Locally listed semiconductor company Weebit Nano Limited (ASX: WBT) has had an exceptional 2020 with its share price increasing more than 388 percent over the year to close at $2.05. The company is now nearing productisation and first commercial agreements with its silicon oxide (SiOx) ReRAM technology, where it is initially targeting the embedded and standalone memory domains.
In the past week, Weebit has closed a heavily oversubscribed $3 million Share Purchase Plan (SPP) and filed two new patents with its French research partner Leti.
The new patents further protect Weebit’s intellectual property and optimise the performance of its ReRAM technology. The first defines a process improvement to enable high memory yield and high uniformity across memory cells and throughout wafer. Methods such as these increase production yield and are at the cornerstone of the semiconductor fab industry, underpinning low-cost manufacturing and maximising margins and profits.
The second patent relates to the selector development with a very fast read, which enables reduced power consumption and reduced selector stress during the read operation.
CEO of Weebit Nano, Coby Hanoch, said, “Weebit is continuing to build its IP portfolio as it moves closer to first commercialisation, filing two new patents to protect our technology and enhance the IP value for our licensees. Together with our strategic partner Leti, we have filed eight patents over the past two years. The recent capital raisings support accelerated research and development that is expected to generate additional patents as we progress towards production.”
Weebit enters 2021 well-funded following a successful and strongly supported $12 million share Placement to institutional and sophisticated investors and a $3 million Share Purchase Plan at $1.70 per share. Capped at $3 million, Weebit’s SPP was heavily oversubscribed with valid applications totalling $19,957,528 from 1,597 eligible shareholders. This represented a participation rate of 24% and an average application amount of approximately $12,500.
Commenting on the significantly oversubscribed SPP, Mr Hanoch, said: “The Board of Weebit Nano would like to thank shareholders for their strong show of support. The combination of the recently completed Placement and the SPP will allow Weebit to accelerate key development and commercialisation activities across the embedded and standalone memory domains, as well as the neuromorphic domain, allowing us to move quickly to capitalise on the significant opportunities for our technology.
“The operational progress we have achieved to date has underpinned a significant increase in our market capitalisation and trading liquidity, resulting in Weebit Nano’s recent inclusion in the S&P/ASX Technology Index. This will further build the company’s profile with a broader group of investors. We are excited by the opportunities we see and look forward to continuing to grow shareholder value.”
