AkoustisTM Awarded $740K R&D Grant from National Science Foundation (NSF)

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Third Innovative Research Grant Extends Funding to Develop Cutting Edge Single Crystal RF Filters for Mobile Wireless Market

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: AKTS) (“Akoustis” or the “Company”), a manufacturer of innovative Bulk ONE™ single crystal piezoelectric RF bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters for mobile wireless, announced today that it received a $740K Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant was based on the results achieved by the Company’s previously awarded Phase I grant as well as scientific and technical merit and commercial potential of the project proposed in Phase II.

“Akoustis is pleased to continue its partnership with NSF to develop and commercialize our single crystal resonator technology,” said Jeff Shealy, CEO of Akoustis Technologies, Inc. “The goal of the Phase II award is to advance our Phase I research, accelerate commercialization, and create a sustainable business model,” added Mr. Shealy.

The Phase II award is a 24-month extension of the Company’s recently completed NSF SBIR Phase I grant and increases the total program funding to $920K. Further, the Phase II award allows Akoustis to apply for up to $500K in additional non-dilutive matching funds from NSF as part of a Phase IIb application, which the Company anticipates to submit later this year.

The Phase II funding will be used to continue development of the Company’s new, cutting edge class of RF BAW Filters based upon patented, highly differentiated high purity single crystal piezoelectric materials. Its Bulk ONE™ technology will service the fast growing multi-billion dollar market of device OEMs, network providers, and consumers to diminish front end phone heat, battery drain and signal loss -- all considered to be directly related to current RF filter technologies' limitations.

Overall, the Phase II program with NSF allows Akoustis to accelerate the commercialization of its innovative filter products to address the critical mobile-wireless need by using single crystal piezoelectric materials to create a new class of acoustic wave filters. Such filters are expected to improve performance, lower system cost and drive miniaturization. Akoustis’ Bulk ONE™ filters originate from materials which exhibit superior acoustic performance when compared to the incumbent thin-film technologies deployed today.

Akoustis has seven (7) U.S. Patents filed, plus three (3) international applications protecting its use of single crystal piezoelectric materials for the manufacturing, packaging and circuit integration of BAW resonators and filters. Akoustis holds exclusive rights to two (2) US Patents and associated foreign filings from the University of California at Santa Barbara and (1) US Patent from Cornell University.

About Akoustis

Akoustis™ (http://www.akoustis.com) is a high-tech RF filter solutions company that manufactures its unique, patent-pending Bulk ONE™ technology to produce single-crystal bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters for the mobile-wireless industry, which facilitate signal acquisition and accelerate band performance between the antenna and the back end of mobile devices. Akoustis’ “fabless” business model is capital efficient, leveraging existing manufacturing infrastructure in the semiconductor industry. Akoustis™ is located in the Piedmont technology corridor between Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.

About NSF SBIR/STTR Program

The NSF SBIR/STTR program (http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/home.jsp) seeks to transform scientific discovery into societal and economic benefit by catalyzing private sector commercialization of technological innovations. The program increases the incentive and opportunity for startups and small businesses to undertake cutting-edge, high-quality scientific research and development. NSF SBIR/STTR provide grants in phases: a short proof-of-concept / feasibility grant ($150-225k) can potentially be followed by a longer development grant ($750k). SBIR/STTR grants complement angel funding and such federally funded grants are non-dilutive.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not descriptions of historical facts are forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated include, without limitation, risks relating to the results of our research and development activities, including uncertainties relating to semiconductor process manufacturing: the early stage of our Bulk ONE™ technology presently under development; our need for substantial additional funds in order to continue our operations and the uncertainty of whether we will be able to obtain the funding we need; our ability to retain or hire key scientific, engineering or management personnel; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights that are valuable to our business, including patent and other intellectual property rights; our dependence on third-party manufacturers, suppliers, research organizations, testing laboratories and other potential collaborators; our ability to successfully market and sell our technologies; the size and growth of the potential markets for any of our technologies, and the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our technologies; competition in our industry; and regulatory developments in the U.S. and foreign countries.

In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking statements regarding future events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements included in this presentation speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or privately any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this presentation to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

THESE MATERIALS DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL, OR THE SOLICITATION OF ANY OFFER TO BUY, ANY SECURITIES OF AKOUSTIS, INC., OR OF ANY OTHER ENTITY WHATSOEVER. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY BY ANY PARTY SHOULD BE IGNORED.

The Del Mar Consulting Group, Inc.
Robert B. Prag, President
858-794-9500
bprag@delmarconsulting.com
or
Alex Partners, LLC
Scott Wilfong, President
425-242-0891
scott@alexpartnersllc.com

Source: Akoustis Technologies, Inc.

Released February 3, 2016