@Fatman8'the world is running short of semi conductors' ....yep
What do wbt offer to address the unmet need - just another chip that anyone can compete with that has sometimes been posted on the threads here?
Well, for posters to think that sort of rubbish and post it in the belief it holds water indicates the lack of research into the field of micro electronics and semiconductors generally.
Reram is the offering
and it will replace flash
the current market growth areas are multiple and diverse; IOT, automotive, connectivity, healthcare, wearables, data centres, smartphones etc etc
If you were a customer seeking lowest production cost per bit to revenue return ....well that would be weebit - this is a huge incentive for EDA customers / innovators looking for fab production only, to then design their own product - they buy from foundries with negligible foundry customisation - then produce and sell to market without the huge investment in whole process that would normally be required - you also get the added advantage that your wbt chip / reram array is now multi stackable (27th aug 2020) ....multi level programming is available to you as the customer (innovator - designer) or fab (ICDM) ...so not only do you get the cheapest cost per bit product on the market but you also get the IP protected advantage of multi level programming ...that translates to more return than one bit per cell ....
for the same cell ( for your cheapest cost per bit purchase in the first place ) = $$$$$$$
This simple fact - semi customers are buying from foundries and doing their own eda, means foundries are essentially simply pumpimg out chips to keep up....and atm they can't ... as we know.
Back in 2010 foundries were just foundries with no customers ...fact - today foundry customer sales is the fastest growing area of the industry driving extended growth in eda and essentially deconsolidating the semi industry as it stood way back then.
Back then your application specific integrated circuit companies (ASICs') were concerned that their operational value would migrate upstream and downstream ( fabs and innovative customers respectively) and that has occured ....massively!
Most innovators then used ASICs' to get going- this allowed them to become todays monsters ....Apple, google, etc etc ( those chosen examples selected as they are well known as cases - ot for comparison purposes - but there are literally thousands and thousands of them) and this allowed them to become todays powerhouse system companies.
( SiEn intending to become a powerhouse ICDM ....nice
)
Remember this and think about the automotive applications of these ic / eda systems =$$$$$
90 million vehicles manufactured per year - 2020 was down due to Covid19 so the production capacity / stock levels are being tested and are falling behind demand
IOT / SOC in automotive will continue to boom - demand for eda systems will follow accordingly - huge market need/explosion
meets unmet need ..
Those companies with cheapest cost per bit technology - fab friendly - multi programmable reram....BOOM
(wbt)
That is the market opportunity staring investors and shareholders in the face - this company has multi level experience and development partners / partnerships in every single aspect of the opportunity they are chasing imo -
dyor
Is wbt well placed in the current market and prevailing conditions to take advantage of that opportunity ?
cheapest cost per bit
multi programmable array / cell -
scalable and can packaged into large 3D arrays
innovative IP protected semiconductor material ( now has multiple IP protections which is massive value add imo)
( btw my own view on the recent market update of the strengthening IP protection measures is customer related ....again I stress this is my own view)
the multi program / stackable cell IP can be extended to any reram = $$$$
is energy efficient
lower voltage / resistance operational capacity = extended battery endurance achieved = greater cost efficiencies
x1000 times faster ( yeah, that's outdated on yesterdays release ...it has increased speed capacity again )
It is 'hard rad' = spent 2 years with NASA operating space systems exposed to solar and cosmic radioactivity without operational degradation of any kind. (that is little know fact but i'm not sure why it remains little known?)
Merger / acquisition takeover talk realistic? ...not very likely (I would say)
Acquisitions occur when money / currency is cheap
Company 'A' borrows at 3.5% to acquire company 'B' Why because company 'B' returns 4 to 5 % operating profit so the deal is worthwhile - it adds to the earnings and revenue immediately = $$$$$ - that's the reason you are seeing so many atm - currency is cheap and deconsolidation is very appealing to those companies atm.
Does wbt provide an immediate earnings / revenue windfall to a potential acquirer....clearly not. This is what the board means when they say the offer would have to be extraordinary - sarcasm at its best - the offer would be for an unproven startup and such an offer most likely will not eventuate on this basis - it was never the strategic aim of these guys - DP stated as much in the most recent webinar...we are here for the long run...or something along those lines - i can't quite recall the exact words.
Me too = $$$$$$
* eda = electronic design automation
Simply a waiting game as the company looks to secure its first commercial agreement by mid year - the first is always the most difficult as companies want to invest in working / proven tech only...under utilised fab process testing out new materials cost big coin and losses - fabs would not be keen to experience downtime in this way while ramping up production capacity to meet the required capacity demands as stated above , so patience is key.
These are the simple facts and my own opinions and as such open to the scrutiny of all who are interested.
Sell at you peril
when the first deal occurs the market will respond accordingly imo
looking forward to the company making news flow
GLA