SND.L Regulatory News (SND)

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the UK Market Abuse Regulation

30th May 2023

Sondrel (Holdings) plc

("Sondrel", the "Company" and together with its subsidiaries the "Group")

Successful Key Milestone Completion - Tapeout of an ASIC controller for Smartphone camera

Sondrel (Holdings) plc (AIM: SND), the fabless semiconductor business providing turnkey services in the design and delivery of 'application specific integrated circuits' ("ASICs") and 'system on chips' ("SoCs") for leading global technology brands, is pleased to announce that it has successfully taped out an ASIC design (the "Project") for a controller of a smartphone camera.

With the design phase of the Project now finished and its tapeout completed, the Company will progress with the new product introduction and prototyping phases of the turnkey supply services being provided to the customer by Sondrel, ahead of the product being released to production thereafter.

The Project design contract was awarded to the Company in late 2021 and was fully funded by the Customer. Project production and supply are expected to begin at the start of 2024.

Based on production volumes and product lifetime currently projected by the Customer, revenues associated with the production and supply of the ASIC could be worth in excess of US$50 million over five years.

Tapeout signals the completion of the design phase of an ASIC and the handover of all data to the silicon foundry which is contracted to manufacture the ASIC. This tapeout data is used to initiate the generation of photomasks by the foundry, which are then used to produce prototype silicon wafers. These wafers are then packaged and tested before delivery to the customer for prototype assessment. Upon approval of the prototypes, further samples undergo qualification and reliability testing before the product is released to production. 

Graham Curren, Chief Executive Officer of Sondrel, commented:

"I am pleased to announce this new tapeout, our third since our IPO in Q4 last year. Passing this key milestone underpins Sondrel's position as a leading ASIC supplier for advanced designs. The successful tapeout of this ASIC is a clear validation of Sondrel's focussed business strategy, and our track record of innovation excellence again delivering excellent results for our customers.

"This complex design was completed in close cooperation with our customer's engineering and product marketing teams, and will open up new markets for our customer. We look forward to progressing with the new product introduction and prototyping phases ahead of the product entering production in 2024.

''Our focus on end markets that are aligned with strong and enduring global technology megatrends means that we have a good pipeline of design opportunities for 2023 and I look forward to updating the market on these as the year progresses.''

Ends

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About Sondrel

Sondrel is a UK-based fabless semiconductor company specialising in high end, complex digital Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and System on Chips (SOCs). It provides a full turnkey service in the design, prototyping, testing, packaging and production of ASICs and SoCs.

The Company is one of only a few companies capable of designing and supplying the higher-spec chips built on the most advanced semiconductor technologies, selling into a range of hyper growth end markets such as high-performance computing, automotive, artificial intelligence, VR/AR, video analytics, image processing, mobile networking and data centres. Sondrel designs have enabled products by leading technology brands including Apple (iPhone), Sony (PlayStation), Meta's (Oculus), Samsung, Google and Sony smartphones, JVC (prosumer camcorders), Tesla and Mercedes-Benz cars.

Sondrel is well-established, with a 20-year track record of successful delivery, supported by long standing ecosystem partnerships including Arm, TSMC and Samsung. Headquartered in the UK, Sondrel has a global presence with offices in UK, USA, China, India and Morocco.

For more information please visit: www.ir.sondrel.com.