MOBIX LABS INC

Company Overview

Based in Irvine, California, Mobix Labs designs, develops and sells components and systems for advanced wireless and wired connectivity, radio frequency (“RF”), switching and electromagnetic interference (“EMI”) filtering technologies. Our solutions are used in the consumer commercial, industrial, automotive, medical, aerospace, defense and other markets. To enhance our product portfolio, we also intend to pursue acquisitions of companies with existing revenue which can be scaled, and which possess technologies that accelerate the speed, accessibility, and efficiency of disruptive or more efficient communications solutions, and which will also allow us to expand into strategically aligned industries. Our wireless systems solutions include products for advanced RF and millimeter wave (“mmWave”) 5G communications, mmWave imaging, software defined radio and custom RF integrated circuits (“ICs”) targeting the commercial, industrial, and defense and aerospace sectors. Our interconnect products, including EMI filter inserts and filtered and non-filtered connectors, are designed for and are currently used in aerospace, military, defense and medical applications. Our True Xero active optical cables (“AOCs”) are designed to meet customer needs for high-quality active optical cable solutions at an affordable price. These innovative technologies are designed for large and rapidly growing markets where there is increasing demand for higher performance communication and filtering systems which utilize an expanding mix of both wireless and connectivity technologies.

On December 21, 2023, we consummated the merger pursuant to the business combination agreement, dated November 15, 2022 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified, the “Business Combination Agreement”), by and among Chavant Capital Acquisition Corp. (“Chavant”), CLAY Merger Sub II, Inc., a Delaware corporation and newly formed, wholly-owned direct subsidiary of Chavant (“Merger Sub”), and Mobix Labs, Inc. (“Legacy Mobix”), a Delaware corporation, pursuant to which, among other things, Merger Sub merged with and into Legacy Mobix, with Legacy Mobix surviving the merger as a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of Chavant (together with the other transactions related thereto, the “Merger”). In connection with the consummation of the Merger (the “Closing”), Chavant changed its name from “Chavant Capital Acquisition Corp.” to “Mobix Labs, Inc.” (the “Company”) and Legacy Mobix changed its name from “Mobix Labs, Inc.” to “Mobix Labs Operations, Inc.”

Throughout this report, unless otherwise noted or otherwise suggested by context, all references to “we,” “us” or “our” refer to Legacy Mobix prior to the consummation of the Merger, and to the Company and its subsidiaries after the consummation of the Merger.

We were founded with the goal of simplifying the development and maximizing the performance of wireless mmWave 5G products by designing and developing high performance, cost-effective and ultra-compact semiconductor components and solutions used for signal processing applications in wireless products. Since our inception, our corporate strategy has evolved to encompass the pursuit of acquisitions in diverse industry sectors, including aerospace, military, defense, medical and high reliability (“HiRel”) technology, as part of our commitment to enhancing communication services. We have developed and/or acquired an extensive intellectual property (“IP”) portfolio comprised of patents and trade secrets that are critical to commercializing our communication products and communications technologies. In leveraging our proprietary technology, we aim to scale the growth of revenue for our products by serving large and rapidly growing markets where we believe there are increasing demands for higher performance communication technologies, including both wireless and wired connectivity systems. We are actively pursuing customer engagements with manufacturers of wireless communications, aerospace, military, defense, medical and HiRel products.

In 2021, we completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets including intellectual property of Cosemi, an Irvine, California-based global supplier of high-speed connectivity solutions. The acquired products and intellectual property included a broad range of AOCs and optical engines that deliver optimal connectivity to a wide range of applications—including home entertainment, gaming, augmented reality and virtual reality, video conferencing, medical, mobile devices and monitors—and built the foundation for our current connectivity business. We believe the patented cable technology and AOC optical chip solutions from Cosemi along with our innovative wireless semiconductor technologies provide more opportunities in the wireless C-Band and mmWave 5G market as the need for faster, more reliable data transmission becomes ever more apparent, whether it is for the data center, infrastructure, home entertainment or consumer electronics market.

On December 18, 2023, we completed the acquisition of EMI Solutions, Inc. (“EMI Solutions”) when we acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of EMI Solutions. EMI Solutions is a manufacturer of interconnect products, including electromagnetic interference filtering products for aerospace, military, defense and medical applications. We believe the acquisition of EMI Solutions complements our existing product offerings, expanded our customer base and allows us to deliver solutions that address a wider variety of applications and markets. Consideration for the acquisition of EMI Solutions consisted of 964,912 shares of Legacy Mobix common stock and $2,200 in cash. We valued the common stock at $8,856, based on the fair value of the Legacy Mobix common stock at the time of the acquisition. Additional details of our accounting for our acquisition of EMI Solutions are included in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included herein.

On May 21, 2024, we completed the acquisition of RaGE Systems, Inc. (“RaGE Systems”). RaGE Systems designs, develops and manufactures wireless systems solutions, including products for 5G communications, mmWave imaging, and software defined radio targeting the commercial, industrial, and defense and aerospace sectors. We believe the acquisition of RaGE Systems expands our expertise in wireless communications and will allow us to deliver solutions that address a wider variety of applications and markets.

Aggregate consideration for the acquisition of RaGE Systems consisted of 3,214,045 shares of our Class A Common Stock (“Class A Common Stock”), having a fair value of $7,682 at the closing date, and $2,000 in cash. We also entered into employment agreements with each of the RaGE Systems stockholders. The RaGE Systems stockholders will also be entitled to receive possible earn-out payments of up to $8,000 over eight fiscal quarters, payable in a combination of cash and shares of our Class A Common Stock, based upon the satisfaction of certain financial metrics and continued employment with us. The RaGE Systems business combination agreement also provides the RaGE Systems stockholders with “piggy-back” registration rights, subject to certain requirements and customary conditions.

Our leadership team is comprised of industry veterans with prior experience at premier semiconductor and connectivity companies, including Microsemi Corporation (which was acquired by Microchip Technology Inc.), Skyworks Solutions, Inc., Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (which was acquired by Analog Devices Inc.), Qorvo, Inc., STMicroelectronics N.V., MaxLinear, Inc., Qualcomm Incorporated, Macom Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. and Texas Instruments Incorporated, and our leadership team has significant experience and insight into growing advanced technology companies and executing strategic acquisitions to accelerate growth. Our engineering team is highly skilled in radio frequency, analog and mixed-signal technologies and has prior experience spearheading development of RF solutions that are widely used in existing wireless systems and devices.

Industry Overview

Wireless Systems Solutions — Our wireless systems solutions address several growth markets in the electronics industry—communications, sensing and detection and microelectronics. We expect these markets will continue to expand, driven by a number of factors.

Interconnect Products — Our interconnect products address the global EMI filter market which we believe is experiencing significant growth due to the increasing demand for noise reduction in electronic devices. The growing complexity of electronic systems and the proliferation of communication technologies are driving the market growth.

Our EMI filtering devices are designed to reduce electromagnetic interference and allow for effective functioning of electronic communication systems. We believe the increasing complexity of aerospace and defense systems will drive greater demand for electromagnetic interference filters in the military and aerospace sectors. The increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles and other advanced technology solutions has also fueled market growth.

Our high-reliability EMI filters are designed to consistently meet or exceed performance requirements and are vitally important to any industry with a high cost of failure. For example, our military, aerospace, and healthcare customers utilize our products for the accurate transmission and reception of signals required to ensure soldier, aircraft and patient safety or achieve mission success. Currently, our EMI filtering products are widely used in various applications and industries, including aerospace, military, defense and healthcare.

Connectivity— The demand for high bandwidth and low latency connections is expected to extend from wireless to wired connections for many current and next generation applications. Many professional audio/video (“Pro A/V”) systems, such as video conferencing, are capitalizing on the advantages of AOC connections to provide a high bandwidth, uncompressed high-definition signal with low latency over greater distances. We believe the push to include 5G connectivity in the Pro A/V and other markets of mission-critical applications, such as for autonomous vehicles and remote medicine, has already begun and will be a significant opportunity.

Market Opportunity

As a global provider of a diverse portfolio of advanced capability products, we believe that we are well positioned to capitalize upon the strong growth trends within the consumer commercial, industrial, automotive, medical, aerospace and defense markets worldwide. We believe our technology, products, and acquisition strategy will serve as strong bases for growth in the markets we currently serve as well as enable us to penetrate new markets globally. We believe our ability to develop and produce market-leading products and services coupled with our deep knowledge of our customers and end markets will enable us to expand our domestic and international market share and continue to offer our customers high-value solutions.

*Consumer Commercial –*Customer premise equipment requires the high bandwidth and low latency capabilities of 5G technology. This has created opportunities in existing and emerging markets beyond the traditional mobile handset and consumer electronics markets being served by 4G LTE. Data intensive applications from mobile high definition 4K and 8K streaming to wireless AR/VR are expected to drive the demand for high-performance, compact and cost-effective solutions that enable next generation connectivity, creating opportunities for the application of our wireless solutions.

Industrial— Securing sensitive areas such as airports, ports of entry, government offices and data centers as well as other public spaces is a major growth area due to the lack of system level solutions and companies with the capabilities to service these markets. We believe this presents an opportunity for us and our capabilities in the design, testing and manufacturing of multi-band, multi-spectral systems integrated with data processing and AI with machine leaning. We believe our unique position supplying the largest systems integrator of these types of solutions domestically offers us an opportunity to develop new capabilities and enter new markets.

We expect that carriers will need to deploy dense networks of mmWave 5G small cells and repeaters in dense urban applications in order to maintain coverage and quality of service. In rural applications, the emphasis is on coverage and efficiency of the infrastructure in energy constrained deployments. We believe these factors present significant opportunities for us. Each small cell and/or repeater will require multiple chips to meet the necessary output power and coverage requirements. Rural cells will require energy efficient designs which utilize AI to meet capacity and coverage while minimizing power consumption. We believe our design capabilities, IP, and products position us to be a strong supplier at both ends of the communications infrastructure market.

Satellite Communications — With the proliferation of satellite enabled devices there is an industry push to converge broadband low earth orbit satellite communications (“LEO SATCOM”) with terrestrial 5G and other technologies. LEO SATCOM applications can provide lower latency and greater global coverage compared to geosynchronous satellite applications. On the ground terminal side, having a broadband satellite connection as a backup will allow many devices from handsets and laptops to connected cars to have more stable connections. As the world becomes more and more connected, we believe our True5G mmWave 5G ICs (currently in development) and LEO SATCOM connectivity will be an attractive solution for keeping consumers connected anywhere in the world.

Automotive — We expect that emerging mission-critical applications will rely on the low latency capabilities of wireless mmWave 5G technology. For example, self-driving, autonomous vehicles require a reliable, high-bandwidth, high-speed signal with the lowest latency possible to enable communication with other vehicles and networks and decision-making in real time. We expect the universal frequency coverage of our True5G ICs will allow automotive system suppliers to develop a single SKU solution that can be installed on any car worldwide. We seek to offer the ability to integrate 5G connectivity to existing systems through working with partners and system integrators for the automotive market. AOC connections are also being explored to provide high-speed, high-bandwidth and electromagnetic interference-free connectivity with low latency and much lighter weight when compared to existing copper cables.

Medical — Ultra-low latency connections in the medical industry are expected ultimately to allow doctors and surgeons to operate and treat patients remotely in true real time without any noticeable lag. Our 5G mmWave ICs are designed to enable these broadband connections with the low latency. We see opportunities to use our AOCs to connect surgical robots and cameras to remote monitors. AOC technology allows signals to be transferred from the camera to the monitor with a fully uncompressed signal with low latency and be galvanically isolated (i.e., free from electromagnetic interference). Moreover, sensing and detection solutions for medical applications, which are less invasive for patients and more cost effective for providers, are in increasing demand. RF, mmWave, IR and other sensor types can be combined through microelectronics with AI and machine learning to detect and identify potential areas in and on the body for more detailed examination. We believe our knowledge, IP and industry partnerships can help us leverage new designs and products in this market area.

Aerospace and Defense— We offer a variety of products that support the needs of end-user customers in the aerospace and defense and HiRel markets, including our wireless systems solutions and interconnect products. Key end customers, including the U.S. military, have expressed a need for high-speed, reliable and secure communications links for various applications, including the “Connected Soldier” and “Connected Battlefield” in the Internet of Military Things, which includes sensing and computing devices worn by soldiers, embedded in combat suits and helmets. High bandwidth connectivity utilized in a private network is increasingly expected to allow the military to track, monitor and manage assets in the field in real time, enhancing market demand for high-performance, reliable and cost-effective solutions, which our products are designed to be.

Products

Wireless Systems Solutions — Our wireless systems solutions products and services address three key markets—communications, sensing and detection, and microelectronics.

Interconnect Products — Our interconnect products consist of EMI filter inserts and filtered and non-filtered connectors. EMI filters are crucial components utilized in various electronic systems to mitigate EMI and ensure the integrity and reliability of signal transmission. These filters are designed to selectively attenuate or block unwanted electromagnetic noise while allowing desired signals to pass through unaffected. Our interconnect products are deployed in aerospace, military, defense, medical and healthcare products, and play a pivotal role in maintaining signal clarity, reducing signal distortion, and safeguarding against potential disruptions caused by external electromagnetic sources. By incorporating our interconnect products into electronic circuitry, our customers enhance the performance, efficiency, and overall functionality of their products, thereby meeting stringent regulatory standards and ensuring optimal operational reliability in diverse applications.

Active Optical Cables — We provide active optical cables that offer the ability to extend high bandwidth signals with ultra-low latency from the wireless portion of a system to the wired portion. Our True Xero AOCs are designed to deliver fiber optic connectivity at an affordable price for a wide range of applications, including 5G infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, Pro A/V, AR/VR and remote medical systems, among others.

Competitive Strengths

Company Strategy

Our connectivity products are currently targeted at the North American Pro A/V and medical robotic surgery markets, with opportunities for expansion into other markets. We believe the global distribution and sales channels we have established provide additional opportunities to address several new markets from data centers to emerging 5G applications worldwide.

Manufacturing and Operations

We manufacture our products either at our own facilities or obtain manufacturing services from contract manufacturers. We currently manufacture a substantial portion of our products at our own facilities. This is intended to allow us to efficiently manage both our supply competitiveness and manufacturing utilization in order to minimize the risk associated with market fluctuations and maximize cash flow. Our internal manufacturing capabilities are focused on our interconnect products and wireless systems solutions. Due the application of our interconnect products in national security and defense applications, our interconnect products must be manufactured in the United States, with limited exceptions.

For our wireless mmWave 5G ICs currently in development, we outsource wafer fabrication to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (“TSMC”). We believe the manufacturing process used by TSMC is available from other wafer fabrication providers. However, given TSMC’s manufacturing capacity, we do not expect to need to engage any other wafer fabrication provider for our wireless mmWave 5G ICs. We believe that the raw materials, parts and supplies used in wafer fabrication are generally available at present and will remain available in the foreseeable future. Semiconductor wafers are usually shipped to third-party contractors for device assembly and packaging, where the wafers are cut into individual die, packaged and tested before final shipment to customers. We will also rely on third parties for device assembly and packaging services.

Sales and Marketing

We sell our products and services directly to original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) or original design manufacturers (“ODMs”) and contract manufacturers through our global sales force. Our go-to-market strategy provides comprehensive customer coverage. We seek to collaborate with customers through the technology selection and design processes to gain design wins. We are customer and standard agnostic, allowing our solutions to be used globally and across multiple platforms and customers. We target innovative product suppliers and focus on communications technology used in mission critical and HiRel applications.

We often work with customers that have a leading market share in a given application or solution. Given military, aerospace and healthcare product lifecycles, our products may remain in production with a customer for more than seven years with a single design.

Wireless Systems Solutions — We strive to implement our go-to-market strategy, which is intended to provide comprehensive customer coverage through semiconductor component distributors and independent sales representative organizations. We currently have two direct sales representatives. We also maintain a network of distributors and independent sales representative organizations, primarily in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. As is customary in the semiconductor industry, our distributors and independent sales representative organizations may also market other products that compete with ours.

The sales process of semiconductor components and solutions typically commences with identifying and qualifying prospective customers and programs. Component suppliers like Mobix Labs need to collaborate with the prospective customers to work through the design funnel until production of the customers’ products. During this process, component suppliers often provide technical support through the independent sales representative organizations that are concurrently providing pre-sales, post-sales and account management services to bring the customers’ products to market in a timely manner.

We have engaged with several top tier OEMs and ODMs that develop 5G wireless applications for various industries, including communication infrastructure and automotive. The independent sales representative organizations we work with provide lead generation, pre-sales support and customer service to our mutual customers. They also work closely with us throughout the process of bringing our customers’ products to market. The independent sales representative organizations we work with have deep experience in creating market awareness, building a strong design pipeline and cultivating ongoing customer relationships to drive sales growth for wireless products. Our distributor partners can also provide product fulfillment and global supply chain support for our customers.

Connectivity — For our connectivity business, we are engaged directly with our customers, who are often suppliers and distributors in the Pro-AV (professional audio-visual) and medical markets. We provide standard and custom solutions to these customers that are marketed under their brand names.

Customers

Our primary customers are organizations that sell product solutions for aerospace, military, defense, healthcare, and professional audio video applications. We have also engaged with several OEMs and ODMs in an effort to secure them as customers for our mmWave 5G ICs when the products are available for sale. If they do purchase our mmWave 5G ICs, we expect them to purchase these products on a purchase order basis when we complete development and commence sales, which is customary in the semiconductor industry.

From the commencement of our operations and through the year ended September 30, 2023, we generated substantially all of our revenues from the sale of our connectivity products. During the year ended September 30, 2024, our acquisitions of EMI Solutions and RaGE Systems significantly diversified our product groups and our customer base. For the year ended September 30, 2024, sales to Leidos Holdings, Inc. accounted for approximately 40% of our net revenues and no other customer accounted for 10% or more of our net revenues.

Competition

Wireless Systems Solutions — The 5G market presents a significant opportunity for many existing and emerging semiconductor companies. Large companies such as Qualcomm Incorporated, NXP Semiconductors, N.V., Qorvo, Inc., Skyworks Solutions, Inc., and Analog Devices Inc. have all offered products to address the RF and mixed-signal portion of 5G radios for connected devices. There are also a number of smaller companies looking to capitalize on the 5G market as well. We typically design our sensing and detection solutions under contracts and we primarily compete with our customers’ internal resources for design activity and with external contract manufacturers for the manufacture of products or equipment.

Interconnect Products — Multiple companies vie to provide effective solutions for mitigating electromagnetic interference. Principal companies with whom we compete include Amphenol Corporation, Glenair, Inc., ITT Inc., and TE Connectivity Corporation. However, we believe that only a limited number of companies, including us, are approved vendors for products incorporated into military, defense, aerospace, and healthcare solutions.

Connectivity — There are many companies offering different connectivity solutions, including AOCs, copper passive cables, copper active cables, HDBaseT or pure fiber optic cables. We believe that AOCs offer advantages, including longer distances, a single cable, plug and play capability and a thin, flexible and lightweight design. The majority of competing suppliers of AOCs are based in China and offer solutions that we believe are often perceived in the market as being of lower quality and compete primarily on price.

Many of our competitors have greater financial, manufacturing, technical, sales and marketing resources to develop and market products that compete with our products. Some of our competitors may also have more advantageous supply or development relationships with our current and potential customers or suppliers.

Research and Development

At our core, we are a technology innovation company. We have invested a significant amount of time and expense into the design and development of our wireless mmWave 5G technology. We view our technology, whether internally developed or obtained by way of an acquisition of a business, as a competitive advantage. We devote substantial resources to acquire and develop technology to be incorporated within our products. We have committed, and plan to continue to commit, significant resources to technology and product innovation and development.

Intellectual Property

A key strength of business is our intellectual property portfolio and engineering experience, both of which guide product development activities and our approach to maintaining, protecting and enforcing our intellectual property. We rely on our proprietary technologies, trade secrets and know-how to give us a competitive advantage. We also have a number of intellectual property registrations (including issued patents and trademark registrations), but we do not rely on any particular patent or patents for our success and have instead relied on our know-how and trade secrets.

Our future success and competitive position depend in part upon our ability to obtain and maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property and proprietary information. We rely primarily on patent, trademark, trade secret and similar laws, as well as nondisclosure and confidentiality, agreements, international treaties and other methods, to protect our intellectual property and proprietary information. In order to maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property and proprietary information, we may be required to litigate or arbitrate to enforce our contract and intellectual property rights or to determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights of others.

Due to the competition in the industry in which we operate, there is frequent litigation related to allegations of infringement, misappropriation or other violations of intellectual property rights. From time to time we may receive inquiries from third parties related to their intellectual property rights and may become subject to litigation matters or disputes related to claims that we have infringed, misappropriated or violated their intellectual property rights, particularly as we expand our presence in the market and face increasing competition.

Government Regulations

We are subject to import/export controls, tariffs and other trade-related regulations and restrictions in the countries in which we do business. These controls, tariffs, regulations and restrictions (including those related to, or affected by, United States-China relations, as discussed in “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry”) have had, and we believe may continue to have, a material impact on our business, including our ability to manufacture or sell products or source components.

Government regulations are subject to change in the future, and accordingly we are unable to assess the possible effect of compliance with future requirements or whether our compliance with such regulations will materially impact our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Human Capital

Our people are critical to success and the pursuit of our goals and growth strategy. We strive to attract and retain team members who are driven to innovate and who bring diverse perspectives and skills. As of September 30, 2024, we had a total of 50 employees in the United States, of whom 13 were primarily engaged in research and development, 3 were primarily engaged in sales and marketing, 15 were primarily engaged in manufacturing, and 19 were primarily engaged in general and administrative functions. None of our employees is covered by a collective bargaining agreement or represented by a labor union. Additionally, from time to time we utilize third-party contractors to supplement our workforce.

Available Information

We file or furnish annual, quarterly and current reports and other documents with the SEC. Our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments, will be made available free of charge on our website, www.mobixlabs.com, as soon as reasonably practicable, following the filing of the reports with the SEC. In addition, our website allows investors and other interested persons to sign up to automatically receive e-mail alerts when news releases and financial information is posted on the website. The SEC also maintains a website, www.sec.gov, that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The information on or obtainable through our website is not incorporated into this Annual Report.