Weebit Nano licenses ReRAM to DB HiTek, a global top-10 foundry

DB HiTek to manufacture Weebit’s embedded technology in customers’ analog and power designs

October 19, 2023 -- Weebit Nano Limited (ASX:WBT, Weebit or Company), a leading developer of advanced memory technologies for the global semiconductor industry, and DB HiTek, one of the world’s largest foundries, have signed a commercial agreement whereby DB HiTek has licensed Weebit ReRAM for its customers to integrate as embedded non-volatile memory (NVM) in their systems on chips (SoCs).

Headquartered in South Korea, DB HiTek is a global top-10 foundry with annual revenue of more than $2 billion.

Under the agreement, Weebit ReRAM will be available in DB HiTek’s 130nm Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) process – ideal for many analog, mixed-signal, and power designs in consumer, industrial, and other IoT devices. For these applications, Weebit ReRAM provides a low-power, low-voltage, cost-effective NVM that is easy to integrate and has proven excellent retention at high temperatures. As a back-end-of-line (BEOL) technology which does not require process tuning, ReRAM offers significant advantages over flash for BCD processes. Weebit ReRAM also provides higher density and endurance than conventional Multi-Time Programmable (MTP) technologies.

The agreement includes technology transfer, qualification, and licensing. In addition to its 130nm BCD process, DB HiTek has the option to use Weebit ReRAM technology for other process nodes.

Coby Hanoch, CEO of Weebit Nano, said: “DB HiTek is one of the world’s top-tier foundries for analog and power integrated circuits. As one of the world’s largest contract chip manufacturers, DB HiTek’s extensive customer base can gain significant advantage from using Weebit ReRAM in their new product designs, including improvements to retention, endurance, and power consumption. Our collaboration with DB HiTek is commencing immediately, beginning with the transfer of our technology to the company’s production fab. We are seeing increasingly strong market demand for Weebit ReRAM and expect to sign further commercial agreements, including many of the toptier foundries and integrated device manufacturers as well as fabless design companies, in the coming months.”

Ki-Seog Cho, CEO, DB HiTek, said: “Weebit ReRAM will provide customers using our 130nm BCD process with a very low-power, high-density and cost-effective NVM. Given Weebit’s high-quality technology and unique combination of design and process engineering, we believe the technology transfer and qualification processes will proceed quickly. Looking ahead, we’re delighted to see Weebit’s strong commitment to continued roadmap innovation.”

Under the technology transfer and qualification agreement, Weebit and DB HiTek will immediately cooperate in transferring Weebit’s embedded ReRAM technology to a DB HiTek production fab and then continue to qualify the technology towards volume production.

The technology licensing agreement grants DB HiTek a non-exclusive license to manufacture Weebit ReRAM as embedded NVM in designs from customers globally. DB HiTek will add Weebit’s memory module to its BCD 130nm Process Design Kit (PDK). DB HiTek customers can use the standard modules in the PDK or have modules customised for their needs. Weebit will receive manufacturing license fees, project use fees and royalties based on production volumes, with these license fees and royalties determined by Weebit when delivering the relevant modules to customers and may differ for each module.

The economic materiality of this agreement is not known at this time due to the contingent nature of the license fees and royalties, as they depend on the number of customers who sign up to use Weebit’s technology and on the number of chips those customers produce using Weebit’s technology. However, Weebit views this commercial agreement as strategically important given DB HiTek is a global top-10 foundry, and further validates Weebit’s cutting-edge technology.

About Weebit Nano Limited

Weebit Nano Ltd. is a leading developer of advanced semiconductor memory technology. The company’s ground-breaking Resistive RAM (ReRAM) addresses the growing need for significantly higher performance and lower power memory solutions in a range of new electronic products such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smartphones, robotics, autonomous vehicles, 5G communications and artificial intelligence. Weebit ReRAM allows semiconductor memory elements to be significantly faster, less expensive, more reliable and more energy efficient than those using existing Flash memory solutions. As it is based on fab-friendly materials, the technology can be quickly and easily integrated with existing flows and processes, without the need for special equipment or large investments. See www.weebit-nano.com.

About DB HiTek

Headquartered in South Korea, DB HiTek Co., Ltd. is world leader in specialty foundry with a broad range of support services plus a robust portfolio of competitive process technologies that include Analog/Power (BCDMOS), CMOS Image Sensor (CIS), Mixed-Signal, High Voltage CMOS, RF HRS/SOI CMOS, Super Junction MOSFET technologies. For more information, visit www.dbhitek.com.