General Information

BUSINESS PROFILE

XTPL operates in the nanotechnology market segment. The company is developing and commercialising its globally innovative platform technology of ultra-precise printing of nanomaterials, protected by international patent applications. The XTPL method is a breakthrough. This is because of a unique combination of several features: it is an additive method, which ensures significant time and material savings and allows the advantages of print – such as scalability, cost effectiveness, simplicity and speed – to be used in the production of advanced devices thanks to unprecedented precision and without a need to use electric field. Due to its platform character, this solution will find application in the broadly understood printed electronics industry.

At present, the company is focusing on commercialization of its technology in chosen application fields. The first one is displays – here XTPL in the first step intends to offer the technology for repairing open defects of conductive structures, which are, among others, responsible for dead pixels occurring in high resolution matrices of displays already at the production stage. Next, the company plans to provide this industry with solutions that will help achieve a significant increase in the resolution of a new class of displays and the technology allowing for the production of displays on flexible substrates.

The second potential application field for XTPL is the smart glass market, i.e. glass that changes its transparency depending on external conditions.

For this sector XTPL intends to develop a solution that will significantly shorten the time of this conversion, which will highly improve the usability of such products, and may also usher the industry into new, not yet supported market segments.

The third area, developed since the first quarter of 2020, is the semiconductor industry. The company conducts R&D works in the field of creating ultra-precise conductive connections for semiconductor components present in lighting devices with one of the world leaders of this market. The lighting industry has been moving towards increasing the use of light-emitting semiconductor materials that convert electricity into light for many years. They are used in LED and OLED lighting. XTPL can have a significant role to play in this regard.

In the long perspective, the company intends to develop its solution for subsequent market segments. XTPL technology may be implemented in the above mentioned semiconductor industry also as a sought-after alternative for photolithography and, for example, facilitate the fabrication of innovative anti-counterfeiting solutions, advanced PCBs, functional and effective biosensors and high-performance photovoltaic panels. The technological revolution in which the company is to play a vital role is about enabling the production of complex and complicated electronic devices using cost effective and scalable printing methods.

BUSINESS MODEL

XTPL is a supplier of advanced technology of ultra-precise printing of nanomaterials. It develops and commercializes the technology dedicated to a specific application field, using most optimal model:

Licensing

the company develops a technological solution dedicated to a particular application field, which is licensed to a partner who on its basis builds devices that allow the technology to be implemented in a given industry; in this case, the company generates revenue from license fees based on the sale of devices in which developed technology was implemented;

Strategic partnership

the company develops a technological solution dedicated to a particular application field and commercializes it in cooperation with a strategic partner with whom e.g. a joint venture agreement is signed; commercialization tasks are divided between the partners in accordance with their competencies and potential; in this case, the company participates in profits achieved through mutual cooperation.

The choice of the optimal business model depends on the specific application field where the company offers its solution.

At this stage, XTPL is in business talks with two groups of interested partners. The company’s direct potential clients are manufacturers of devices used for production in a particular market sector. These devices are bought and implemented on production lines at end customers – final producers of advanced electronics (e.g. displays). Both groups of entities are important for XTPL as the company needs to obtain the fullest information about the requirements that its technology must meet so it can be effectively integrated with the partners’ systems.

HISTORY

XTPL was founded in 2015 as a limited liability company (sp. z o.o). The founders sought to commercialize the groundbreaking technology of manufacturing ultra-thin conductive metallic lines.

2016

During the initial period of the Company’s activity, a laboratory with a unique infrastructure was set up. There, within five months of intensive research and development, the Company’s team achieved the ability to control the process of printing ultra-thin conductive lines which were several dozen times narrower than those available in the market at that time. This technological breakthrough allowed the Company to submit its first patent application in March 2016 for the XTPL printing method and the nanoink formulation.

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2017

On 21 February 2017, the Extraordinary General Meeting of XTPL adopted resolution No. 02/02.2017 to split the Company’s shares without decreasing its share capital, by converting the nominal value of a share to PLN 0.10.

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2018

In the first quarter of 2018, business development activities accelerated strongly as a proof-of-concept (PoC) project was created for the security printing sector and for quantum dots printing. In addition, an advanced PoC project was put together for the open defect repair and semiconductors sector.

On 16 April 2018, the Company’s Extraordinary General Meeting appointed Mr Wiesław Rozłucki, the former CEO and co-founder of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, as the Chairman of the XTPL Supervisory Board. Now he actively supports XTPL in its activities related to capital markets and broadly understood corporate governance.

In September 2018, Heidelberger Beteiligungsholding AG (daughter company of Deutsche Balaton AG Group) also decided to re-invest in XTPL. The fund took up the Company’s shares in a private placement. The capital raised (EUR 1.05 million) was to be used for further strategic strengthening of the process of commercialization of the Company’s solutions in the United States and development of its patent cloud.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, the first phase of an advanced PoC for a leading US manufacturer from the smart glass industry was completed. Achievement of the technical specification received means fulfillment of the pre-condition for arranging and conducting integration tests with the technology used by the potential client.

On 22 November, the CEO of XTPL Filip Granek wins the most prestigious award for an entrepreneur in Poland. He was awarded for his work on the disruptive technology that has a serious chance to change the world for the better.

In December 2018, the Issuer’s R&D team completed work on further patent applications, including further layers of the obtained IP in nanoprinting. The official registration of applications, which will also mark the moment of starting the international legal protection, took place a month later – in late January/ early February 2019. The patent applications ensure security for the Company and its disruptive technology, being one of the pillars of XTPL value. In the opinion of the Issuer’s Management Board, the patent applications may potentially have a positive impact on the ongoing and future commercialization talks. XTPL has registered nine international patent applications so far.

On 23 May 2018, XTPL was awarded for one of the most promising technologies among participants of the I-Zone (the innovation zone) as part of the Display Week in Los Angeles, one of the world’s most important conferences of display manufacturers. Other firms awarded during the event were such giants as Apple, LG Display or Sharp.

In June 2018, XTPL set up an international Advisory Board, whose role is to support the Company in its global expansion, including in the United States and Asia. The first member of the Advisory Board was Harold Hughes, a former CFO of Intel and CEO of Rambus, a veteran of the semiconductor industry and adviser to many technology companies from Silicon Valley.

Next, the Advisory Board was joined by Amir Nayyerhabibi, who has been developing hi-tech projects in Silicon Valley, especially in the area of IT and semiconductors, for more than 30 years. Currently, he is a partner with Benhamou Global Ventures from Silicon Valley, a fund investing in dozens of companies from the digital economy sector.

In the third quarter of 2018, the Issuer carried outs its technological development by implementing new printing substrates – smart glass and advanced optical surfaces, and by using new nanoparticles for printing: gold, carbon and copper-based.

In August 2018, the German fund ACATIS decided to re-invest in the Company’s shares. The EUR 1 million raised in this way were to finance the Company’s business development in the United States, especially in Silicon Valley.

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2019

On 25 January 2019, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) approved the Issuer’s share prospectus connected with XTPL’s application for admission and introduction to trading on the regulated market of a total of 1,695,220 shares – series A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J K, L and M.

On 31 January 2019, the Issuer acquired 100% stake in its newly formed subsidiary: XTPL Incorporated, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA. The executive board of the new company, includes, in addition to Filip Granek: Harold Hughes (former CFO of Intel and CEO of Rambus) and Amir Nayyerhabibi (partner at Benhamou Global Ventures). The international personnel of XTPL Inc. backs up the processes of securing the key IP and delivery of implementations in cooperation with industry giants. Operating directly in Silicon Valley, the entity also increases the possibility of attracting local talent in nanotechnology and business development.

On 14 February 2019, the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange adopted resolutions on the admission and introduction of the above XTPL shares to public trading on the WSE parallel market. The Company’s debut ceremony on the WSE main market was held on 20 February 2019. By changing the listing system, the Company has gained access to a wider base of institutional investors in addition to strengthening its credibility among existing and future business partners.

On 19 March 2019, German analytical company GBC published a report on the Issuer’s commercial potential. Using the discounted cash flow (DCF) approach, the team of German analysts estimated the company’s stock at PLN 230.80 and consequently issued a “buy” recommendation. GBC has extensive experience in the analysis of Western mid-caps, i.e. companies with capitalization up to EUR 500 million. The several hundred firms analyzed include a wide representation of companies from the high-tech sector.

10 April 2019 The Company took the podium of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship competition in Shenzhen (China) in the Advanced Manufacturing category. The competition consisted of two stages. The first stage took place in Berlin on 22 March 2019. The Issuer was among the companies that qualified to the second stage in China. The competition attracted high-quality designs and firms from around the world to help them develop the hi-tech industry in the Chinese market.

30 May 2019 Hiroshi Menjo, who has been developing technology companies in Japan and Silicon Valley for more than 30 years, joined the executive board of the Company’s subsidiary XTPL Inc. His main task was to accelerate commercialization of the Issuer’s solutions in Southeast Asia. Hiroshi Menjo has an impressive number of projects to his name, involving the transfer of technologies from the research and development phase to the industrial implementation phase. For several years now, he has been supporting the development of technology startups as a managing partner with the American-Japanese Wolf Capital Ventures fund from Menlo Park, California.

In June 2019, the Issuer further developed its unique technology and elaborated another formulation for an ink from the family of nanoinks dedicated to applications in the smart glass sector.

On 19 July, the Company completed subscription of its series S shares. The share issue generated proceeds of PLN 10.14 million for XTPL, and provided for a specified range of shares to be taken up through a private placement. Investors acquired more than 78,000 new shares, i.e. the maximum pool from the range of 68–78 thousand shares included in this share capital increase within the authorized capital. The issue price of one series S share was PLN 130 per share. The final range of the shares issued was wider than the Company originally expected. The proceeds have been used to promote the Company’s further development, especially in the Southeast Asian market, and to strengthen the patent cloud.

21 August 2019. Licensing was adopted as a method whereby XTPL will commercialize its technology in the display market for use in open defect repair. This decision was an outcome of the talks with partners interested in acquiring the Company’s technology, and analyzes confirming the advantages of such a model. In the Issuer’s opinion, licencing gives a possibility of using the existing potential of the future licensee to prepare the technology effectively for industrial implementation. Such work usually involves testing the solution in several cycles under production conditions. Quite importantly, in this model, it is the licensee that is responsible for all aspects related to the sale of the final product (logistics, distribution and customer support). In this case, the final product will be devices for the production of displays with modules for open defect repair based on XTPL’s unique technology.

The licensing model adopted by XTPL requires that appropriate preparations are made and that the subject of the license – intellectual property and unique know-how – is globally protected. For this reason, the Company is planning to gradually increase its patent cloud.

In November 2019, the Company announced the initiation of two key partnerships from the display market. On November 12, XTPL started cooperation with BOE by signing TEA (Technology Evaluation Agreement), launching the evaluation of the Company’s technology by a Chinese partner – the world leader in the production of modern displays. The initiated stage of cooperation was aimed at confirming the parameters of XTPL technology and defining the scope of modifications necessary to meet the technological need of BOE. According to the Chinese partner’s declarations, the success of this stage will allow to start business negotiations with XTPL aimed at signing a commercial contract.

On November 22, XTPL concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with HPK Inc., one of the major suppliers of defect repair devices for displays for one of the world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturer – LG. The conclusion of the agreement meant the commencement of a stage whose goal was to adapt the Company’s technology to the specific requirements of the partner’s production process (design in) and to launch the process of negotiating the business conditions of the future contract.

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2020

On January 21, 2020, XTPL and OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Gmbh signed an agreement initiating the evaluation of the Company’s technology for the use in creating of ultra-precise conductive connections for semiconductor components present in lighting devices. The German company that is a party to the agreement belongs to the global group OSRAM – one of three largest manufacturers of lighting equipment in the world. The purpose of the contract is to confirm the parameters of the technology developed and commercialized by XTPL and to evaluate the possibilities of implementing it in OSRAM production processes.

2015

Q IV

Functionality of the XTPL technology is confirmed in laboratory conditions

2016

Q I

The patent application is submitted

Q II

The first letters of intent are signed
XTPL is transformed into a joint-stock company

Q III

A new laboratory is opened on the premises of the Pracze Campus in Wrocław
A unique, multi-disciplinary team of scientists and technologists is formed

2017

March

Improving the line printing precision (below 100 nanometres)

April

Completion of the XTPL printer prototype

May

Presentation of the printer prototype at the IDTechExPrinted Electronics trade fair in Berlin and winning the prestigious Technical Development Manufacturing Award granted by the representatives of the printed electronics sector

June

Signature of the letter of intent with Wise Device Inc., the global leader of industrial microscopy automation development

July

Public offering of Series M shares resulting in the Issuer’s gross revenue of PLN 10,230,000
Participation in the public issue of series M shares of the German investment fund Acatis through the entity Universal-Investment GmbH

September

Debut in the Alternative Trading System on the NewConnect market
Entry to the shareholding structure of another investment fund from Germany Heidelberger Beteiligungsholding AG

November

Economic Award of the President of Poland at Kongres 590
Development of a new application area – repair of broken metallic connections in thin-layered electronic circuits

December

Announcement of plans for the transition to the main market of the WSE
Conclusion of a subsidy contract for a laboratory printer prototype demonstration project under the Regional Operational Program for the Lower Silesian Voivodship 2014-2020

2018

April

Appointment to the Supervisory Board of Wiesław Rozłucki – former president and co-founder of the Warsaw Stock Exchange

May

Award for one of the most promising technologies among the participants of I-Zone (innovation zone) being part of Display Week in Los Angeles

June

Establishment of an international Advisory Board – Harold Hughes became the first member

July

XTPL Advisory Board is joined by Amir Nayyerhabibi