Israeli start-up Saifun Semiconductors has completed a $40 million financing round at a company value of $400 million, after money.
Taking part in the round were Clal Electronics Industries, Gemini Israel, Pioneers, M-Systems Flash Disk, and Infineon Technologies (of Siemens). Also investing in Saifun were Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, and the Bank of America. The company raised $5 million in its previous round at a company value of $45 million. Saifun has raised an overall total of $51 million, including the current round.
Company COO Kobi Rozengarten said that according to the plan presented to investors, the company would issue on Nasdaq only at the end of 2001, but the timing depended on the company meeting its business goals.
Netanya-based Saifun Semiconductors was founded in 1998 by president and CEO Dr. Boaz Eitan, formerly of Intel, and employs a staff of 45. The company operates in the non-volatile memory (NVM) market. These devices, e.g. EEPROM and FLASH, preserve content without the need for a continuous source of power and are an essential element in portable products, such as cell phones and portable computers. The devices are the key to applications requiring low tension electricity and for preserving information for years, without a power source.
Saifun’s NROM technology facilitates manufacture of highly dense memory components in simple manufacturing processes, leading to reduced costs. Saifun’s shareholders include venture capital funds Gemini and Concord, Benny Steinmetz, and Tower Semiconductor, which has an exclusive manufacturing agreement for Saifun’s technology, subject to certain limitations. The controlling shareholder in Saifun is Boaz Eitan.
The non-volatile memory devices market is expected to reach $30 billion in 2003, when the company expects 20% of the devices in the market to be based on its technology.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on October 10, 2000