After raising a total of $38 million in venture capital funding since the company’s founding in 2004, MEMS gyro maker InvenSense has filed for IPO this week. The company’s main focus has been MEMS gyro sensors for consumer application segments such as console and portable video gaming devices, digital television and set-top box remote controls, handset and tablet devices, remote controlled toys and other household consumer and industrial devices.
InvenSense is reporting that it has shipped over 60 million units of their products. The company’s net revenue was $7.8 million, $29.0 million and $79.6 million for fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. For fiscal year 2010, net income was $15.1 million and net cash provided by operating activities was $20.2 million.
While the company is reporting that it has shipped products to more than 70 customers since inception, they expect to continue to rely on Nintendo for a significant portion of their net revenue. Nintendo accounted for approximately 80% and 85% of the company’s net revenue for fiscal years 2009 and 2010, respectively. No other customer accounted for 10% or more of InvenSense net revenue in fiscal years 2009 or 2010.
InvenSense currently sells three-axis gyroscopes that accept input from external accelerometers to provide a complete six-axis output; the diagram above illustrates the fundamental elements of this platform.
As of March 28, 2010, the company’s total headcount was 165, comprised of 67 in research and development, 46 in sales and marketing, 19 in manufacturing operations, and 33 in a general and administrative capacity.
The company’s largest shareholders are investors Artiman Ventures (15,424,349 shares; 22.7% of total shares outstanding), Partech International (15,368,435, 22.6%), Sierra Ventures (5,999,999; 8.9%), QUALCOMM (4,734,026, 7.0%) as well as founder and CEO Steven Nasiri (11,625,655; 16.9%).
InvenSense competes with other MEMS industry players such as Analog Devices, Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, Epson Toyocom Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Kionix, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Rohm Co., Ltd.), Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, Sony Corporation, and STMicroelectronics N.V. (STMicro). The company has stated that it considers STMicro to be their primary competitor in the consumer motion sensing market.
InvenSense has employed the Nasiri-Fabrication process in the high volume production of 150 mm and 200 mm wafer MEMS fabrication lines. The figure above provides a cross-sectional illustration of the CMOS-MEMS structure that is manufactured using the Nasiri-Fabrication process.
InvenSense utilizes a fabless business model, working with third parties to manufacture and assemble their products. The majority of the company’s wafer supply is currently provided by DALSA Corporation, Seiko Epson Corporation, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, and Touch Micro-Systems Technology. A MEMS foundry typically performs the critical wafer level bonding step of the Nasiri-Fabrication process and then delivers the final combined CMOS-MEMS wafer product to InvenSense.
The completed and bonded CMOS-MEMS wafers are shipped to the company’s facility in Taiwan for wafer level testing. InvenSense products are then assembled and packaged by independent subcontractors in Taiwan and Thailand. The company currently outsources their packaging operations to HANA Microelectronics Group, and Lingsen Precision Industries, Limited. The assembled products are then forwarded for final calibration and outgoing functionality test, primarily at the company’s wholly owned subsidiary in Hsinchu, Taiwan, prior to shipping to customers.
InvenSense has 12 issued U.S. patents, 2 issued international patents, 22 patent applications pending for examination in the United States and 20 international patent applications pending for examination in Europe, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Japan – all of which are related to the company’s U.S. patent applications.
Copyright 2010 MEMS Investor Journal
Comments