Introduction
Computers and other electronic systems often encounter “signal noise” — unwanted interference that weakens a communications signal. Signal noise can make electronics more unstable and less energy-efficient.
TransSiP aims to solve this problem with its patented chipset, TransSiP PI. Its noise filtering capabilities make batteries last longer, speed up processing power, and allow for more accurate data. KingsCrowd interviewed TransSiP founder Desmond Wong to learn more about how the company acts as an accelerator to trillions of chips in the semiconductor industry.
Note: This interview was conducted over phone and email. It has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
In your own words, how would you describe your company?
TransSiP has built a global reputation in the semiconductor and electronics industry for its patented noise reduction technology: TransSiP PI. The business model has been market-tested, with more than 2 million chips sold worldwide without needing money from venture capital. The powerful TransSiP PI chips act as hardware steroids, enabling unparalleled performance gains to tech devices while reducing energy consumption. Our unwavering mission is to unlock the full potential of the billions of tech devices but not to compete with them. We achieve this by collaborating with other industry leaders and tapping into their established market channels — for instance, u-blox, Tektronix, Rakon, Matrix Industries, and other top EMS and semiconductor corporations. Furthermore, we offer an equity crowdfunding program to democratize the industry further, allowing everyone to participate in the semiconductor decade and reap the rewards.
What inspired you to take the leap and start this company?
In 2014, I founded TransSiP as a consultant firm. First, I partnered with Dai Nippon Printing, one of the top three photomask suppliers for companies like Intel, to try innovative “More-than-Moore” technology — referred to by us as “3D-SiP” — which is now a widely accepted technology throughout the industry. Then a semiconductor company struggling with a noise issue with their wireless Internet of Things (IoT) chip came to me. I took on the challenge head-on and uncovered something that had not been known — switching noise jitter (SNJ), which took our journey in an entirely different direction. This kind of noise is “noise on noise” that hampers nearly all digital devices’ performance and causes energy waste. The groundbreaking discovery earned me one of the three nationwide nominated Innovator of the Year Awards by UBM Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE). So I seized the opportunity and capitalized on the discovery that I am convinced holds immense promise for the digital future. Ultimately, in 2019, TransSiP successfully transformed into a semiconductor and integrated circuits company.
Who is on your team and how did you come together?
During my joint research and development with Dai Nippon Printing, which involved the use of metamaterials that I invented, I came across a LinkedIn post authored by Bill Burr. He delved into the underlying technology that I utilized in collaboration with Dai Nippon Printing. Bill, a veteran with a prestigious background as the former president of the European Institute for Printed Circuits and vice chairman of the European Federation for Interconnection and Packaging, as well as a former CTO of a $100 million-dollar business, and I worked together to promote the innovative concept of 3D-SiP-metamaterials to the semiconductor industry. Later, Nick Pearne, an accomplished expert in microelectronics consulting with patent law knowledge, and Bill’s business partner, joined us to take charge of marketing and intellectual property. Finally, after being convinced that TransSiP holds a promising future, the four of us (including Mabel Wong, a veteran with luxury goods and entrepreneur experience), with a collective experience of more than 140 years, formed the board of directors in 2020. We proudly brought the TransSiP chips business to life and continue to drive its success.
How can your company avoid the traditional challenges of the semiconductor industry?
The semiconductor industry, a $600 billion market, is a highly competitive and dynamic sector that is rapidly growing. Companies strive to introduce new features in their chips (integrated circuits, or ICs) in a market where replacements are common. Success for one means a loss for another. In contrast, TransSiP does not engage in competition with them. Instead, the powerful TransSiP PI chips function as hardware steroids, resulting in a significant boost in performance while reducing energy consumption across the billions of chips for numerous applications. TransSiP PI is analogous to Dolby and Gore-Tex. We work alongside semiconductor companies to give our customers’ products a competitive edge, boost sales, and enhance user experience. TransSiP PI can benefit all semiconductor companies if adopted in their products. Recently, we joined forces with a highly regarded semiconductor company based in Japan, utilizing their market channels to accelerate the expansion of the TransSiP PI market.
How do you intend to use the money you raise this round to scale the business?
We plan to utilize the funds to maximize the four developments we’ve consistently emphasized to our investors. These include…
- Becoming a pivotal solution for 5G radio design
- Partnering with semiconductor vendors to broaden the implementation of TransSiP PI by electronics enterprises
- Advancing the growth of industrial applications
- Introducing TransSiP PI 2.0 to accelerate our market expansion.
We have already made progress in each of these areas. Therefore, the additional funds allow us to expand each of these four developments to benefit our product development, sales organization, and manufacturing capabilities. Furthermore, we are excited to announce that TransSiP has been accepted by Microsoft’s Founders Hub, which includes $25,000 credits in Azure and $2,500 in OpenAI credits. We aim to use these funds wisely and thoughtfully to enhance our customers’ experience by improving sales and technical support.
What is your growth strategy?
We have a dual approach to our growth strategy. The first one is organic expansion, which entails teaming up with industry leaders to increase the use of TransSiP PI in various industrial applications. Our current focus is on 5G radio, security systems, energy harvesting, and wireless IoT. Additionally, we are developing TransSiP PI 2.0, which we expect will significantly propel our growth. However, we must keep this development under wraps for now. The second approach is inorganic growth, which involves partnering with other semiconductor vendors and leveraging their established sales channels to bring TransSiP PI to electronics enterprises.
As you think about the business five to 10 years down the road, what do you see exit opportunities looking like? Have you set any future goals for the company?
We are restricted from making predictions about exits. However, we are convinced that TransSiP PI is timeless and boundless, analogous to Dolby and Gore-Tex. Our ultimate goal is to revolutionize the digital future, and we aim to do so by establishing a new market that can stand on its own and will transform the semiconductor and electronics industries. Therefore, we are committed to expanding TransSiP PI technology to its full potential and allowing us to follow the rule of thumb in exit strategy, whether it is a lucrative exit through going public, merging with a special purpose acquisition company, or being acquired by another chip company. This first round of raising puts our investors at the very beginning of it all.
We look forward to seeing where Desmond and his team take the company. TransSiP is currently raising on StartEngine.
