These devices are the work of PragmatIC Printing, formerly based at ideaSpace, a world leader in flexible electronics. It has recently completed a £5.4 million funding round led by Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) with support from ARM Holdings and existing shareholders to scale-up its operations.

Scott White, CEO at PragmatIC, said: “We have become accustomed to silicon chips being incorporated into high-value documents such as passports and credit cards, but there are limitations to how robustly and cost-effectively this can be done.

"Our technology platform creates a microcircuit thinner than a human hair that can be easily embedded in any flexible surface.”

The applications for PragmatIC’s devices, which are cost-effective enough to be incorporated into disposable items, are vast: from intelligent packaging of fast-moving consumer goods, to wireless traceability of documents for security and identification.

The firm is using the funding to hire more staff and to scale-up its production capacity to 100 million flexible integrated circuits later this year.

For more information on PragmatIC see www.pragmaticprinting.com