PragmatIC Semi Gets $80M for Fab in UK

PragmatIC Semiconductor has secured $80 million in funding to build a second FlexLogIC fab with five times the capacity of its existing fab, in order to meet a growing demand for its low-cost flexible integrated circuits (IC) for the internet of things (IoT).

In an interview to explain the rationale for the new fab and the company’s intentions, Scott White, CEO of PragmatIC Semiconductor told EE Times, “The first fab was introduced a couple of years ago, for which demand has been good. We expect to reach capacity soon, so the new planned fab will be a larger capacity version of the existing one. The second fab will also be a template for offering a fab-on-site to customers in the future, which will be modular and low capex.”

The FlexLogIC production system is a scalable manufacturing model for high-volume production, achieved with orders of magnitude less capital investment and operating cost compared to a traditional silicon IC fab. Detailed material recipes, end-to-end process flows, in-line quality monitoring and feedback control loops are implemented within the equipment and automation software, to ensure reliable production without operator intervention.

The fab supports a production cycle time of less than one day, compared with several months for a typical silicon fab. Due to its compact footprint and self-contained design, FlexLogIC can be located wherever needed around the globe, allowing agile “just-in-time” IC production.

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