Akoustis Technologies announced that they have signed multiple non-exclusive collaborative business agreements with a Chinese tier one RF front end (RFFE) module manufacturer to supply their premium RF filter products. The agreements signed between them and their tier one collaborator include a Joint Development Agreement (JDA), a Statement Of Work (SOW), and a strategic Product Supply Agreement (PSA).
Under the terms of the JDA, the companies will work together on the development of high-band BAW RF filters for use in RFFE modules for 4G, emerging 4.5G and 5G mobile, and Wi-Fi applications. The SOW agreement describes the design, specification and productization of high-band, single crystal BAW RF filters for the collaborator’s next-generation high-band RFFE module products. Finally, under the PSA, they agree to supply their single crystal BAW RF filter products to the collaborator. They expects to begin producing initial prototype RF filters by the end of 2016 and fulfilling production purchase orders from the collaborator in 2017.
These agreements mark the beginning of their transition from a development-stage technology company into a pure-play BAW RF filter product company. Their premium performance high-band BAW RF filters will enable potential Chinese RFFE module manufacturers, to service the fast growing Asia smartphone market. At the moment they have no plans to offer integrated RFFE modules, however they stand prepared to offer and sell premium BAW RF Filters to any RF module manufacturer enabling them to compete in the rapidly-growing high band RFFE module market for smartphones.
Their collaborator is a well-known and established Chinese tier one RFFE module manufacturer directly servicing the China and India mobile phone OEM and ODM markets. Further, the collaborator is an approved supplier of RFFE modules to multiple smartphone OEMs, including one of the largest OEMs in the world, and has significant design resources and experience in manufacturing highly-integrated RFFE module solutions.
According to a 2015 report published by Strategy Analytics, China and India accounted for 38% of the worldwide smartphone market in 2015. Together, these regions are expected to grow by 6% (CAGR) over the next 2 years.
The growth in the China region and the increased investment in Chinese manufacturing of integrated RF modules make China a key focus for their business development activities. Akoustis claim to be seeing a significant interest from multiple Chinese companies for their premium high-band BAW RF filters.
Akoustis continues to meet with multiple prospective customers in order to discuss strategic opportunities related to its single crystal resonator and BAW RF filter technology. The Company continues to focus on R&D in high performance piezoelectric materials, high Q resonators, and developing premium high-band BAW RF filters. The BAW RF filter market is dominated by mobile wireless, but also has significant applications in wireless infrastructure and military markets. With the agreements announced today, they will begin to focus on commercial specifications for their BAW RF filter products in order to generate commercial sales in 2017.
