Albuquerque-based broadband startup OptiPulse is eyeing Arizona for a new semiconductor production facility, setting the stage for further product development in New Mexico.
OptiPulse recently went through a board shakeup and is now changing course. The company is currently negotiating a $90 million term sheet in addition to the semiconductor plant in Tempe, Arizona, CEO John Joseph told Business First. As part of the board switch, which took place in October, OptiPulse co-founder and former COO Mathis Shinnick left the company, among other people.
The company, founded in 2015, is developing tech for broadband distribution.
"This opportunity, there is a perfect facility that's already set up for this exact four-inch wafer stuff," Joseph said.
The term sheet deal is expected to close in about two weeks, and the semiconductor plant would be purchased by the same investor as part of a separate deal, Joseph confirmed.
OptiPulse’s device uses optics and a special type of semiconductor chip to beam infrared light in order to deliver connectivity. The technology is designed to extend the range of existing fiber networks, which can be blocked by natural or manmade features like rivers and highways.
The company also wants to establish a sister facility in Albuquerque, where the semiconductors would be brought for product development and buildout. Joseph also envisions a collaborative effort between private industry, academia and publicly-funded R&D institutions like Sandia National Laboratories to develop and deploy the company's tech.
"Chips, after they are produced in Tempe, come back here in order to be put into systems," he said. "The goal of the [collaboration] is to design [and] produce a most inexpensive way to connect people with the highest-performing bandwidth and the lowest cost ... to deploy."
OptiPulse has raised more than $4.5 million to date and employs about 10 people, according to Joseph. The company has received eight patents with more pending, he said.
