tech:

taffy

Intel Inks $3.1Bn Equity Investment Deal With ASML

[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

Intel has entered into a series of agreements with ASML intended to accelerate the development of 450-millimeter (mm) wafer technology and extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography totaling approximately $4.1 billion. The objective is to shorten the schedule for deploying the lithography equipment supporting these technologies by as much as two years, resulting in cost savings and productivity improvements for semiconductor manufacturers.

Intel is participating in a multi-party development program that includes a cash contribution by Intel to fund relevant ASML research and development (R&D) efforts as well as equity investments in ASML. The first phase of this program consists of Intel committing to R&D funding of approximately $680 million to assist ASML in accelerating the development and delivery of 450-mm manufacturing tools, as well as an equity investment of approximately $2.1 billion for approximately 10 percent of ASML’s pre-transaction issued shares. Intel will record the R&D investment as a combination of R&D expense and pre-payments on future tool deliveries.

The second phase of the program is conditioned upon ASML shareholder approval. It includes an additional commitment by Intel of R&D funding of approximately $340 million in ASML focused on accelerating EUV, as well as an equity investment of approximately $1.0 billion for an additional 5 percent of ASML post-transaction issued shares.

Intel will then hold a total of 15 percent of ASML’s issued shares. The total equity investment will be  approximately $3.1 billion. As part of these agreements, Intel is also committing to advanced purchase orders for 450-mm and EUV development and production tools from ASML.

Both phases of the program are subject to standard closing conditions, including customary regulatory approvals. The companies expect both phases of the transaction to close after the shareholder vote in the third quarter.

ASML has stated its intention to sell up to a 25 percent aggregate stake in the company (on a post-transaction basis) to Intel and other semiconductor manufacturers in this program. Intel’s ownership stake in ASML will not exceed 15 percent of ASML’s post-transaction issued shares and will be subject to lock-up and voting restrictions.

Intel intends to fund its R&D and equity investments in ASML from cash on hand at its offshore subsidiaries.

Intel was involved in the formation of the first EUV consortium in 1997.
[Image Courtesy: ASML]

Just in

Tembo raises $14M

Cincinnati, Ohio-based Tembo, a Postgres managed service provider, has raised $14 million in a Series A funding round.

Raspberry Pi is now a public company — TC

Raspberry Pi priced its IPO on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning at £2.80 per share, valuing it at £542 million, or $690 million at today’s exchange rate, writes Romain Dillet. 

AlphaSense raises $650M

AlphaSense, a market intelligence and search platform, has raised $650 million in funding, co-led by Viking Global Investors and BDT & MSD Partners.

Elon Musk’s xAI raises $6B to take on OpenAI — VentureBeat

Confirming reports from April, the series B investment comes from the participation of multiple known venture capital firms and investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (A16z), Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Kingdom Holding, writes Shubham Sharma. 

Capgemini partners with DARPA to explore quantum computing for carbon capture

Capgemini Government Solutions has launched a new initiative with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to investigate quantum computing's potential in carbon capture.