Silicon photonics chipmaker Skorpios acquires Novati

09 Oct 2017

To enhance Skorpios’ heterogeneous integration process and manufacturing – for optical communications markets and more.

Silicon photonics integrated circuit developer Skorpios Technologies, Albuquerque, NM, has acquired Novati Technologies, a semiconductor integration firm and fab, based in in Austin, TX.

Terms of the deal, which closed last week, were not disclosed. The combined corporation will henceforth be known as Skorpios Technologies.

Skorpios said that the acquisition will give it the ability to better meet growing customer for silicon integrated photonics chips, especially for the communications sector. It identifies three particular benefits of the acquisition:

• Vertical Integration of its proprietary heterogeneous integration process – increasing volume throughput and allowing control of its critical supply chain;
• Decreased fab cycle times – by providing access to focused production lines in the foundry; and
• Faster time to market – expediting development of new products, resulting in faster time to market and revenue realization.

Skorpios supplies integrated products based upon its proprietary, wafer-scale, heterogeneous integration process. The process leverages the existing silicon manufacturing ecosystem to enable high bandwidth interconnectivity at what the company calls “mature CMOS manufacturing costs”. Its platform addresses a range of applications from high speed video, data and voice communications, cloud computing, to consumer and medical sectors.

Novati’s Austin facility is known for its innovative work in 2.5D/3D integration, photonics, MEMS sensors, micro fluidics for medical, and more. Prior to the acquisition, Skorpios had developed its heterogeneous integration process in collaboration with Novati, and was building its ICs in Novati’s foundry. After the acquisition, Skorpios plans to immediately ramp up production, starting with its 100Gb QSFP CWDM4 range.

Proprietary process

“This transaction marks an exciting time in Skorpios’ history,” said Stephen Krasulick, chairman, founder and CEO of Skorpios. “The ability to develop and commercialize products based on our proprietary heterogeneous integration process in our own foundry is the next logical step in the evolution of our company.

“We believe there are tremendous synergies between Skorpios’ heterogeneous integration platform and the technologies currently being developed and offered at Novati. So With this acquisition, Skorpios is well-positioned to deliver highly differentiated products with shorter development cycles.”

John Hamma, senior VP, Services in the Business Unit of Skorpios, added, “Novati’s customized fab solutions are uniquely positioned to support the revolutionary Skorpios products. I look forward to working closely with our new team members to deliver innovative products.”