new-science-ventures-announces-merger-of-its-portfolio-company-achronix-with-ace-convergence

New Science Ventures announces merger of its portfolio company Achronix with ACE Convergence

New Science Ventures LLC (“NSV”), a leading venture capital firm focused on building companies that leverage breakthrough science to create extraordinary value, today announces the merger of its portfolio company, Achronix Semiconductor Corporation (“Achronix”), with ACE Convergence Acquisition Corp. NSV is a founding investor in Achronix.

Highlights:

  • Achronix is the only independent supplier of high-performance FPGAs and eFPGA IP based data acceleration solutions used in high-growth applications including AI, cloud computing, 5G, networking and automotive driver assistance
  • Highly differentiated financial profile with estimated 2020 revenues of approximately $105 million, 79% gross margins and 35% operating margins with migration to next-generation products driving an estimated revenue CAGR of 20% to 25% from 2020 to 2025
  • Business combination with ACE Convergence Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: ACEV) positions Achronix to capitalize on non-cancellable backlog in excess of $160 million and over $1.1 billion in identified pipeline opportunities driven by Speedster® and Speedcore™ products
  • Approximately $2.1 billion estimated post-transaction equity value based on current assumptions with up to $330 million in gross cash proceeds to the company, assuming minimal redemptions
  • Oversubscribed $150 million fully committed common stock concurrent PIPE financing at $10.00 per share anchored by ACE Equity Partners LLC, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and Hedosophia; and with participation from other institutional investors
  • Achronix expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ACHX” following an anticipated transaction close by the end of the first half of 2021

Achronix Semiconductor Corporation, a leader in high-performance field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and embedded FPGA (eFPGA) IP, and ACE Convergence Acquisition Corp. (ACE) (Nasdaq: ACEV), a special-purpose acquisition company, have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination that would result in the combined entity continuing as a publicly listed company. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined operating entity will be named Achronix Semiconductor Corporation and will be listed under the ticker symbol ACHX.

As the only independent, high-end FPGA semiconductor company that offers both high-end standalone FPGAs along with eFPGA IP technology, Achronix is uniquely positioned to address the needs of high-performance applications that require programmable hardware accelerators. Demand for FPGA-based data accelerators is driven by the rapid expansion of high-growth markets, including AI, Cloud, 5G, and ADAS. Achronix’s semiconductor portfolio targets the nearly $10 billion data acceleration market, which is expected to have double-digit CAGR through 2025. (Data according to Semico Research).

Achronix’s data acceleration solutions provide optimal performance per watt compared to CPU- and GPU-based solutions with the additional benefits of hardware flexibility to support changing acceleration workloads. As compute performance requirements are now doubling in as little as three to four months, the need for dedicated FPGA-based hardware accelerators is growing rapidly. Customer validation of Achronix’s products is substantiated by nearly $240 million in orders received in 2020. Achronix’s new Speedster7t and Speedcore products, built on leading-edge process technology, have contributed to a design pipeline value in excess of $1.1 billion and are expected to drive Achronix’s future growth.

We are very excited to have found the ideal merger partner in Achronix, the last remaining independent, high-end FPGA player,” said Behrooz Abdi, CEO and Chairman of ACE. “John Lofton Holt and Robert Blake have created a truly disruptive semiconductor company, with highly differentiated data acceleration FPGA products, complemented with a highly innovative embedded FPGA IP business model. Further bolstering Achronix’s robust free cash generation with proceeds from the merger will accelerate deployment of the company’s data acceleration solutions and position Achronix to fast track additional strategic growth initiatives.”

The next era of growth and opportunity is in the trillions of connected devices providing compute-intensive intelligence, all fueled by network connectivity and 5G,” said Robert Blake, Achronix’s Chief Executive Officer. “Achronix’s technology was designed to address the insatiable demand for new hardware-based data acceleration, which we believe is resulting in significant long-term growth opportunities for our company. We are excited to partner with Behrooz and the ACE team at this inflection point in the company’s trajectory to capitalize on our design pipeline in excess of $1.1 billion, as we continue to create value as a public company.”