TIDMALM
RNS Number : 7293S
Allied Minds PLC
05 October 2017
Spin Transfer Technologies $22.8 million convertible bridge
facility and update on technology
STT announces $22.8 million convertible bridge facility
Proceeds to fund development of commercial grade ST-MRAM with
specifications consistent with requirements to replace existing
SRAM and DRAM memory, and bridge to Series B fund-raise
Funding underscores conviction in the value of STT's
technologies, delivery capability, and timeframe for commercial
adoption of MRAM, and follows extensive due diligence exercise
Boston - 5 October 2017 - Allied Minds (ALM: LSE) subsidiary,
Spin Transfer Technologies, Inc. (STT), a leading developer of
high-speed, high-endurance, ST-MRAM technology, today announced it
has secured $22.8 million of funding via a convertible bridge
facility. Proceeds will be applied to fund development work of
next-generation ST-MRAM designed to achieve industry-leading speed,
size, low-power consumption, and endurance. STT believes these
superior specifications could accelerate the replacement of
existing SRAM and DRAM memory, in particular in the faster growing
Mobile and Enterprise segments where power consumption and cost are
particularly important. Allied Minds and STT will host a conference
call providing an update on STT's technology and competitive
advantages and the convertible bridge facility at 9am UK time today
(details below).
The convertible bridge facility is underwritten by Allied Minds,
with other investors expected to take down a portion of the $22.8
million principal in due course. The facility is designed to bridge
STT to the completion of a Series B funding round, targeting
strategic investors and planned to conclude by end of Q1 2018.
In the period since March 2017 the Boards of Allied Minds and
STT have undertaken extensive due diligence on the MRAM industry
and STT's technological and commercial positioning. Based on this
diligence, including detailed engagement with senior industry
experts and potential strategic partners and customers, Allied
Minds and STT are convinced of the potential advantages of STT's
technology and its ability to deliver a market-ready product as the
expected adoption of commercial MRAM begins in 2018. The
convertible bridge facility has been underwritten by Allied Minds
based on this conviction.
STT believes that its technology holds the potential to enable
MRAM to replace not only all embedded non-volatile memories, but
also cost effectively replace SRAM and persistent DRAM, the "holy
grail" for MRAM technology, with a >$20 billion annual market in
the Enterprise and Mobile segments alone. To achieve this goal,
MRAM must match or exceed speed, size, power consumption, and
endurance specifications as well as the cost structure of SRAM and
DRAM. MRAM development work across the industry has so far yielded
technology which meets some but not all of these requirements.
While MRAM has inherently lower power consumption and is
non-volatile, today's solutions meet neither the speed nor
endurance of existing SRAM and DRAM products. STT's patented
technologies are seeking to solve this trade-off:
1. Differentiated perpendicular magnetic tunnelling junction (pMTJ) design and processing
-- Leveraging its world class magnetics team and state of the
art R&D Fab, STT is seeking to enable smaller, faster and
easier-switching pMTJ structures: the core magnetics technology of
MRAM
-- STT's own R&D Fab line allows it to accelerate the refinement of the structure
2. Spin Polarizer (also known as PSC)
-- A proprietary, patented magnetic polarizing layer which has
shown the ability to materially boost the key parameters of the
pMTJ, including switching speeds, retention and lower power
consumption
-- Has the potential to be used with others' pMTJs, creating licensing opportunities
3. The Endurance Engine
-- A collection of techniques and circuit innovations uniquely
tuned to the physics of the pMTJ designed to extend the switching
endurance of any pMTJ by up to six orders of magnitude. This
benefit would be realised with no material changes to the pMTJ
-- Further, the Endurance Engine leads to smaller write currents
(lower power consumption) and smaller base transistors
-- The Endurance Engine is the culmination of the synergy
achieved at STT between magnetic material scientists and circuit
and systems engineers
-- Like the Spin Polarizer, The Endurance Engine has the
potential to be used with others' pMTJs, creating further licensing
opportunities
MRAM is expected to emerge as a replacement for non-volatile
memory technology. STT's technologies have the potential to unlock
the performance criteria necessary for MRAM to emerge as a
mainstream player in the memory market, replacing SRAM and
ultimately DRAM. STT's Spin Polarizer and Endurance Engine have the
scope for universal application across MRAM technologies developed
by all industry players, offering STT multiple potential revenue
paths. It is expected that commercial grade ST-MRAM will be
available in 2019, opening up significant revenue generation
opportunities for those companies with market-ready products.
Tom Sparkman, CEO of STT, commented "I am excited about the
future of MRAM and the promise of a low-cost, persistent memory
solution for fast growing Enterprise and Mobile applications,
replacing DRAM. STT's technologies will enable it to earn a
significant share of the memory market. I am delighted STT has
secured funding to refine our technologies and unlock commercial
grade ST-MRAM."
Jill Smith, CEO of Allied Minds, commented "Given our conviction
in the value potential of STT's technologies and capabilities to
deliver on this potential, underscored by positive feedback from
multiple strategics across the MRAM industry, we are pleased to
underwrite the convertible bridge financing. The bridge financing
provides runway for STT to complete critical development milestones
and its planned Series B financing with strategic investors."
A conference call for Allied Minds investors and analysts will
be held at 9am UK time today hosted by Tom Sparkman, CEO of STT,
and Jill Smith CEO of Allied Minds. A slide deck presentation
accompanying this call is available at: www.alliedminds.com
Dial in details:
United Kingdom Toll: +44 3333000804 PIN: 63226894#
United Kingdom Toll-Free: 08003589473 PIN: 63226894#
US Toll: +1 6319131422 PIN: 63226894#
US Toll-Free: +1 855 85 70686 PIN: 63226894#
URL for international dial in numbers:
http://events.arkadin.com/ev/docs/NE_W2_TF_Events_International_Access_List.pdf
S
For more information, please contact:
Allied Minds plc
Neil Pizey, Head of Corporate
Development +44 7771 872 922
FTI Consulting
Ben Atwell / Brett Pollard +44 20 3727 1000
About Allied Minds
Based in Boston, Allied Minds plc is an IP commercialisation
company focused on technology and life sciences. With extensive
access to U.S. federal government laboratories and universities, as
well as partnerships with leading U.S. corporations, Allied Minds
forms, funds, and operates a portfolio of companies with the
objective of delivering successful liquidity events that will
generate attractive long-term returns for its investors and
stakeholders. Allied Minds supports its businesses with capital,
resources, and expertise.
For more information, please visit www.alliedminds.com
About STT
Spin Transfer Technologies, Inc. (STT) is seeking to develop
ST-MRAM technologies that uniquely combine patented magnetics
technologies, circuits and memory architectures to create the
industry's lowest-cost, highest-performance ST-MRAM memories. STT's
disruptive ST-MRAM solutions are ideal replacements for embedded
and stand-alone SRAMs as well as future DRAM devices, affecting
more than half of the $300+ billion semiconductor industry. The
company was established by Allied Minds and New York University.
For more information, please visit www.spintransfer.com.
About SRAM
SRAM is pervasively used in virtually all mobile, computing, and
industrial applications. SRAM is a fast memory that never wears
out, but has the drawbacks of being very costly, very wasteful of
power, and is not persistent. On the other hand, traditional
ST-MRAM is much smaller and lower cost, uses no power when storing
data, and holds data for a long period when power is removed.
Unfortunately, conventional ST-MRAM does not match the benefits of
SRAM - it lacks speed and wears out in seconds or minutes of
operation rather than operating reliably for over 10 years of
continuous use. STT has developed unique technologies to make
ST-MRAM have similar lifetime and speed as SRAM.
About DRAM
DRAM is the electronics industry's most widely used memory type
and is present in nearly all electronic systems. DRAM is a slower
but much less expensive memory than SRAM, and otherwise shares SRAM
characteristics of long life, power inefficiency, and lack of
persistence.
Allied Minds Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains statements that are or may be
forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to
Allied Minds' future prospects, developments and strategies. The
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and
are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ
materially from current expectations, including, but not limited
to, those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors
included in Allied Minds' regulatory filings. These forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and
future business strategies of Allied Minds and the environment in
which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement
speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as
required by law, regulatory requirement, the Listing Rules and the
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, neither Allied Minds
nor any other party intends to update or revise these
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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