GOLETA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Transphorm, Inc. (OTCQX: TGAN)—a pioneer in and global supplier of high reliability, high performance gallium nitride (GaN) power conversion products, announced today Yaskawa Electric has converted 100% of its $15.6 million Transphorm convertible note into shares of Transphorm common stock at $5.00 per share. Yaskawa Electric is a world-leading manufacturer of low and medium voltage variable frequency drives, servo motors, machine controllers and industrial robots with over $3.7 billion in annual revenues.
Transphorm and Yaskawa continue to work together in the previously announced multi-year partnership for the development of GaN products for servo drives for robotics and motion control as well as a broader range of industrial and white goods applications. Yaskawa intends to use Transphorm’s leading GaN power device products for a variety of innovative industrial power conversion applications initially with servo motor and variable frequency drive applications.
Commenting on the announcement, Akira Kumagae, CTO and Managing Executive Officer of Yaskawa Electric, stated, “We are pleased to become shareholders of Transphorm as we continue to collaborate in the development of highly reliable, higher power GaN products, suitable for a variety of motion control applications. The higher frequency, highly efficient GaN power devices and modules that will be made possible with Transphorm’s GaN FET solutions will also meet stringent system requirements like short-circuit protection ability.”
Umesh Mishra, Co-founder and CTO of Transphorm, commented, “Transphorm greatly values its long-term relationship with Yaskawa and is delighted to add a world-wide leader in motion control and robotics such as Yaskawa, as a strategic shareholder. We appreciate the confidence it shows by converting $15.6 million of Transphorm debt into shares of Transphorm at $5.00 per share. Yaskawa continues to help shape key developments in Transphorm’s GaN roadmap, resulting in high performance power devices for industrial and motor control markets.”
The conversion of the Transphorm debt also adds more than $17 million of positive shareholder equity to Transphorm’s balance sheet, based on fair market value estimates. Following this investment, Yaskawa will own approximately 3.1 million shares of Transphorm, representing an approximate 7% ownership in the Company.
“The equity conversion significantly strengthens our balance sheet and is a key contributor toward the execution of the Company’s previously announced plans to uplist its shares of common stock to the NASDAQ,” said Primit Parikh, Co-founder and President. “It also underlines the strength of Transphorm’s leading high voltage GaN platform with products ramping in applications ranging from 45 Watts to 10 Kilowatts with the highest levels of quality and reliability. To date we have not seen any other competitive GaN platform cover this broad range of power levels or applications and that are actually in production, and many other existing offerings with GaN such as 'ICs' are typically limited to sub-500-Watt.”
TGAN Technology Enabling the Market
Transphorm’s patented GaN platform differs from competitive solutions in ways that are crucial to power conversion application performance requirements – from 45 Watt fast chargers/adapters to 1-4 kW gaming, datacenter server and cryptomining power supplies to higher power industrial, UPS, and automotive converter/inverter applications. Transphorm is one of the few high voltage GaN manufacturers that is vertically integrated, thereby controlling the innovation and advancement of the FET design itself, the epitaxial starting material, and the manufacturing process. This has led to:
- Growing adoption in lower power adapters and fast chargers: SuperGaN® Gen IV platform unit shipments in compact PQFN packages have grown over 200% quarterly CAGR from July 2020 to June 2021. This platform offers proven superior GaN device performance and compatibility with standard controllers that already have integrated drivers, giving Transphorm GaN FETs the most comprehensive design and drive flexibility not readily available with other GaN offerings like e-mode or “ICs”, that in turn need additional redundant drivers or interface circuitry.
- Higher power products in Gaming, Servers, Cryptomining and Industrial/Energy applications: Ramping of Transphorm’s Gen III and SuperGaN Gen IV and Gen V based unit shipments in the thermally superior TO-247 package, a well-accepted and widely used package configuration. Transphorm’s GaN and customers’ solutions, such as Titanium-efficiency rated power supplies, have already set a benchmark in these areas for several years. This robust packaging configuration is not possible today with either e-mode or “IC” GaN type of offerings due to the respective GaN device’s inherent sensitivity to damage in standard leaded packages.
- Best-in-class Quality + Reliability with high volume reproducibility: Over 20 billion hours of field reliability data on Transphorm’s FETs have yielded a FIT rate of < 0.4—meaning less than 1 part per billion hours fails in field. Transphorm’s proprietary manufacturing process controlled in its AFSW wafer-fab delivers high volume yields matching silicon yields in the same wafer-fab.
About Transphorm
Transphorm, Inc., a global leader in the GaN revolution, designs and manufactures high performance and high reliability GaN semiconductors for high voltage power conversion applications. Having one of the largest Power GaN IP portfolios of more than 1,000 owned or licensed patents, Transphorm produces the industry’s first JEDEC and AEC-Q101 qualified high voltage GaN semiconductor devices. The Company’s vertically integrated device business model allows for innovation at every development stage: design, fabrication, device, and application support. Transphorm’s innovations are moving power electronics beyond the limitations of silicon to achieve over 99% efficiency, 40% more power density and 20% lower system cost. Transphorm is headquartered in Goleta, California and has manufacturing operations in Goleta and Aizu, Japan. For more information, please visit www.transphormusa.com. Follow us on Twitter @transphormusa and WeChat @ Transphorm_GaN.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements (including within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended) concerning the Company’s technology and product offerings, industry acceptance of GaN technology, and the Company’s pipeline and future anticipated growth. Forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “believe,” “intend,” “look forward,” and other similar expressions among others. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: risks related to Transphorm’s operations, such as additional financing requirements and access to capital; competition; the ability of Transphorm to protect its intellectual property rights; and other risks set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
