Navitas Semiconductor – Next-generation power semiconductors for data centers, electric cars, consumer electronics, and energy systems

Stocks
, ,
1

Navitas Semiconductor designs, develops, and markets next-generation power semiconductor products. These refer to power electronics components based on gallium nitride (“GaN”) and silicon carbide (“SiC”) technology. The new generation technology offers advantages in efficiency, performance, size, cost, and sustainability compared to the currently used silicon-based technology.

These products apparently enable, for example, faster charging, higher power density, and better energy savings compared to silicon-based systems. Navitas products are used in a wide range of applications, such as phone and computer chargers, electric vehicles, inverters for solar power systems, data centers, and consumer electronics products.

The company was founded in 2014 and listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2021 through a SPAC process. Navitas apparently has some kind of competitive advantage as a developer of these GaN-integrated circuits (?) and a strong patent portfolio.

Link to the company’s “Investor Day 2023” presentation:

The company’s revenue last year was $79.5 million, with a 109% increase from the previous year. Revenue is expected to continue growing at the pace of such a growth company. Gross margin has been approximately 40%. The company has no debt. Cash on hand is $152 million.

Navitas_liikevaihto
Navitas_liikevaihto877×382 6.25 KB

I started this thread partly because I’m wondering if there are experts on this discussion forum who can assess how significant a player Navitas is in the field of this developing GaN technology? There seems to be a market in many different products as the technology and energy transition lies ahead in the future.

edit: Here’s a short interview with the CEO on CNBC from last November:

9 Likes
Kurssien ja niiden muutosten kyselyt, kauhistelut ja hehkuttelut (Osa 4)
2

@Pandakarhu can probably comment something related to this :slight_smile:

1 Like
3

An interesting company, and I’ll have to look more into it. I’ll comment on a somewhat general level in this post (maybe more later, if I remember).

What puzzles me most at first glance is what exactly would make Navitas’ products better than those of companies that have already established their position in the market? Does the company have any significant patents related to the technology? Or is the company’s vision for growth based on the fact that the demand for various power semiconductors will surely grow quite rapidly in the future simply because the sector is growing? What are Navitas’ ways to challenge companies that have gained a large foothold in the industry? GaN and SiC technology has been researched and developed quite a lot in recent years, and most companies in the industry already have products based on GaN and SiC semiconductors in their portfolios.

The most significant players in the industry are shown in the image below, which is taken from Infineon’s 2024 Investor Presentation. As can be seen from the image, there are already major players in the field who have refined their supply and production chains over the years.
kuva
https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/2024-02-06+Q1+FY24+Investor+Presentation.pdf?fileId=8ac78c8b8d2fe1ea018d7aa3d353001f

In any case, an interesting company that requires further investigation.

4 Likes
4

Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) is also a company specializing in SiC products, with revenue of $922m and a market cap of $3.6b. They have major factory projects underway and their operations are heavily loss-making. Free cash flow was -$707m last year, but there is still $2.6b in cash (from debt) in the bank. The stock has fallen -80% from its 2021 highs. If the investments succeed, then it will probably rally again.

Article from November: Be Cautious With Wolfspeed Stock -- the Business Isn't Out of the Woods Yet | The Motley Fool

2 Likes
5

I added a short interview with the CEO from November to the opening post:

6

I find it difficult to evaluate the competitive advantages that differentiate Navitas from, for example, STMicroelectronics; I’ve heard of the company and have the impression that their growth is largely focused on China, whereas ST’s growth is more evenly distributed globally. ST has been researching silicon carbide for several years and, if I remember correctly, they are opening a new factory soon that will be a dedicated facility for manufacturing products from silicon carbide (SiC).

I might as well use this thread to write a few words about gallium, germanium, and silicon carbide. As has been noted in this thread, in the future, we will increasingly see semiconductors made from materials other than standard silicon. This is because, in the future, power consumption will be in a completely different league compared to what we are used to today. Silicon has its own benefits, but when high power is needed, such as for electric vehicle charging or servers, future chips must be made from something other than silicon. Silicon carbide has excellent properties regarding thermal load management in power electronics, and major semiconductor manufacturers are increasingly starting to research the implementation of silicon carbide.

Materials like silicon carbide, gallium, or germanium are actually already old materials, but bringing them into mass production is not as easy as it is with silicon. Generally, silicon crystal growth occurs using the Czochralski method, where dipping silicon into a growth chamber allows for the formation of a long ingot from which silicon wafers can be made. This same method cannot be used, for example, to make silicon carbide wafers. This is why we haven’t yet seen high-volume mass production with these wafers, but I believe we are currently at a stage where we will increasingly see products made from materials other than silicon in the future. Secondly, the same processing methods used for silicon cannot be directly applied to silicon carbide wafers because it is one of the hardest materials we know. This presents its own challenges for equipment manufacturers who make processing tools (e.g., LAM, Applied, Disco, etc.). I recently spoke with a representative from an equipment manufacturer about silicon carbide, and they are doing everything they can to identify and solve the problems to make silicon carbide wafer production successful.

I have personally been involved in research projects involving wafers made from silicon carbide or germanium, or featuring the aforementioned “doping,” and I am personally convinced of silicon carbide’s future as an application in power electronics.

10 Likes
7

The semiconductor business is a scale business if ever there was one. Navitas is a new acquaintance for me. I wonder where they manufacture or have their chips manufactured? Apparently a customer of some foundry, or can a company of that size still have its own production, or have they repurposed a suitable one from some old, decommissioned, written-off line…?

9

In my understanding, chips are made in the TSMC/TSM fab. Wolfspeed, which is a competitor, has its own fab(s), but semiconductor production is so expensive that being fabless can also be an advantage to some extent. It also depends on the available subsidies and many variables. Fundamentally, however, less capital is needed.

11

Navitas Semiconductor slightly exceeded revenue expectations, but nevertheless reported a clearly loss-making result, and also that revenue sharply declined from the previous year. The company is planning a strategic change; it is collaborating with NVIDIA on next-generation 800V power systems and is also raising capital for expansion.

The new partnership may improve profitability in the long term, but near-term revenue is still likely to remain weak, and this “project” involves significant risks.

https://x.com/Earnings_Time/status/1952470976631124373
image
image

Company’s own materials

image

1 Like
12

It’s worth mentioning about Wolfspeed that it seems to be ending up in the hands of its creditors through bankruptcy.

Reuters article from June: https://www.reuters.com/business/wolfspeed-reaches-agreement-with-creditors-plans-bankruptcy-filing-2025-06-23/

2 Likes
14

I’d be interested to hear your new insights on Navitas and STMicroelectronics, and generally about the current situation and what has happened recently in the silicon carbide (SiC) sector.

2 Likes
15

Wolfspeed indeed filed for bankruptcy proceedings in summer 2025 (Chapter 11), but that was a pre-agreed reorganization, not a cessation of operations. In the reorganization, debts were cut by approximately 70%, the old share capital was nullified, and new share capital was issued in its place.

16

Navitas’ revenue was down from last year, but the result was in line with expectations, and there is plenty of cash.

The company is attempting a major strategic shift, leaving the consumer side behind and moving towards more robust markets, such as AI data centers, energy grids, and industrial electrification… in cooperation with major partners.

https://x.com/earnings_guy/status/1985453013637460254

image
image651×113 9.94 KB

image
image1920×1080 71.6 KB

The company’s own materials

image
image1249×686 114 KB

image
image1150×1197 273 KB

image

2 Likes