revenue generating in 2025 and Northern Gritstone’s investment will help us achieve that.”

Katsuhiro Kobayashi, CEO of Hamamatsu Ventures Japan, said:
“Silveray’s novel nanoparticle-based direct X-ray conversion material could completely disrupt x-ray imaging markets. We look forward to our strategic collaboration with Silveray and sharing our industry expertise to accelerate their growth.”