[3] The company was founded by Nicholas Hawker and his former academic adviser Yiannis Ventikos in 2011, as a research spin-off at the University of Oxford.
[4][5] Ventikos had suggested forming the company based on Hawker's research into hydrodynamic simulations of shock-driven cavity collapse.
[5][6] Part of Hawker's PhD research had involved studying the cavity collapse caused by a pistol shrimp's claw.
[7] In January 2023 it was announced that the company had entered an agreement with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority to develop First Light's "Machine 4" (M4) at the UKAEA's Culham Campus.
[citation needed] Belgium-based engineering company Tractebel announced the signing of a framework agreement in July 2023 to jointly develop the M4 facility with First Light.