Key ASIC Signed LOI to Acquire Wafer FAB in The US

Kuala Lumpur -- November 30, 2021 -- Key ASIC Berhad announced today that it has issued a Letter of Intent (LOI) to a US foundry to acquire up to 100% of its shares and the said company has accepted the LOI. The foundry is a fab with Silicon Carbide (SiC) and developing Gallium Nitrite (GaN) technologies. The Company has performed the preliminary analysis and due diligence leading to the signing of the LOI and will be conducting the necessary due diligence before signing of the definitive agreement.

Silicon Carbide or SiC technologies are used largely in power devices that are needed in the Electronic Vehicles, charging stations, power grid, renewable energy, data centers and other applications.

Silicon has a breakdown voltage of around 600V, while silicon carbide can withstand voltages 5-10 times higher. Silicon carbide can switch at a rate that is nearly ten times faster than silicon, which results in smaller integrated circuit hence smaller chips.

Not only that the foundry has leading edge technologies in Silicon Carbide, additionally the foundry has also been developing Gallium Nitrite (GaN) technologies. Built-in GaN technology wall chargers are generally more reliable and lightweight than traditional devices. This is because they tend to have safety features built-in. It is also charging the connected devices at a much faster rate along with performance improvements over traditional chargers.

The global chip shortage is expected to continue in the next few years due to the surge in demand of smart phones, tablets, notebooks, and networking products triggered by the pandemic and the rapid growth of the Electronic Vehicles. As shown in the market research, the Battery Electric Vehicles has been growing 64% to 74% has been recorded since 2016.

Silicon Carbide market size worth is forecasted to be USD7.1B by 2027 at CAGR of 16% reported by Market Research Future.

Today, a conventional car would use about 300 chips and an electronic car would require as many as 3,000 chips including many power devices.

“The strategic move to acquire the compound semiconductor technology fab is timely for the Company to expand into the fast-growing Electronic Vehicles and fast charging market,” said Mr. Eg Kah Yee, Chairman and CEO of Key ASIC. “We intend to build additional capacity by expanding the existing facilities at the fab and also new facilities in Asia to serve the Asia fastest growing market in Electronic Vehicles,” he added.

The fab is currently making chips for the automotive module manufacturers, car makers and power grid equipment producers in the US. The fab is expected to play a significant role in the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill that has been passed in the US Congress recently.

The LOI is expected to lead to the signing of the definitive agreement as the next step in this corporate exercise.

About the Key ASIC:

About the Key ASIC:Key ASIC, a public listed company on Bursa Malaysia (0143) specializes in developing IPs and provide ASIC/SoC design services for fabless design companies and system companies. The IPs are also developed specific for foundries to enable access of technologies by the fabless design companies. The Company has been producing IoT SoC as well as AI neural network chips for digital transformation of various industries.