Enovix Corporation, an advanced silicon battery company, and YBS International Berhad, a Malaysia-based investment holding company, announced the official signing ceremony for its new manufacturing facility on August 1.  YBS has interests in electronic manufacturing and assembly, high-precision engineering, and precision machining and stamping, among others.

Specifically, the signing ceremony will be held at the Hotel E & O in Penang. Executives of both companies and government officials will give the welcome addresses. They are Jackie Yong Chan Chea, CEO of YBS; Ajay Marathe, COO of Enovix; Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Ministry of MITI and Yab Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang.

Jackie Yong Chan Chea, said, “Enovix has an exciting battery technology. We believe Enovix will become a market leader and we look forward to supporting the company’s goals and sharing in its growth and success.”

Meanwhile, Ajay Marathe, said, “We are thrilled to announce this significant milestone in our journey to scale. In addition to working with YBS, we look forward to collaborating with MIDA. Also, to the Northern Corridor Economic Region and InvestPenang to include an investment incentive, which will support our long-term goals in Malaysia. Malaysia, especially the Penang region, is rich with semiconductor-trained engineers who have a manufacturing-excellence mindset. We’re pleased to advance our presence in the region to support our rapid growth.”

Activities Leading to Establishment of Fab2

Last March, Enovix signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with YBS. Specifically, the LOI contemplates that Enovix will locate Fab-2, its high-volume manufacturing facility, in an existing YBS building in Penang, Malaysia, at the Penang Science Park. Also, it contemplates that YBS will take a significant financial stake in the first manufacturing line at Fab-2, called “Gen2, Line 1.”

Jackie Yong, said, “After performing our due diligence on Enovix including their battery cell technology, manufacturability, and opportunity, we are confident the company has the capability to become a market leader. We look forward to supporting Enovix’s goals and sharing in its growth and success.”

Meanwhile, the establishment of Fab2 was unveiled through a Master Service Agreement (MSA) announced on July 26. The agreement secures US$70 million of non-dilutive funding to support Enovix’s Fab2 site and its first Gen2 high-volume manufacturing line.

As part of the MSA, YBS, under the direction of Enovix, will provide the building and capital for equipment and labor for Fab2 and Gen2 Autoline 1. Also, Enovix earlier announced that it established Enovix Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. In addition, Enovix hired more than 30 people in Malaysia including the two leaders announced in March.

“We’re thrilled to announce this significant milestone in our journey to scale,” said Dr. Raj Talluri, President and CEO of Enovix. Finalizing the agreement in a short amount of time is a great achievement and I’m very proud of the team. We’re all focused on establishing Fab2 and moving to high-volume manufacturing. This way, we can provide a superior product for our customers and enable a better user experience for consumers.”

“The Enovix Malaysia team is already making tremendous progress,” said Ajay Marathe, COO of Enovix. “They recently completed training at Fab1 in Fremont. Meanwhile, the next step is Factory Acceptance Testing in South Korea, followed by Site Acceptance Testing in Malaysia. I am extremely pleased we finalized our agreement with YBS and are on track to produce first samples from the Gen2 Autoline 1 in April 2024.”