Sondrel achieves tapeout in automotive chip contract

Chip supplier Sondrel announced the successful completion of a significant milestone in its material turnkey ASIC engagement for a tier-one OEM automotive customer on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm said it had achieved tapeout, marking the culmination of the design phase of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) project.

Tapeout involves the transfer of all design data to the silicon foundry responsible for manufacturing the ASIC, initiating the creation of photomasks by the foundry, which are essential for producing prototype silicon wafers.

Those wafers undergo packaging and testing before being delivered to the customer for prototype assessment.

Having accomplished the tapeout milestone, Sondrel said it would now advance to the new product introduction and prototyping phases of the turnkey supply services provided to the customer.

“The successful completion of this milestone demonstrates our commitment to our customer, and the close collaboration between the teams,” said interim chief executive officer David Mitchard.

“Since the beginning of the year we have made good progress on this important ASIC project with the automotive tier-one supplier.

“'Our focus on end markets that are aligned with strong and enduring global technology megatrends means that we have a good pipeline of design opportunities for 2024.”

At 0920 BST, shares in Sondrel Holdings were down 3.62% at 4p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.