Sitime Corporation

The SiTime company is engaged in development of chips based on MEMS-nanorezonatorov. Products of the project are intended for electronic devices which use in the work exact frequency generators – in particular, for the telecommunication and computing equipment, navigation systems, consumer electronics and so forth. Generation of clock rate, key process of all modern electronic devices, still is based on quartz technology of 75-year. Silicon synchronizers – more productive, compact, energy efficient and cheap are designed to replace quartz products of the previous generation. The world market of such silicon synchronizers for 80% belongs today to SiTime.

Products & Services

Sitime makes microelectromechanical (MEMS) resonators which are used in a data communication equipment for generation of signals of synchronization. The need for resonators arises in process of growth of transmitted data, a scope – base stations of cellular communication, the femtocell, optical networks, navigation systems, the systems of sensors of monitoring of the environment, construction and investigation of minerals.

In the majority of such systems quartz resonators which are the only part not suitable for embedding in CMOS chips are used. This problem is solved by MEMS-resonators: they can be built in the chips executed both on technology of a system in the body and in the form of multichip models.

Being less by the sizes, than quartz resonators, MEMS-resonators have also property of reduction of price in process of reduction of the size. MEMS-resonators provide a wide choice of available tension, stability and frequencies (Sitime turns out products in frequency range from 200 kHz to 800 MHz). Besides, MEMS-resonators can be programmed after production and allow to use the plastic body, the last part is profitable in the light of existence of a large number of free production capacities of the plastic body.

The world market of the different systems of synchronization is estimated at $5 billion, in a segment of MEMS-resonators the share of Sitime reaches 85%. In Russia this market makes $80 million and grows for 5% a year. Sitime has more than 50 patents for structure and a production method of MEMS-resonators.

History

2014: Rusnano leaves the capital of SiTime with profitability over 25%

RUSNANO left in the fall of 2014 the capital of SiTime Corporation portfolio company (Sunnyvale, the USA) which is engaged in development of high-performance semiconductor chips on the basis of MEMS. The share of RUSNANO in the capital of SiTime is equal to 17.7%, the total amount of investments of RUSNANO was $15.9 million. Profitability of these investments (IRR) will exceed 25%. Among investors of the company were also the German producer of industrial equipment Bosh specializing in venture investments of CampVentures, CID Group, Grazia Equity, etc.

100% of shares of SiTime will be acquired by the Japanese corporation MegaChips. The cost of this transaction will be $200 million that will make it the largest merger of developer company of semiconductor devices in the market of a venture capital in 2014. Closing of the transaction is expected after its approval by regulating authorities in November, 2014.

RUSNANO was an investor of SiTime since May, 2011. Thanks to participation in the project of RUSNANO the SiTime company created the Russian division which is engaged in design and development of the next generation of MEMS-devices in St. Petersburg.

"Implementation of this project is twice successful for RUSNANO – and as for a private equity fund, and as for institute of development. The solution to make investments in SiTime allowed not only to receive a fine financial result, but also to perform a successful transfer of advanced technology to Russia. It is important to note that despite an exit of RUSNANO from the capital of SiTime work Russian R&D-центра the companies successfully continues", – Dmitry Akhanov, the president of RUSNANO USA and the board member of SiTime noted in connection with completion of the transaction.

2011

On June 1, 2011 announced Rusnano the participation in the project of expansion of production of the American producer of the systems of generation of signals of synchronization Sitime Corporation. The total amount of investments will be up to $22 million from which to $15 million the Russian side will enclose. Rusnano of CNews specified that the corporation purchased a share in Sitime which size, as well as financial performance of target company, does not reveal^[1].

Term of transaction is opening of Sitime of development center and design in Russia. The center will be open in Zelenograd, but where it is specific, is not solved yet. Sitime already has development center in Ukraine. Products of Sitime are turned out at Jazz factories (USA) and TSMC (Taiwan). It is not going to create production in Russia.

Notes