National Science Foundation (NSF) Awards AkoustisTM Innovation Research Grant

Download as PDF

Extends Funding to Develop 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 single crystal Bulk ONE™ RF filters for mobile wireless, announced today that it received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1B award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Phase 1B funding will be used to continue development of single crystal group III-Nitride bulk acoustic resonators and bulk acoustic wave filter components for mobile communications.

“Akoustis is pleased to partner with NSF to develop and commercialize our single crystal resonator technology,” said Jeff Shealy, CEO of Akoustis, Inc. “The goal of the Phase 1B award is to advance our Phase 1 research, accelerate commercialization and foster strategic relationships,” added Mr. Shealy.

The Phase 1B award is a 6-month extension of the Company’s existing NSF SBIR Phase 1 grant and increases the total program funding to $0.18M. This funding complements the $5.7M public offering funding previously announced in May 2015. Further, the program 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 within next generation 4G/LTE smartphones. Akoustis’ Bulk ONE™ filters originate from materials which exhibit superior acoustic performance when compared to the incumbent thin-film technologies deployed today.

About Akoustis

Akoustis™ (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. Akoustis’ “fabless” business model is capital efficient, leveraging existing manufacturing infrastructure in the semiconductor industry. Founded in 2014, 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.

Akoustis, Inc.
Dave Aichele, 1-704-997-5735, ext. 106
VP of Business Development
daichele@akoustis.com

Source: Akoustis, Inc.

Released July 9, 2015