Thursday, January 20, 2005

Spin there, done that


According to this document (PDF, 84 KB) on NVE Corp.'s Web site, Motorola is going to do its best not to use NVE's MRAM IP. (How's that for alphabet soup? Short explanation: Nanotech-enabled memory for your portable devices.)

But, those who read my NanoMarkets report on nanostorage last year already knew this would happen.

Here's what's on NVE's Web site:

    MOTOROLA MAY ATTEMPT TO HAVE MRAM MANUFACTURED BY FREESCALE FOR MOTOROLA UNDER OUR AGREEMENT WITH MOTOROLA, WHICH COULD BE UNDER LESS FAVORABLE TERMS FOR US THAN AN AGREEMENT WITH FREESCALE.

    Motorola recently indicated to us that it may attempt to have MRAMs manufactured by Freescale for Motorola under the so-called "have made" rights in our agreement with Motorola. We believe Motorola will likely have terminated this agreement and so relinquish its have-made rights at the end of 2005, as a result of having transferred its MRAM manufacturing capability to Freescale. We hope to, before then, negotiate a new agreement with Freescale, or an assignment of the Motorola agreement to Freescale, though only with amendments thereto, but there can be no assurances.

And here's an excerpt from my NanoMarkets report, with permission from my friend and mentor, NanoMarkets chief Lawrence Gasman.
    Best-case scenario: Motorola and Cypress use NVEC’s IP and a lot of stockholders are happy, and Daughton, along with NVEC CEO Dan Baker become the Gates and Ballmer of the nanoworld. Or, more likely, NVEC’s IP will be embedded slightly or not at all into either one of the companies’ final products and there will either be some long-lasting lawsuits or some quiet payments made. This has happened in the past between NVEC and Motorola and could happen again. NVEC will continue to survive off of its IP, and continue to gather military and other government contracts, like the total $1.24 million in DARPA grants it has received since 2002. Take away the shaky link with Motorola and Cypress, and that’s what NVEC is⎯another nanotech start-up that lives from grant to grant. More here
NanoBot Backgrounder
Didn't mean to dis The Boss
Storage space
'Terabyte territory'

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are a couple of errors- If you understand the "have made" clause, it means that MOT can and Will use NVE-IP by exercising the clause- it basically gives them a free ride with NVE IP inside til the end of 2005- FSL does NOT have a license to sell NVE-IP products to anyone else and their Standard Embedded product memory is MRAM-with NVE-IP inside so although MOT can use FSL to have them make some NVE-IP-MRAM for this year, no one else can use FSL's standalone embedded products with any NVE-IP MRAM memory inside-

you alos note in you blog that the total of "DARPA" funds is 1.24 MIL to date and that may be correct I have not added up the "DARPA" awards, However you fail to mention NVE's contracts From MDA NAVY ARMY Air Force-
1 STTR MDA MDA 2000-001 NVE CORP. MN 2 $699,998
2 SBIR AF AF 2001-034 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELE MN 2 $1,124,967
3 SBIR AF AF 2001-029 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELE MN 2 $749,945
4 SBIR DARPA DARPA2003-023 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 1 $98,993
5 SBIR MDA MDA 2003-056 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 1 $69,981
6 SBIR ARMY ARMY2001-144 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 1 $119,995
7 SBIR DARPA DARPA2001-019 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 1 $98,988
8 SBIR ARMY ARMY2002-111 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 1 $69,993
9 SBIR NAVY NAVY2002-055 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 1 $99,994
10 SBIR MDA MDA 2002-004 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 1 $70,000
Number of Records:19
SBIR AF AF 2002-152 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 1 $99,997
12 SBIR NAVY NAVY2002-055 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 2 $449,997
13 SBIR ARMY ARMY2001-144 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 2 $729,995
14 SBIR ARMY ARMY2002-111 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 2 $503,064
15 SBIR AF AF 2002-152 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 2 $749,982
16 SBIR DARPA DARPA2002-128 NVE CORP. (FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON MN 2 $387,072
17 SBIR AF AF 2001-029 NVE CORP.(FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON) MN 1 $97,780
18 SBIR AF AF 2001-034 NVE CORP.(FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON) MN 1 $99,115
19 SBIR AF AF 2001-015 NVE CORP.(FORMERLY NONVOLATILE ELECTRON) MN 1 $100,000


these are just a small list readily available-

Howard Lovy said...

Hi, thanks for contributing this information. I have much of it in my files, as well. Many of the grants you cite above are not related to MRAM or spintronics development. They do, however, show that NVE, like most other nanotech players, is living from government grant to government grant. If military money went away, so probably would NVE Corp.

There's nothing wrong with that. It's how these small companies stay alive until their ship comes in or they sink.

However, it is still not clear to me that the IP Freescale inherited from Motorola incorporates anything from NVEC. The product that was sampled last year included Motorola's toggling innovation. To me, this doesn't imply that Freescale has any intention of using NVEC's IP.

I could be wrong, of course, but my gut tells me that Motorola/Freescale/NVEC will all end up in court, and the company with the most cash and lawyers wins.

Also, Motorola has amassed a huge IP arsenal for MRAM, while NVEC has a relatively few patents. I just don't see Freescale/Motorola giving away that big a chunk of the store after investing so much in its own MRAM R&D, and producing such stars as Herb Goronkin, who resigned from NVE's board in 2002.

NVE's "foundational patents" can also be dismissed as inconsequential patents in light of subsequent IP, and Motorola has just danced circles around NVEC in that area.

Looking at it objectively (and no, I don't sell short, long, medium, tall or skinny in any of the companies mentioned here), I just don't see NVEC walking away with much at all except possibly a quiet bundle of cash as a consolation prize. That's how NVEC parted company with Honeywell, too.

Howard

Anonymous said...

Take away the shaky link with Motorola and Cypress, and that’s what NVEC is⎯another nanotech start-up that lives from grant to grant.<<

NVE Corporation Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2007 Results
Wednesday October 18, 4:05 pm ET
Product sales increase 87%; net income more than triples to $0.27 per diluted share

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NVE Corporation (Nasdaq: NVEC - News) today announced financial results for the quarter and six months ended September 30, 2006.

ADVERTISEMENT
Product sales for the quarter increased 87% over the prior-year quarter to $3.78 million from $2.02 million. Total revenue, consisting of product sales and contract research and development revenue, increased 44% to $4.40 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 from $3.05 million in the prior-year quarter. Net income for second quarter fiscal 2007 was $1.28 million, or $0.27 per diluted share compared to $363,968, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the prior-year quarter.

For the first six months of fiscal 2007, product sales increased 79% to $6.83 million from $3.81 million for the first six months of fiscal 2006. Total revenue increased 32% to $8.03 million for the first half of fiscal 2007 from $6.08 million for the prior-year period. Net income for the first half of fiscal 2007 was $2.18 million, or $0.45 per diluted share compared to $776,617, or $0.17 per diluted share, for the first half of fiscal 2006.

Net income for the quarter and six months ended September 30, 2006 included the effects of non-cash stock-based compensation due to the implementation of SFAS 123®. This expense, net of tax, amounted to $78,402, or $0.02 per diluted share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2007 and $80,971, or $0.02 per share, in the first six months of fiscal 2007. Net income for fiscal 2007 and 2006 also includes primarily non-cash provisions for income taxes recognized in accordance with SFAS 109.

"We are pleased with our financial results in the second quarter," said NVE President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel A. Baker, Ph.D. "Strong product sales drove record revenues and profits. NVE's gross profit margin increased to 67%, our eighth consecutive quarter of sequential increase, and our operating margin increased to 42%."

NVE is a leader in the practical commercialization of spintronics, a nanotechnology that many experts believe represents the next generation of microelectronics. NVE licenses its MRAM intellectual property and sells spintronic sensors and couplers to revolutionize data sensing and transmission.

I guess you missed this one.