Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a leader in silicon carbide (SiC) power products and gallium nitride (GaN) radio frequency (RF) devices, today announced that Wolfspeed is the new name for the Power and RF division of Cree. The company announced in May that it would separate the business into a standalone company.“Cree’s pioneering technology and resulting broad patent portfolio has significantly advanced performance in LED and LED Lighting products. Cree is pleased to enter into this LED chip license agreement with Epistar, a leading chip innovator and manufacturer of LEDs used by packagers and lighting companies,” said Chuck Swoboda, Cree Chairman and CEO. “This agreement underscores both companies’ commitment to accelerating the adoption of LED lighting while respecting the value and importance of international intellectual property laws.”
Founded upon the mission to liberate power and wireless systems from the limitations of silicon, Wolfspeed enters the marketplace as a well-established, entrepreneurial growth company with a focused team, a profitable business and more than 28 years of industry-leading wide bandgap semiconductor technology and experience.
The new name combines important elements of Cree’s culture and expertise and allows the Power and RF division to build brand equity while operating as a separate business. As a Cree Company, Wolfspeed will leverage Cree’s industry-leading brand, global footprint, scale and expertise to ensure a smooth transition for customers.
Wolfspeed acknowledges Cree’s inception at North Carolina State University and invokes the values that are integral to Cree, including intelligence, teamwork, endurance and the relentless pursuit of innovation. The name also highlights speed, which is both a differentiating attribute of Cree’s technologies and a promise to its customers and partners, who can expect the new company to set an industry standard for innovation, agility and responsiveness.
“Today, Wolfspeed is providing our customers and our team with a first look at our new company’s name, brand identity and purpose in advance of our IPO, which we plan to execute during fiscal year 2016,” said Frank Plastina, chief executive officer, Wolfspeed. “We’re building something new on the firm foundation that is Cree,” Plastina added, “and we want to share our vision, plans and enthusiasm with all of our stakeholders as we move seamlessly through the transition.”
As the only player in the industry with a fully commercialized, broad portfolio of the most field-tested SiC and GaN power and wireless technologies and products on the market, Wolfspeed™ will power its customers’ innovations, enabling higher power density, higher switching frequencies and reduced system size and weight. These advantages lead to smaller systems, lower system costs and improved performance, and will ultimately lead to more powerful applications in the transportation, industrial and electronics, energy, and communications markets, helping Wolfspeed achieve its vision of becoming the world’s leading wide bandgap semiconductor electronics company.
About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio frequency (RF) applications.
Cree’s product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree® products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, power suppliers and solar inverters.
Please refer to www.cree.com for additional product and company information.
About Wolfspeed
Wolfspeed, A Cree Company, is liberating power and wireless systems from the limitations of silicon by leading the innovation and commercialization of next-generation systems based on silicon carbide and gallium nitride.
Wolfspeed’s wide bandgap semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications deliver new levels of performance through increased efficiency, higher switching frequency and reduced system size and weight for the transportation, industrial and electronics, energy and communications markets.
Please refer to www.wolfspeed.com for additional product and company information.
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