SK hynix & Robert Bosch invests in memory startup

The round of financing was led by the new investors M Ventures and imec.xpand, with participation of SK hynix, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, and TEL Venture Capital. The lead investor of Series A eCapital also participated in this round. The new set of investors aims to support the company throughout the whole semiconductor value chain to bring FMC's ferroelectric memory technology to market. The company plans to expand its team in Dresden, as well as to start international expansion, including into the US and Asian markets, a press release reads. “The rise of AI, IoT, Big Data, and 5G are demanding next-generation memory solutions that enable superior speed and ultra-low power consumption, while being compatible with leading-edge CMOS logic processes guaranteeing reduced manufacturing costs,” says Ali Pourkeramati, CEO of FMC. “We have strong interest from customers and development partners for our advantages in fast access, program and erase speed, best-in-class ultra-low energy budget, ease-of-integration into existing manufacturing processes, and low manufacturing costs. This funding will speed up the commercialization of our ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET) and capacitor (FeCAP) technology into exponentially increasing markets in the AI, IoT, embedded memory, and high-performance stand-alone data center sectors,” the CEO continues. The company says it has already made significant progress in the development of its non-volatile memory technology which promise to offer superior performance compared with state-of-the-art and emerging memory solutions. It is currently working closely with major semiconductor companies, as well as with foundries in the US, Europe, and Asia. FMC's memory technology uses the ferroelectric properties of crystalline hafnium oxide (HfO2). HfO2 in its amorphous form is already the gate insulator material of every CMOS transistor ranging from planar to FinFET. FMC's patent-protected technology makes it simple to transform amorphous HfO2 into crystalline ferroelectric HfO2. This way, every standard CMOS transistor and capacitor can be turned into a non-volatile memory cell, a ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET) or capacitor (FeCAP). In addition to its high speed, ultra-low power, CMOS logic compatibility, reduced manufacturing cost, and extreme temperature stability, the technology provides complete magnetic immunity and high radiation resistance.