Thanks for posting
@Nappy yes great article .
I have posted the english translation below .- apologies has not formatted that well .
our technology is superior to Sandisk's technology; we'll
reach commercialization agreements next year."The Australian-owned Israeli Webbit has jumped 600% in two months; Kobi Hanoch, CEO of the company, explains the reasons and talks about the potential; the company is worth $ 150 million - no longer small, but the potential seems great
French light|27/10/2020 09:31
You probably haven't heard of the Israeli Weebit Nano (NYSE: WBT.AX), which you probably haven't heard, it operates in the chip market with a specific specialization in the field of memory. The company has undergone a kind of upheaval in the past year and has restored investor confidence. This is still a kind of start-up, but in a conversation with the
company's CEO, Kobi Hanoch, it turns out that the company has passed the development stage and the potential can be very significant. How significant? The company's share has soared in two months from 30 Australian cents, to 2 Australian dollars - more than 6 times. The value amounts to 150 million dollars, no longer small, but Aliba Hanoch has more room for the company to develop. Wi-Beat is an Israeli company that started about 5 years ago, operates in the field of semiconductors and develops a new technology of 'non-volatile memories' for computers. In other words, these are memory devices that store the information even without an electrical connection, the familiar example of which is USB. "
What is the technology we use today? "Today we use a technology called 'Flash memory' similar to Sandisk's USB development. This is an old technology, with many limitations in both capacity and production. Our technology is much more advanced, faster, consumes less power, is cheaper and easier to manufacture.
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Where are the benefits reflected?'The most advanced chips today are 14, 10 and even 7 nanometers in size, while the memory component of the existing technology is stuck at 40 nanometers. This is an important advantage accent for Vibit. We do not have this physical limitation. We have not yet reached these levels, but based on our results there is no technical reason why we should not reach the smallest geometries. In other words, companies will be able to reduce costs, place the memory component next to other technology, save space and more. "
'Another advantage is the production environment. People who are not in the industry do not understand how sensitive the manufacturing environment in the field of chips is. It is so delicate that it is more than 1,000 times cleaner than an operating room. If new materials and production components are introduced into the same environment, the operational changes required and the associated costs are insane. We are the only ones who use only standard materials, and not just any, but the most standard in the industry and this is a huge advantage in this field. With the most basic tools and materials in any manufacturing plant, our technology can be manufactured with a minimum of new adjustments.
"At the same time, the technology we have developed is much faster, cheaper than the existing technology, and consumes less power and hence the battery requires less energy and therefore lives longer. These are things that put us in a good place. '
What is your business model?'We are heading towards two markets where our technology can be sold and each has a slightly different model. The first domain is called embedded systems. That is, on a single chip is a complete system with different sensors and systems, next to which is the memory. Hence, we wrap our memory and embed it within the chips. We sell the IP to the manufacturing companies and get paid for a license and sometimes for specific adjustments required to adjust the manufacturing environment. The big revenue comes from royalties on the sale of the product afterwards, very similar to the model of the Siwa company (NYSE: CEVA).
'The second market we'll go to later is the chip market which is all memory, Stand Alone Memory. In this area, we will produce chips or sell licenses to technology companies that manufacture them. "
What is the scope of the potential market? 'This field is very hot today. Every electronic component, whether it is a cellphone or a laptop, a washing machine or a security camera, has a memory issue. Even in the automotive field it is expected to enter in the not too distant future. As the quality increases, the amount of bits of the file increases and a larger memory is required, so the domain is in endless growth. Memories today make up half of the semiconductor world, even though people are unaware of it. The market is estimated at about $ 60 billion and is expected to grow to about $ 100 billion by 2025. "
Doesn't cloud technology pose a threat to you? 'All the information we back up in the cloud is actually stored in huge farms of non-volatile memory technology. "Every year we consume more non-volatile memory than the amount of memory we have consumed in all of history until last year, so this is not a threat but an advantage."
Where do you stand today in terms of R&D and business progress?”At the research and development center where we work, we have reached the final stage, the technology exists and meets the standards of the market. We went through the final stages of preparation and commercialization, we checked that everything is stable and durable and the technology is ready for commercial production. We are in contact with companies to bring the technology to their factories, and to examine how it is integrated into the production lines. "
'We have significantly reduced the risk level of start-ups. There is always a technological risk but it is very low. The technology is ready, we are destined to move to a commercial manufacturing plant and reach preliminary commercialization agreements as early as next year, both with production centers and with customers who will purchase the technology. Our stock has been responding accordingly and has jumped in recent months, alongside very large cycles, people are excited. '
Why trade in Australia? Do you not prefer markets with more exposure? 'When the company was set up, we took an unusual step. At that point, a delegation came to the country from disallowed in Australia and were looking for technology companies, it fitted in very well with the situation at the time. A few months ago we did a recruitment, and now we're under the Australian spotlight. Maybe this is not the natural place for chip companies, there are no technology analysts who really understand us, on the other hand it is a market that is very open to new technologies, a market where people are open to risk in start-ups and overall we are quite satisfied. We did the last recruitment in a fairly quick round, we raised a fairly large amount that allows us to breathe a sigh of relief going forward. '
How much did you raise? How long is that enough? 'We raised more or less $ 6 million, and the fund has about $ 9 million. In order to develop our technology, a very advanced production center is required, with the cheapest costing more than a billion dollars. Even Apple and Qualcomm do not have one of their own. We have partnered with the French company LETI, with the French government in the background wanting to attract technology companies, so for every euro we pay to LETI we get 60% back, this allows us to work on a very low budget. The money will be enough for us until the end of next year. '
Who are your competitors, the big companies do not enter the field? 'There are several start-ups that are developing new memory technology, they can be counted on one hand. This is a very difficult field, needs a very large investment, suitable facilities and a skilled staff. On the other hand, there is a very large demand. Our advantage over them is huge, all the companies are developing technologies with non-standard materials, and as I mentioned earlier, this is one of the big problems that exist in chip manufacturing. We have developed technology from 100% standard components that are suitable for any manufacturing plant.
"In the technological world, and especially in the semiconductor world, it is difficult for large companies to deal with new technologies. They prefer to acquire the start-ups that develop the required technology. It happens all the time. "Our investors look at it with these eyes, I keep saying I want to build a company big enough, when we get offers we can refuse them."
"We are now in the process of registering patents, every few months a new patent is issued, we have registered eight patents in the last year alone."
How did you do that and others failed? 'Before technology there are people, we are a start-up with one of the most impressive boards ever. Dedi Perlmutter, the company's chairman, was the No. 2 candidate for Intel's global CEOs, all of Intel's products passed under his hands. Yoav Nissan Cohen serves as a director and in a part-time company, Yoav served as CEO of Tower Semiconductor for 10 years, and even completed his doctorate under Professor Furman, who invented the field of non-volatile memory. , And Intel's biggest competitor, is on the board.
"And the rest of our team, if it's the operations and marketing people, all have a lot of experience and have worked in the biggest companies in the world. I have 40 years of experience in the field of semiconductors and am responsible for several startups in the past.
What prevents companies from using your technology? 'A lot of companies are looking for technology like this, the market is very hot right now. The human response when there is new technology is hesitation, no one wants to be a guinea pig. Everyone wants to see the product work for someone and then take it for themselves. Once the first customer sees the cost savings and technological advantage, our door will open to the whole market. The first sale is harder than the 100 after it, it's human nature, but there is always the person with enough vision to grasp the potential. '
What are your goals now? 'Start selling. Start selling. Start selling. Move to a commercial manufacturing plant, find a first customer who will realize the potential and run ahead with it. We have reached production within 4-5 years, our competitors have been working for 10 years and are behind us. The technology is very horizontal and serves the whole world, it is challenging on the one hand because every company has different requirements, but the potential is endless.
'This is a fascinating and exciting time, we are at very high energies. Now the period of fun begins after years of very hard work. '
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