Buys KTH spin-off for SEK 100 million
TranSiC, founded in 2005 by KTH Professor Mikael Östling, together with Martin Domeij, at the time researcher at KTH, and the entrepreneur Bo Hammarlund, has been bought by the global semiconductor giant Fairchild Semiconductor. The price tag for the Swedish company is a little more than SEK 100 million.
TranSiC designs and manufactures power transistors in silicon carbide, i.e. transistors operating at very high voltages and temperatures. TranSiC transistors are used for example in the cryogenic control systems for electric motors which will be fitted in the next generation of hybrid cars and wind turbines.
“It’s fantastic fun and really quite logical that Fairchild Semiconductor should buy TranSiC. A small company like TranSiC needs the big muscles of an American company to be able to develop the new technology at the right pace and with the right knowledge of the market. Fairchild Semiconductor - with its strong focus on power electronics - has of course the necessary production know-how and above all the right sales channels,” says Mikael Östling, Professor of Solid State Electronics at KTH and one of the founders of TranSiC.
Over the past decade, Fairchild Semiconductor has focussed on power and signal path components. As a result of the purchase of TranSiC AB, the company has become the first commercial major enterprise to develop and sell bipolar power transistors made of silicon carbide.
“Considering the previous market breakthroughs that Fairchild Semiconductor has made, it feels especially rewarding that they have bought TranSiC which also provides new and groundbreaking technology,” says Mikael Östling.
He adds that the fantastic research environment at KTH in Kista and the availability of the Electrum Laboratory have been very important elements for the successful development of TranSiC. KTH’s Electrum Laboratory is unique because you can combine academic basic research with commercial component production on a small scale.
In the beginning, TranSiC was supported financially by Vinnova and the Swedish Energy Agency and has had professional assistance in business development by KTH-sponsored Stockholm Innovation and Growth (STING).
For more information about TranSiC, contact the Managing Director Mats Reimark on 070-268 96 86 or mats.reimark@transic.com. For more information about the technology and research behind TranSiC’s success, contact Mikael Östling on 08-790 43 01 or ostling@kth.se.
Peter Larsson