SkyWater Technology
{{Short description|American semiconductor manufacturer}}
{{Infobox company
| name = SkyWater Technology
| type = Public
|image=File:SkyWater_Building_Exterior.jpg
|image_caption=SkyWater building
| foundation = {{start date|2017}}
| location = Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
| key_people = Thomas Sondermanhttps://www.eetimes.com/skywater-ceo-expands-technology-foundry-model/
| industry = Semiconductor manufacturer|
| products = Semiconductor
Silicon chips
Silicon wafer|
| traded_as = {{NYSE|SKYT}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.skywatertechnology.com/|skywatertechnology.com}}
}}
SkyWater Technology is an American semiconductor engineering and fabrication foundry, based in Bloomington, Minnesota.{{cite web |last1=Rehkamp |first1=Patrick |title=Bloomington-based SkyWater Technology files to go public |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2021/03/23/bloomington-based-skywater-technology.html |website=Minneapolis St Paul Business Journal}}{{cite web |title=Semiconductor manufacturer SkyWater Technology sets terms for $75 million IPO |url=https://www.renaissancecapital.com/IPO-Center/News/80682/Semiconductor-manufacturer-SkyWater-Technology-sets-terms-for-$75-million-I |website=Renaissance Capital}} It is the only US-owned pure-play silicon foundry.{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Samuel K |title=The Foundry at the Heart of DARPA's Plan to Let Old Fabs Beat New Ones |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-foundry-at-the-heart-of-darpas-plan-to-let-old-fabs-beat-new-ones |website=IEEE Spectrum|date=6 August 2018 }}
== History ==
The company was formed in 2017, when private equity firm Oxbow Industries acquired Cypress Foundry Solutions, a microelectronics fabricator that was previously a subsidiary of California-based Cypress Semiconductor Corp.{{cite web |last1=Reilly |first1=Mark |title=SkyWater Technology finishes Bloomington HQ expansion for 'rad-hard' chips |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2020/09/09/skywater-technology-bloomington-expansion-complete.html |website=Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journals}}{{cite web |last1=Shih |first1=Willy |title=Inside SkyWater Technology's Domestic Semiconductor Foundry |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyshih/2020/10/28/skywater-technology-and-domestic-production-of-semiconductors/?sh=26f626743b34 |website=Forbes}}
In early 2021, SkyWater acquired an additional chip factory in Osceola, Florida,{{cite web |last1=Ramstad |first1=Evan |title=SkyWater shares rise 20% as execs explain move to expand production capacity |url=https://www.startribune.com/chipmaker-skywater-spends-to-expand-production-capacity-amid-industry-shortage/600084758/ |website=Star Tribune}} repurposing the University of Central Florida NeoCity fabrication facility into a second fabrication site.{{cite web |last1=Reed |first1=Charlie |title=NeoCity back in business with tech firm replacing UCF |url=https://www.aroundosceola.com/news/neocity-back-business-tech-firm-replacing-ucf |website=Around Osceola}} It expanded its facility and added 100 new jobs in 2021, partially due to funding from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.{{cite web |last1=Hauser |first1=Tom |title=Walz supports federal legislation to boost computer chip manufacturing |url=https://kstp.com/politics/governor-tim-walz-supports-federal-legislation-to-boost-computer-chip-manufacturing/6240555/ |website=KSTP}}
=Initial public offering=
SkyWater Technology filed an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2021.{{cite web |last1=Leopold |first1=George |title=SkyWater is Latest Tech IPO |url=https://www.eetimes.com/skywater-is-latest-tech-ipo/# |website=EE Times}}{{cite web |last1=Manners |first1=David |title=SkyWater to IPO |url=https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/skywater-to-ipo-2021-03/ |website=Electronics Weekly|date=26 March 2021 }}{{cite web |title=Semiconductor manufacturer SkyWater Technology files for a $75 million IPO |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/semiconductor-manufacturer-skywater-technology-files-for-a-%2475-million-ipo-2021-03-22 |website=Nasdaq}}
=U.S. infrastructure investment=
SkyWater has been cited as an example of the infrastructure the Biden administration is investing in. On April 12, 2021, President Joe Biden held up a silicon wafer created by SkyWater as he explained that chips represents a form of infrastructure.{{cite web |last1=Aoyma |first1=Naoatsu |title=Niche chip maker SkyWater plays key role in U.S. supply strategy |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14416247 |website=The Asahi Shimbun}}{{cite news |last1=Nellis |first1=Stephen |title=Biden's chip dreams face reality check of supply chain complexity |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/bidens-chip-dreams-face-reality-check-supply-chain-complexity-2021-04-13/ |website=Reuters|date=13 April 2021 }}
On July 20, 2022, Skywater announced plans to invest 1.8 billion dollars into a manufacturing facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, but the company has since backed out of those plans due to a shortage of funding. {{cite web |url=https://www.wlfi.com/news/original-microchip-planet-no-longer-coming-to-west-lafayette/article_3d14e17a-f382-11ee-af52-ef8451cfa877.html |title=Original microchip plant no longer coming to West Lafayette |date=April 5, 2024 |publisher=WLFI}} The facility is within Purdue University's Discovery Park District.{{cite web | url=https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2022/Q3/skywater-technology-chooses-discovery-park-district-at-purdue-for-1.8b-semiconductor-fabrication-facility,-to-create-750-jobs-in-5-years.html | title=SkyWater Technology chooses Discovery Park District at Purdue for $1.8B semiconductor fabrication facility, to create 750 jobs in 5 years }}{{Cite news |last=Clark |first=Don |last2=Swanson |first2=Ana |date=2023-01-01 |title=U.S. Pours Money Into Chips, but Even Soaring Spending Has Limits |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/01/technology/us-chip-making-china-invest.html |access-date=2023-01-23 |issn=0362-4331}}
Technology
SkyWater produces semiconductor chips using 90-nanometer process technology on equipment designed to handle 200-millimeter wafers of silicon.{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Samuel K |title=The Foundry at the Heart of DARPA's Plan to Let Old Fabs Beat New Ones |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-foundry-at-the-heart-of-darpas-plan-to-let-old-fabs-beat-new-ones |website=IEEE Spectrum|date=6 August 2018 }}{{cite web |last1=Lapedus |first1=Mark |title=200mm Demand Surges |url=https://semiengineering.com/200mm-demand-surges/ |website=Semiconductor Engineering|date=17 December 2020 }} SkyWater works in the consumer, industrial, military & defense, and automotive industries.{{cite web |title=SkyWater Technology Foundry, Inc. |url=https://www.oxbowindustries.com/about-us/case-studies/skywater-technology-foundry-inc/ |website=OxBow Industries}} SkyWater is a Department of Defense-accredited Trusted supplier, part of the DOD's efforts to secure a supply chain within the United States.{{cite web |last1=Herman |first1=Arthur |title=Biden, Semiconductors, And America's Future |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/arthurherman/2021/02/17/biden-semiconductors-and-americas-future/?sh=4551aef04412 |website=Forbes}}{{cite web |last1=Chowdry |first1=Amit |title=SkyWater Technology Shares Increase Over 10% Pre-Market: Why It Happened |url=https://pulse2.com/skywater-technology-shares-skywater-technology-increase-over-10-pre-market/ |website=Pulse 2|date=24 August 2021 }}
SkyWater has collaborated with Efabless and Google to create the first open source chip manufacturing program.{{cite web |last1=Halfacree |first1=Gareth |title=Google, SkyWater Release Production Dev Kit, Offer Open Hardware Projects Free 130nm Manufacturing |url=https://www.hackster.io/news/google-skywater-release-production-dev-kit-offer-open-hardware-projects-free-130nm-manufacturing-eadfefbcda7b |website=Hackster.IO}}
On August 21, 2021, SkyWater announced an expanded partnership with Rockley Photonics Holdings, focused on Rockley's health monitoring solution.{{cite web |last1=Chatterjee |first1=Manisha |title=After Announcing an Expanded Partnership, is SkyWater Technology a Buy? |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/announcing-expanded-partnership-skywater-technology-131731606.html |website=Yahoo News}}
References
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External links
- {{Official website|https://www.skywatertechnology.com/}}