FMC receives growth financing from eCAPITAL and HTGF

Driven by the global trend towards digitisation, automation and networking, billions of devices are being equipped with an increasing number of microcontrollers.

These tiny one-chip computer systems are at the heart of innovation in fast-growing key technologies such as the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. Industries such as consumer electronics, healthcare, security, automotive and aviation are experiencing disruptive changes.

The challenge of the digital future for microcontrollers is not only to store increasing amounts of ever-more complex data in ever-smaller memories. They must retain data for many years and fulfil more demanding requirements such as a higher number of write cycles and retention even when exposed to extreme temperatures.

The current industry standard for non-volatile memory, the eFlash technology, can cope with the new requirements only at the expense of extremely complex manufacturing processes and therefore inhibits further progress in the miniaturisation of microcontrollers. In comparison to the latest generations of standard CMOS technology, eFlash lags by five technology generations.

FMC’s memory technology is directly derived from standard CMOS technology and therefore solves the problem of miniaturisation.

The market for FMC is huge and fast-paced. The main actors are integrated manufacturers or foundries as well as fabless semiconductor companies. FMC offers these enterprises its patent-protected Ferroelectric Field Effect Transistor (FeFET) technology. FeFETs use the ferroelectric properties of hafnium oxide to transform existing standard CMOS transistors into efficient memory cells.

CMOS transistors still enable scaling according to Moore’s Law, and thus derived FeFETs offer superior performance, high density, ultra-low power consumption and extreme temperature stability. The key for becoming the new standard in this industry is that they enable further miniaturisation of microcontrollers.

FeFETs can be manufactured on existing production lines without main changes or capital expenditures as hafnium oxide is already a standard isolating material in this industry. In comparison to eFlash, the manufacturing process is much simpler, so that the production costs can be drastically reduced.

"Our non-volatile memory technology addresses the industry's current and future needs with 1,000 times higher speed and 1,000 times lower power consumption, while significantly reducing manufacturing costs. With the support of eCAPITAL, we can hire the right talent, such as Analog / Mixed-Signal Designers and Characterisation Engineers, to accelerate our product development and drive market penetration," said Dr. Stefan Müller, CEO of FMC.

“The disruptive potential of the technology and the customer wins the company has already achieved to date are truly impressive. FMC has the potential to become the new industry standard and we look forward to backing the company throughout this endeavor” added Willi Mannheims, managing partner at eCAPITAL.

"With FMC we have identified once again a technology jewel in Dresden that can disrupt entire industries and become a real gamechanger. We welcome FMC in eCAPITAL’s portfolio and look forward to contribute our experience and network to ensure the rapid and successful development of FMC," commented Dr. Paul-Josef Patt, Managing Partner and CEO of eCAPITAL. Patt was already Lead Investor in the Dresden-based company Novaled, which was sold very successfully by eCAPITAL to Samsung end of 2013. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Dresden-based company Heliatek, an OPV provider.

"The ability to convert traditional transistors into non-volatile memory devices has a rare potential for disruption. With seed funding from the HTGF, the company has now reached the next level. We have therefore increased our exposure to FMC to a total of EUR 1.6 million and are pleased to have gained a valuable partner for further growth with eCAPITAL," added Yann Fiebig, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF.