DURHAM – Cree is now officially Wolfspeed. And it has a significant new customer: General Motors.
With the change in name comes another: the company now trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “WOLF.”
Company executives, including CEO Gregg Lowe, are scheduled to ring the opening bell on the exchange this morning.
The name change, which was announced earlier this year, came after what the company described in a statement as a “massive four-year transformation.”
The company previously sold its LED lighting business.
Wolfspeed execs ring the opening bell at the NYSE. (Image via CNN video)
And in a major deal also announced this morning, General Motors is signing on with Wolfspeed as GM expands its commitment to electric powered vehicles. Wolfspeed semiconductor technology is seen as providing a boost to EVs.
“Our agreement with Wolfspeed represents another step forward in our transition to an all-electric future,” said Shilpan Amin, GM vice president of Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, in the announcement. “Customers of EVs are looking for greater range, and we see silicon carbide as an essential material in the design of our power electronics to meet customer demand. Working with Wolfspeed will help ensure we can deliver on our vision of an all-electric future.”
Added Lowe: “Our agreement with GM further demonstrates the automotive industry’s commitment to delivering innovative EV solutions to the market and using the latest advances in power management to improve overall vehicle performance. This agreement ensures long-term supply of silicon carbide to GM to help them deliver on their promise of an all-electric future.”
Lowe told WRAL TechWire in an interview that the rationale behind that decision was one of focus.
The company elected to focus its business strategy on one specific line of business: silicon carbide materials and semiconductor devices.
For the prior six years, the company’s brand of this division was Wolfspeed.
That’s why the company changed its name, Lowe said. “That’s who we are.”
In his own words: CEO discloses why he’s changing Cree’s name to Wolfspeed
“The next generation in power semiconductors will be driven by Silicon Carbide technology, with superior performance that unleashes new possibilities and positive changes to the way we live,” Lowe said in a statement. “As the original champion of this technology, we couldn’t be more excited for what lies ahead.”
The company’s silicon carbide technology dates back some 30 years, Lowe noted. The company began preparing for this transformational shift about two years ago, noted Lowe, prior to the global shortage of semiconductor chips that’s causing massive disruption in the automotive industry.
But Wolfspeed is prepared, noted Lowe. Due to investments the company made two years ago, and the decisions to pare down the company in order to focus on this line of business as the path forward, the company has increased its production capacity by 30 times, Lowe said.
It’s well-timed, said Lowe. There’s an anticipated shift in multiple industries from silicon to silicone carbide. Wolfspeed called its silicon carbide technology “key to the electrification of the drivetrain to support the shift to electric vehicles, wireless infrastructure to unlock the potential of smart cities, and power storage to enable broader adoption of renewable energy,” in a statement.
Lowe joined the company in 2017.
Cree name change to Wolfspeed will become official on October 4
