Company introduction
Dongwoon Anatech is a fabless semiconductor company established in 2006 and provides core semiconductor solutions in various industrial fields based on low-power, high-efficiency semiconductor technology. The company develops essential semiconductor products in the smartphone, automobile, and robot industries. In particular, its main products include image stabilization (OIS) and autofocus (AF) control ICs for smartphone cameras, as well as haptic driver ICs and motor driver ICs used in automotive electronics.
Dongwoon Anatech corrects hand shake through an OIS controller IC that improves the quality of smartphone photography and video shooting, and develops an AF driver IC that allows the camera to clearly focus on people, objects, landscapes, etc. through the autofocus (AF) function, and is applying it to various devices such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets. In addition, Haptic Driver IC provides tactile feedback to users in devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, game consoles, and cars, enabling a richer user experience.
In addition, Dongwoon Anatech is developing D-SaLife®, a non-invasive saliva sugar measurement system, through its healthcare division. This system is an innovative medical device that can measure sugar levels simply and painlessly using saliva, and is a solution that can be used not only for diabetic patients but also for diabetes prevention.
In addition, Dongwoon Anatech is developing a security solution based on fingerprint recognition as a biometric authentication solution, and this technology is being used in various fields such as smart cards, access systems, and cryptocurrency protection. Through these various products and technologies, Dongwoon Anatech boasts technological prowess recognized in the global market and aims for sustainable growth through continuous research and development and innovation.
Item 2024 (01.01~06.30)2023 (01.01~12.31)2022 (01.01~12.31)AF Driver IC27,727,91842,698,85028,826,003OIS Driver IC41,211,77339,439,29918,562,921Display Driver IC-123,6167,627LED Lighting Driver IC745,447976,9411,503,201Haptic Driver IC637,699793,132263,455Other658,394692,890974,966Technology License-26,761,885-sum Total 70,981,231111,486,61350,138,173 Dongwoon Anatech sales by sector (Source: Dongwoon Anatech, DART)
Business AreaMain Product/SolutionApplication AreaFeaturesMobile and Camera SolutionOIS Controller IC AF Driver ICImprove shooting quality with smartphone, laptop, and tablet shake correction and autofocus functionsAutomotive electronics solutionsHaptic Driver ICIn-car touch screen, steering wheel, electronic gear, and air conditioning systemIncreased driver convenience, providing tactile feedbackHealthcare solutionsD-SaLife® (non-invasive saliva glucose meter)Diabetes prevention and managementNon-invasive method, painless glucose measurementBiometric authentication and security solutionsFingerprint Recognition Solutions Fingerprint recognition card access system, cryptocurrency protection, smart door lock energy harvesting, dual interface, high accuracy and fast recognition speed Dongwoon Anatech business field summary (Source: Dongwoon Anatech)
New growth engine, healthcare division
Dongwoon Anatech's healthcare division began full-scale activities in 2017, starting with the creation of the healthcare business development TF within the Strategic Planning Office. In 2019, we established a healthcare research center and began research on blood sugar measurement system technology using saliva. Since then, we have aimed to commercialize non-invasive blood sugar measurement technology through continuous research and clinical trials. In 2021 and 2022, the first and second exploratory clinical trials were successfully completed at Eulji University Hospital and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, and as of 2024, product development and mass production processes are being established.
This division has various specialized development departments such as biosensors, device development, and data science, and systematically manages the entire process from research to product planning, production, quality control, and licensing. The main goal of Dongwoon Anatech's Healthcare Division is to commercialize D-SaLife®, the world's first non-invasive blood glucose meter, in the global market. To achieve this goal, we plan to secure patents and research on non-invasive blood sugar measurement technology, conduct clinical trials and approvals at home and abroad, and launch it in the global market by 2025.
Based on the achievements of its healthcare division, Dongwoon Anatech plans to expand the market by developing an early diagnosis system for high-risk diseases, and is strengthening its competitiveness in the global market through global manufacturing and sales partnerships.
AI-powered OIS
Dongwoon Anatech began development of ‘AI-powered OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer)’ equipped with AI algorithm in the first half of 2024. This technology implements system control through artificial intelligence (AI) technology using deep learning and reinforcement learning, instead of the existing PID algorithm. OIS, equipped with an AI controller, controls the actuator within the smartphone camera module to effectively prevent hand shaking that occurs when taking photos and videos, and especially provides a function to minimize pixel shaking even in low-light environments.
The core of AI-powered OIS is to analyze the user's hand tremor patterns and implement optimized, customized OIS functions. This focuses on increasing the efficiency and adaptability of system control and maximizing user experience. Dongwoon Anatech aims to complete AI algorithm development within 2024 and commercialize AI-powered OIS IC by the end of 2025. This technology plans to expand its customer base by actively targeting not only domestic and Greater China leading smartphone manufacturers that supply existing OIS, but also the global market.
As the smartphone market enters maturity and concerns are growing about limits to growth, Dongwoon Anatech seeks to advance the smartphone user experience and expand the market with innovative OIS technology using AI.
Saliva sugar measurement technology, ‘D-SaLife’
Dongwoon Anatech is developing the world’s first saliva-based blood sugar measurement device, ‘D-SaLife’, and is in the process of entering the global market. ‘D-SaLife’ has an innovative technology that can measure blood sugar non-invasively through saliva, helping diabetic patients manage their blood sugar more conveniently.
This technology has already been patented in Korea, Japan, China, Europe, and India, and has received great attention by successfully registering a patent in the Indian market, which has a large population. Dongwoon Anatech aims to expand globally following the European and Indian markets, and attracted a lot of attention by introducing ‘D-SaLife’ at international academic conferences such as the European Association for Diabetes (EASD).
In particular, Dongwoon Anatech developed a technology to infer the correlation between salivary sugar and blood sugar through an artificial intelligence (AI)-based blood sugar prediction system, which greatly improved the accuracy of postprandial blood sugar measurement. This technology improves measurement reliability by taking into account factors such as the patient's body mass index or obesity, and also makes it possible to measure postprandial blood sugar levels beyond the existing fasting blood sugar measurement method.
Dongwoon Anatech plans to actively supply ‘D-SaLife’ in the global market based on these technological innovations, and is expected to bring innovative changes to diabetes management through this.
Performance check
The main performances are as follows.
First half of 2024 (24.01.01~06.30)2023 First half (23.01.01~06.30)Sales70,981,231,02841,358,868,899Cost of sales45,202,008,30019,064, 901,872Operating profit10,348,059,2798,738,204,745Net profit12,074,192,64311,617,095,446Dongwoon Anatech Semi-annual report summary (Source: Dongwoon Anatech, DART)
While sales growth soared by more than 70% compared to the same period last year, operating profit and net profit only increased by 18% and 4%, which is due to the cost of sales more than doubling.
If you look at the annotations in the report, you can see more accurately. You can see that raw material and outsourcing costs have risen sharply in the first half of this year compared to the first half of last year. You may be wondering what kind of raw materials a fabless company purchases, but sometimes fabless companies purchase raw materials directly and entrust the processing to them.
On the other hand, considering that the costs of the most recent quarter did not show much difference from the previous year, it can be assumed that orders for relatively high-cost processes were concentrated in the first quarter.
The company clearly states this from the "Business Summary" page as if it is aware of this, but it appears that cost reduction is not easy as foundry options are limited.
stock price momentum
Like other Korean semiconductor companies, they tend to follow the US semiconductor index in the short term. Of course, Korea + KOSDAQ corrections are made, so bad news is actively reflected, and good news is selectively and randomly reflected.
Dongwoon Anatech, SOXX stock price trend (Source: GoogleFinance)
Because the market cap is small, if the semiconductor rally and supply-demand issues overlap, as in July 2023, the gap can be closed in an instant.
As an individual stock, a good news to look forward to is the approval of blood glucose meters. Dongwoon Anatech's 'D-SaLife' is the world's first device to check blood sugar using saliva. It has received patent approval in Europe and India, and plans to conduct clinical trials with the goal of launching it next year. For diabetic patients, the frequency of blood sugar measurement is very high, so if it is possible to measure blood sugar through saliva without injury or pain, the impact is expected to be very large. This is something to look forward to regarding supply and demand before performance is reflected.