Derrick Lee

Interesting takeover bid to take ASMPT private by KKR. There is a lot of movement and potential consolidation in the advance packaging space, that’s growing fast, driven by AI applications. In particular hybrid bonding is of interest due to its use in 3D packaging and upcoming implementation for high bandwidth memory (HBM) stacks that are integrated with logic chips for AI processing. ASMPT has a strong packaging experience and a hybrid bonder with pretreatment modules from EVG on the market. An interesting twist is ASM International’s 25% stake in ASMPT, which has been an activist shareholder target in the past. Activists suggested in the past that there were no synergies between the companies and the stake should be divested for shareholders’ benefit. However, things change and I would argue that there are very strong synergies with ASMI’s deposition technology as ALD and new materials are introduced for advance packaging. Will be interesting to see how this plays out. #ALD, #ASMPT, #ASMI

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Here is my investment thesis for ZTEST Electronics (ZTE.CN / ZTSTF.OTC) h/t Dave Barnett (microcapclub.com) ZTEST (through its wholly-owned subsidiary Permatech) is a tiny, printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer that is now growing significantly—H1 2024 revenues were 88% higher than H1 2023 revenues. In Dec 2022, then President John Perreault retired and was replaced by Suren Jeyanayagam, who has been with the company over 30 years. Whereas Perreault did not seek to grow the business, Jeyanayagam has a vision to grow the business. Jeyanayagam is directly involved in the sales process, working with the company’s one other salesperson. The company currently has a strong backlog of orders, which they expect to continue. Jeyanayagam has stated that the most recent record quarter is repeatable in terms of revenue and net income. More and more customers are looking for domestic manufacturers rather than looking overseas. Furthermore, the company has recently ordered new equipment, which was installed in May of this year (2024). This equipment doubles the number of production lines the company has from two to four. And ultimately this will more than double production capacity. Also, the company is now expanding into the United States and has a significant customer there.  This customer is likely to do large repeat orders.  Large orders have higher gross margins due to bulk inventory orders and economies of scale. Finally, the company has a 25.3% ownership stake in Conversance, which is a private AI and Blockchain company developing a secure marketplace platform for the cannabis industry. Conversance is expected to begin producing revenues in the second half of 2024. Although ZTEST’s most recent quarter—in which they earned $0.011315 per share—is their best so far, the company has a strong backlog, expanded manufacturing capacity, and a leader (Jeyanayagam) very focused on growth. Metrics of cheapness: ·        EV/EBITDA = 2.52 ·        P/E = 4.49 ·        P/B = 4.68 ·        P/CF = 3.00 ·        P/S = 0.69 The market cap is $7.08 million. Cash is $732k while debt is $153k. The Piotroski F_Score is 7, which is good. Insider ownership is 36.7%, which is excellent. ROE is 76.5%, which is superb and likely sustainable. Intrinsic value scenarios: ·        Low case: If there’s a bear market or a recession, the stock could decline. This would be a buying opportunity. ·        Mid case: Annualizing the last quarter’s result and applying a 10x EV/Net Income multiple yields a valuation of $0.4526 per share, which is over 120% higher than today’s $0.2035 per share stock price. ·        High case: It’s likely that ZTEST can achieve net income above their last record quarter. Annual earnings may reach $0.10 per share. Applying a 10x EV/Net Income multiple gives a valuation of $1.00, which is over 390% higher than today’s $0.2035. This still does not count any value from the company’s 25.3% ownership of Conversance.

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Interested in what types of hardware are needed to support the #AI demand? Learn more here:

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Last week’s DAC showcased exciting announcements from startups that are revolutionizing semiconductor design however these rising stars overshadowed a major update from an industry stalwart - Alphawave Semi - whose news is poised to accelerate the proliferation of chiplets and give rise to a “chiplet marketplace”. Alphawave Semi announced a breakthrough with the tapeout of the industry's first off-the-shelf, multi-protocol I/O connectivity chiplet. This technology can seamlessly integrate into larger SoCs or multi-chip modules, giving designers increased flexibility and more connectivity options for different applications. Reflecting on the Chiplet Summit this past spring, I remember listening to Tony Chan Carusone, Alphawave’s CTO, as he passionately described the significance of chiplets and how Alphawave will foster a more open and democratic design ecosystem. Now, just one quarter later, his team has launched a technology that brings this vision much closer to becoming a reality. Adding to their momentum, Alphawave also announced an expanded partnership with Samsung Foundry to advance the industry's progression toward cutting-edge semiconductor nodes, crucial for the evolution of advanced compute. Samsung’s roadmap in sub-4nm technologies includes FinFET and Gate-All-Around, which are designed to maximize performance in the post-Moore era. Initially targeted for data centers and HPC, these innovations may trickle down to low-cost, AI-enabled edge devices, putting the transformative power of AI into the hands of billions of people worldwide. This news follows Alphawave’s early June announcement of their new partnership with Arm, aimed at unlocking the potential of processors. Alphawave will give Arm access to their robust portfolio of connectivity solutions and silicon IP, which Arm will integrate into their proven portfolio of compute cores. At a time when AI technology is accelerating at breakneck speed, many companies are searching for ways to boost compute performance and address the challenge of moving data between compute and memory more efficiently. While multiple startups offer unique solutions, many customers want battle-tested technology to avoid the risk of investing in solutions that may become obsolete by the time they reach tapeout. Alphawave has developed vital solutions and in doing so, has increased design flexibility, built bridges to new process technologies, and shortened the path to market. “Connectors” are often the catalysts of innovation and Alphwave’s is a testament to that word. I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen from Alphawave and strongly believe they stand at the forefront of an emerging chiplet marketplace. More broadly, I believe their technology serves to democratize design technology and will give emerging companies more options to bring their brilliant ideas to life. #semiconductorindustry #ai #chiplets

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yieldHUB has semiconductor customers from 13 countries. Customers have, on average, been with us for 5 years. 33% have been with us for at least 5 years and 20% have been with us for more than 10 years. With few exceptions, customers are well funded private companies or well known and publicly quoted companies. Some dropped off over the years, but we grow net customers every year, this year being the second fastest of net customer growth after 2021 (move to cloud tech for big data accelerated during and just after Covid). 50% of payments by all customers are either on time or ahead of time. The payment average is 4 days over payment terms this year so far, 3 days over being the median. But every one of them has paid what they are supposed to, and that's going back 19 years. Semiconductors is a very honourable industry and it's great to be part of it. #customersuccess #payments #customerretention #semiconductors

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New Development in Semiconductor Manufacturing: LLNL's Beyond-EUV Research Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is leading a $12M research initiative to advance extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography using their novel BAT (Big Aperture Thulium) laser system. Key technical aspects: - BAT laser achieves 25x higher pulse energies at 2-micron wavelength - Focus on ultra-short laser pulses at high average power - Integration with existing EUV lithography systems Potential industry impact: o More efficient chip production processes o Reduced energy consumption in manufacturing o Advanced capabilities for next-generation semiconductor development This research builds on existing EUV technology and represents another step toward addressing current manufacturing constraints in semiconductor fabrication. "This project will establish the first high-power, high-repetition-rate, about 2-micron laser at LLNL," noted Jackson Williams of LLNL. "The capabilities enabled by the BAT laser also will make a significant impact on the fields of high energy density physics and inertial fusion energy." #Semiconductors #Manufacturing #Technology #Lasers #Fusion #Deeptech #Innovation https://lnkd.in/ge3QBca4

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Semiconductor Industry Field Tour: This enigmatic item may just be a consumable required for high-end chips, yet it has the remarkable ability to enhance yield rates—truly fascinating!

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Micron’s team delivered a record revenue quarter for our fiscal Q1, which represented an 84% increase from our year-ago revenue results. Our data center revenue reached a record high, making up more than half of our revenue for the first time, with revenue growing 400% year-over-year. Our shipments of HBM — a critical product for #AI data center servers — were ahead of plan and we doubled HBM revenue from the previous quarter. Customer inventory reductions in consumer-oriented segments and seasonality are slowing near-term bit shipment estimates. That said, we expect this adjustment period to be relatively brief and anticipate customer inventories reaching healthier levels by spring, enabling stronger bit shipments in the second half of fiscal and calendar 2025. Longer term, we see particularly robust growth ahead for HBM, with the total addressable market growing from $16 billion in 2024 to greater than $100 billion in 2030 (bigger than the entire combined DRAM/HBM market today). We continue to apply our technology leadership to create leading-edge products — from high-capacity server modules to SSDs, low-power DRAM and mobile memory — that address the high-growth segments of multiple markets, putting Micron in the strongest competitive position in our 46-year history.

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Today IQE announced the planned initial public offering (IPO) of our Taiwan subsidiary on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. IQE plans to retain control of IQE Taiwan through a majority stake, while continuing to leverage its strategic value.   This strategic move will enable us to raise capital to accelerate the implementation of the growth initiatives set out at our Capital Markets Day.    An IPO of IQE Taiwan will allow us to maximise the value of our asset while continuing to offer a secure and resilient supply chain for our global customers, and the proceeds can be used to upgrade and expand the production capacity across our strategic global sites, enabling IQE to meet the growing demand for GaN power and scale operations effectively in line with customers.      This move enables us to double down on our commitment to providing high-quality products, and our excellent customer service remains unchanged.

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Another innovative American semiconductor customer benefiting from our yieldHUB system. Re automation: "We needed to minimize and remove the low-value, low-impact work from our engineers."

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Peraso's FWA 60GHz technology makes inroads into the transportation market. Since it is in the Unlicensed Spectrum (no cost to use the wireless spectrum), it allows this huge market to move forward cost effectively. Since this is a high volume market, the use of a Licensed Spectrum solution would be a huge impact on ROI over time.

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What is necessary in order to sustain a vibrant U.S. semiconductor industry? While the CHIPS Act is a great start, big gaps remain. Chief among them are increased R&D investment, skilled labor, and development of more sustainable processes. Perhaps most important of all is our need to reinforce the chip startup ecosystem in the U.S. since it serves as a critical source of the next-generation of product and process innovations. At Celesta Capital, we invest in several early-stage chip innovators and see up close how startups have to fight through many headwinds in order to bring leading-edge products to market. We must do more, from expanded fab capabilities to more resources for exploratory research. I was glad to speak with IEEE Spectrum for this important story. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gXNizdaM

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🧠 Cerebras Systems: Wafer we go from here? (sorry) Hot off the press! Our latest Quick Take report dives into Cerebras Systems, the AI computing powerhouse that just filed for IPO. Let's chip away at the details: Key Highlights: 🖥️ End-to-end AI computing solutions since 2016 🔬 World's first and only wafer-scale chip 💰 Reportedly raising $750M - $1B at $7B - $8B valuation 📈 34x - 39x EV/revenue multiple (NVIDIA at 30x) Cerebras by the Numbers: 📊 220% YoY revenue growth (2022-2023) 🚀 1,468% half-yearly revenue growth (1H23-1H24) 💵 $136.4M revenue in 1H24 🌟 Why This Matters: 1. Positioned in the sweet spot of rising AI spending 2. Faster inference provides a competitive edge 3. Promising financials despite not yet being profitable 💭 Any questions or thoughts for Santosh Rao? As Cerebras gears up for its potential IPO, it's definitely one to watch in the AI space. Read our full Quick Take report for a deeper dive into this Silicon Valley innovator! 🔗: https://lnkd.in/eM44i9NH #CerebrasSystems #AI #TechIPO #WaferScaleComputing #VentureCapital #MVPAllStarFund #TechInnovation #preipo #siliconvalley #unicorn #MVPALLSTARFUND #mvpvc #mvp #therealmvpvc #venturebytes #allstar #ipo #research #technology #tommorowsipostoday #SecondaryAsAService #saas #SecondariesAsAService​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Manhattan Venture Partners

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In our industry, few moments are as exhilarating as tapeout, however, being recognized as a top semiconductor startup comes pretty close. For the team at Blumind, July 2024 will be one for their record books because they accomplished both! I had the pleasure of meeting co-founder and COO Niraj Mathur at Blumind’s headquarters in the ventureLAB building in Toronto a couple of weeks ago, on the same day as their latest chip tapeout. Niraj was enthusiastic about sharing their story and graciously sat with me to discuss Blumind’s progress, their current chip, and his insights into the ongoing evolution of AI. According to Niraj, AI and machine learning are the most potent driving forces behind the current technology revolution and will fuel unprecedented innovation. This wave has attracted many newcomers to the space, yet as the ecosystem of hardware companies expands, Blumind stands apart with a unique approach. He and co-founder John Gosson view the human brain as the “ultimate machine” for handling the complexity of modern AI/ML workloads and in their view, the challenges associated with data transport are "signal processing problems to solve." This led Niraj and John to focus on analog architectures and modelling their chips after the brain's neural networking capabilities. Niraj is captivating to listen to, and I was fully engrossed as he described Blumind’s thesis. Their end goal is to make high-compute, low-power neural accelerators widespread to enable AI in billions of devices worldwide so people can harness its potential and unlock their own. With a mission this significant, it’s no wonder Blumind was recognized by the EE Times | Electronic Engineering Times as one of the “Startups Worth Watching in 2024”. They nailed it with that call, and I will certainly be watching and cheering for Niraj and his team. I encourage anyone interested in AI to watch the clip below to hear Niraj share his insights about analog compute. And if you want to congratulate Blumind for making the Silicon 100, give them kudos for their accomplishment in the comments section! #semiconductorindustry #artificalintelligence #startups

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We are excited to unveil the 69th Global World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) Conference, taking place in San Diego this November 2024. This prestigious event promises to illuminate the industry landscape with groundbreaking insights and dynamic discussions. 📅 Mark your calendars for November 19th, the highlight of our conference, featuring: 🔑 Keynote Presentations 💬 Interactive Discussions We invite industry experts to share their expertise on the following pivotal topics: 🌍 Macroeconomics: Explore the interplay between the macroeconomic climate and the semiconductor industry. 🚗 Automotive: Discover the integration of semiconductors in the automotive sector, upcoming trends, and challenges. 🏭 Industrial: Uncover the transformative impact of semiconductors on the industrial sector, highlighting breakthrough technologies. 💻 Computer: Predict the future of data centers and computing, focusing on advancements in Computer and Consumer Electronics. 📡 Communication: Analyze the crucial role of semiconductors in evolving communication technologies and future developments. This conference is a premier platform to share your insights with top leaders in strategy, marketing, and market intelligence from leading semiconductor firms. As a distinguished keynote speaker, enjoy exclusive invitations to lunch and dinner on November 19th, offering unparalleled networking opportunities with industry pioneers. We're seeking seasoned professionals and thought leaders eager to shape the future of the semiconductor industry. If you're driven to make an impact, we encourage you to submit your proposals, including a brief overview of your presentation and a professional biography, by October 5th, 2024. Join us for a compelling exchange of ideas at the 69th Global WSTS Conference. We look forward to your contributions to this milestone event in the semiconductor industry. 🌟 Let's illuminate the future together! 🌟 #WSTS #Semiconductor #KeynoteSpeaker #SanDiego #MarketForecast

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TSMC: Performance and Yields of 2nm on Track, Mass Production To Start In 2025 💡 In addition to revealing its roadmap and plans concerning its current leading-edge process technologies, #TSMC also shared progress of its N2 node as part of its Symposiums 2024. The company's first 2nm-class fabrication node, and predominantly featuring gate-all-around transistors, according to TSMC #N2 has almost achieved its target performance and yield goals, which places it on track to enter high-volume manufacturing in the second half of 2025. TSMC states that 'N2 development is well on track and #N2P is next.' In particular, gate-all-around nanosheet devices currently achieve over 90% of their expected performance, whereas yields of 256 Mb #SRAM (32 MB) devices already exceeds 80%, depending on the batch. All of this for a node that is over a year away from mass production. Meanwhile, average yield of a 256 Mb SRAM was around 70% as of March, 2024, up from around 35% in April, 2023. Device performance has also been improving with higher frequencies being achieved while keeping power consumption in check. Thanks again to Anton Shilov and AnandTech for the full article with more background and insights via the link below 💡🙏👇 https://lnkd.in/eHgpfX4k #semiconductormanufacturing #semiconductors #semiconductor #tech #technology #innovation #chip #chips #integratedcircuits #ic #foundry #taiwan #geopolitics #asml #thenetherlands #europe #euv #computer

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Check out this stunning visual representation of public Global Semiconductor Companies by Market Cap by Visual Capitalist! ✨ Some key takeaways from this $8.5 trillion dollar industry powerhouse: ⭐ The USA dominates with over 71% of the total market cap, showcasing its enduring global influence. 🦾 🇺🇸 ⭐ Fabless > Fabs with a roughly 80/20 split. But of course, there’s no fabless value without fabs! 🏭 🇹🇼 ⭐ Market creator NVIDIA is the kingmaker, capturing 40% of the global semiconductor market cap with their $3.4T valuation! 💰 🤯 It’s incredible to witness so much value creation over the past few years - with NVIDIA, TSMC and Broadcom breaking through the trillion-dollar market cap milestone. 👏 I’m excited to see what the future holds - and can’t wait to put Morse Micro on this map, moving Australia 🇦🇺 out of the “Rest of World” bucket in the not too distant future. 🚀 For more information, see https://lnkd.in/gcVZ7VA8.

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