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vivaMOS Ltd, a high-growth potential, UK tech firm spun out of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in 2015, has been acquired by a US multinational. Nordson Corporation, a global precision technology company, announced the acquisition recently (01 September 2020). 

vivaMOS is a large-area CMOS X-ray detector company based in Southampton. The initial technology licenced to vivaMOS was developed for use in medical X-ray imaging by an image sensor design team based at STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, on the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire.

Dr Elizabeth Kirby, Director of Innovation at STFC, says that the acquisition is a ‘win-win’ for both companies:

“We are delighted to see that our commercial model for spinning-out new businesses is generating success. STFC Innovations Ltd (SIL) was created by STFC to help take innovative technology coming out of our labs and departments to market.”

The technology will continue to be used by Nordson DAGE, a business unit within Nordson’s Test and Inspection division, to improve the quality and speed of their X-ray inspection equipment for a diverse set of end markets. Nordson DAGE is based in Aylesbury and Colchester, and it works with customers around the world.

vivaMOS has high-growth potential thanks to its leading technology and the market it operates in. Nordson will now help vivaMOS deliver and accelerate their growth plans.

Dan Cathie, vivaMOS CEO said that the acquisition will serve to accelerate the promising growth for vivaMOS:

“We are very excited about this acquisition by Nordson, which will make us bigger, better, faster. We look forward to delivering our ambitious plans for the new combined X-ray Components business further and wider together, thanks to their market reach and strong brand image.”

vivaMOS has a successful track record of bringing large area X-ray detectors to market, each of which are customised by application. Exciting new innovations in the pipeline will further extend their technology leadership position in the CMOS X-ray detector market.

More information

vivaMOS is a large-area CMOS X-ray detector company based in Southampton. With early-stage support from STFC, the start-up has developed a portfolio of X-ray technology intellectual property (IP) and large-area detectors, built around their leading CMOS image sensors.

Nordson Corporation designs and manufactures equipment used in the test and inspection of electronic components, technology-based systems for curing and surface treatment processes, as well as medical devices and component technologies.