Atomera Incorporated

Overview

• Delaware corporation focused on developing, commercializing, and licensing proprietary semiconductor technologies.
• Core technology: Mears Silicon Technology (MST) — a thin film of reengineered silicon that is additive to existing manufacturing flows.
• Business model: develop and license MST technology and related tools; generate revenue from upfront license fees, ongoing royalties, and select engineering services. The company does not design or manufacture wafers or ICs.
• Focus areas: power devices, RF, analog/mixed-signal, logic, and memory. Recently applying MST to compound semiconductors such as GaN-on-Si buffers.

MST Technology and Offerings

• Nature: additive, low-cost technology compatible with industry-standard CMOS manufacturing; designed to enable smaller transistors with higher speed, improved reliability, and better power efficiency.
• Product variants:
  • MST-SP (3–5V)
  • MST-SPX (up to 48V)
  • 2025 variant optimized for trenchFET architectures (higher-voltage workloads)
• Claimed benefits: improved drive current, reduced leakage, and reduced variability; potential to extend productive life of existing capital equipment and fabs; compatible with HKMG and strained-silicon approaches.
• Deployment model: MST is deposited epitaxially and designed to integrate with existing wafer fabrication flows without major process overhauls.
• MSTcad: software tool for simulating MST effects on Synopsys Sentaurus TCAD, sold or licensed to customers to support evaluation and planning.

Commercialization Model and Engagements

• Licensing structure:
  • R&D license: rights to install MST on a tool for internal use and limited sampling; typically followed by higher-commitment licenses.
  • High-volume manufacturing (HVM) license: rights to manufacture and sell MST-enabled products.
  • Royalties: payable on production or sales of MST-enabled devices as defined in license agreements.
• Revenue model status: to date, the company has recognized minimal revenue and operates on a long, multi-phase qualification and licensing cycle.
• Active engagements:
  • Two Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) with major semiconductor customers. One JDA focuses on integration and milestones with a leading semiconductor provider; the other with a major foundry involves ongoing wafer testing to demonstrate MST benefits.
  • Integration license agreements were previously executed with four parties, including a leading fabless RF semiconductor provider, a semiconductor foundry, and AKM (Asahi Kasei Microdevices). Some of these engagements are in MST Integration Phase Three with limited ongoing activity.
  • STMicroelectronics: installed MST film recipe under a paid R&D license in April 2023. In October 2025, ST indicated they would not complete qualification and began migrating to 300mm wafer processes; their future qualification status is uncertain.
• Collaboration and ecosystem:
  • Synopsys collaboration since 2017 to support MSTcad on Sentaurus TCAD, with ongoing model calibration against measured results.
  • Epi tool leases: two deposition reactors for MST deposition (Applied Materials Centura for 200/300mm and ASM Epsilon for 200mm) located in Tempe, AZ; leases include maintenance and cleanroom access.
  • Strategic marketing agreement with a leading semiconductor capital equipment vendor to accelerate adoption for GAA and DRAM through co-developed solutions and joint customer discussions.
• Commercialization timeline: historically lengthy and dependent on customers’ integration and qualification cycles; royalty-bearing licenses depend on customer qualifications and production scale.

Customers, Licenses, and Partnerships

• JDAs: 2 active, with progress toward license conversions varying; one JDA included a paid manufacturing license for internal MST wafer fabrication and achieved milestones.
• Commercial license: 1 (ST, under a paid R&D license; qualification status remains uncertain).
• Integration licenses: 4 historically; current emphasis is on JDAs and direct MST licensing.
• Licensees in MST Integration Phase Three: AKM, a foundry licensee, and an RF fabless provider (permitted evaluations and limited samples).
• Tool and vendor ecosystem: collaborations with major wafer tool vendors and equipment providers to optimize MST deployment in GAA and DRAM contexts.

Financial Snapshot (as of December 31, 2025)

• Net losses:
  • 2025: approximately $20.2 million
  • 2024: approximately $18.4 million
• Cash used in operations:
  • 2025: approximately $14.9 million
  • 2024: approximately $13.2 million
• Cash and liquidity at December 31, 2025:
  • Cash and cash equivalents: approximately $19.2 million
  • Total assets: approximately $21.1 million
  • Working capital: approximately $17.6 million
  • Accumulated deficit: approximately $241.7 million
• Financing:
  • February 24, 2026: completed a registered direct offering with net proceeds of approximately $23.6 million
• Runway and capital plans: the company states it has capital to fund current plans and obligations for at least 24 months from the end of 2025 and may seek additional capital via equity, debt, licensing, or joint ventures if needed.

Employees and Facilities

• Employees: 21 full-time as of the annual report date.
• Principal offices and leases:
  • Los Gatos, California: 4,101 sq ft facility under a five-year lease extension expiring March 31, 2031; current monthly rent $17,019 (as of December 2025 amendment).
  • Tempe, Arizona: 474 sq ft office since March 2021; lease extended in February 2026 for three years (through February 2029) with a potential two-year extension; current monthly rent $2,509 (rising to $2,526 in March 2026).
• Epi tool inventory: two leased deposition tools (Applied Materials Centura and ASM Epsilon) for MST film deposition on customer and internal wafers; leases include maintenance and cleanroom access.

Intellectual Property

• Patent portfolio: 119 U.S. patents and 130 foreign patents as of December 31, 2025; 75 U.S. patent applications and 106 foreign applications pending.
• Trade secrets: MST film recipe and related know-how are treated as confidential and protected by licenses and confidentiality agreements.
• IP risks: exposure to litigation risk, dependency on issued patents and trade secrets, and the possibility of invalidation or non-enforcement typical for IP-intensive semiconductor technologies.

Key Takeaways

• Atomera licenses MST to semiconductor manufacturers and equipment suppliers to improve transistor performance via an additive, low-disruption approach.
• MSTcad and the Synopsys Sentaurus TCAD collaboration support customer evaluation and planning.
• Commercial progress includes JDAs, an ST R&D license with uncertain qualification, and prior integration licenses; the qualification and adoption cycle is lengthy.
• The company has incurred net losses and negative operating cash flow but completed an equity offering in February 2026 and reports a multi-quarter runway.
• The team is small (21 employees) and relies on partnerships, leased tools, and external fabs and vendors to advance MST development and evaluation.