Company Background
Download the Unity Semiconductor company backgrounder.
About Unity Semiconductor
Unity Semiconductor is a leading designer and developer of non-volatile storage-class memory products based on innovative, multi-layer memory array architectures and a new breakthrough memory cell technology. A Silicon Valley-based start-up, Unity Semiconductor will serve the data storage market presently addressed by NAND flash. It is in the 2-year horizon for production volumes on its first product, a 64-gigabit storage class memory.
Unity Semiconductor’s objective is to have the smallest die-size, at the lowest manufacturing cost per bit, for the semiconductor memory data storage market. (The portion served by NAND flash is estimated to be $15B in 2010, growing to more than $25B in 2013). Unity plans to achieve its objective using its proprietary memory cell technology called CMOx™.
CMOx™ is a new breakthrough technology that is based on a proprietary switching effect in layers of certain metal oxide materials. It uses new methods and materials that have not been used previously in semiconductor memories, to enable concepts that could not otherwise be realized. Only CMOx™, the Unity proprietary next-generation non-volatile memory technology, will yield products with 4x density and 5-10x the write speed of today’s NAND flash.
A technology that meets the requirements for all the important high density memory segments presently addressed by NAND flash, CMOx™ is designed to also meet emerging market requirements. It is a scalable NAND flash “successor” technology that will also extend into high-performance enterprise applications. CMOx™ is a “Technology for Terabits” that will challenge high-volume rotating magnetic media.
Unity’s value proposition to its target market stems from its proprietary next-generation NVM technology, CMOx™. Unity’s CMOx™ based storage-class memory products will have the price/performance advantage to target today’s high-volume/high-capacity data storage applications and emerging applications such as solid-state drives (SSDs). These SSD applications include notebook, desktop PCs, netbooks, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), smart phones and burgeoning enterprise applications.
Unity Semiconductor will serve the semiconductor memory data storage market as a designer, developer and manufacturer of non-volatile storage-class memory products in partnership with leading memory integrated device manufacturers (IDMs). The company holds proprietary positions in CMOx technology and related memory technologies based upon its extensive patent portfolio—granted and pending. It will engage in selective IP licensing with its memory IDM partners.
Founded in 2002 by individuals who have extensive experience in all aspects of the semiconductor memory industry including the development and manufacture of semiconductor flash memory, Unity Semiconductor is a well-funded start-up with nearly $65M invested to date by sophisticated top-tier venture capital firms--August Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, and Morgenthaler Ventures--and a major hard-disk-drive (HDD) manufacturer. An additional $10M of debt equity brings total funding to nearly $75M
Quick Facts
Company Name |
Unity Semiconductor Corp. |
Industry |
Semiconductor memory |
Products |
Non-volatile storage class memory products |
Objective |
To have the smallest die-size, at the lowest manufacturing cost per bit, for the storage memory market (est. @ $15B in 2010, growing to more than $25B in 2013.) |
Proprietary Technology |
CMOx™ |
First Product |
64-gigabit storage-class memory |
Founded |
2002 |
Chairman & CEO |
Darrell Rinerson |
CFO |
William G. Skolout |
Press Contact |
Bruce LeBoss |
Headquarters |
255 Santa Ana Court, Sunnyvale, CA, 94085 |
Telephone |
(408) 737-7200 |
Website |
www.unitysemi.com |