TD Shepherd is pleased to announce our role as a strategic advisor to Phonemic, one of the Top 40 Startups of HTVD22!
Founded in 2020, Phonemic is a Polish startup specializing in design services for FPGA and ASIC. With a focus on efficient hardware implementation of compute-intensive algorithms, their expertise spans Digital Signal Processing (5G, LTE), cryptography, system-level design, and integration.
Thanks to a strong team of engineers experienced in the semiconductor industry, Phonemic covers a wide spectrum of hardware development — navigating from algorithm optimization on the mathematical level along with RTL design and verification to FPGA bring-up, all the way up to embedded software development.
Phonemic’s project portfolio includes full development of complex SoC on FPGA, custom specialized IP-Core development, and hardware acceleration of customers’ target applications.
We look forward to contributing to Phonemic’s ongoing success and innovation in the deep-tech industry.
The TD Shepherd team is happy to congratulate the Qualinx B.V. team on successfully raising €20 million from Dutch investors. TD Shepherd has provided strategic support to Qualinx over the years (starting in 2018), witnessing each step of their journey; their growth and success, makes us truly proud of their outstanding achievements.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about surviving the Valley of Death in deep tech, it’s this: don’t go it alone. This stage is all about leveraging relationships, and corporate partnerships can be your most valuable lifeline. The key is to think beyond customers.
The so-called “Valley of Death” in deep tech isn’t just about running out of cash—it’s about navigating a period where expectations clash with reality. Investors want to see traction, but your tech isn’t market-ready. Customers are intrigued, but they’re not ready to commit. And your R&D costs? They’re still burning through cash like it’s a bonfire.