Sentiment on the stock market continues to cloud over. Investors worry that the US Federal Reserve will fight the sharp rise in inflation by intervening more quickly with several interest rate hikes, causing prices worldwide to plummet. There is hardly any movement on the precious metals market, with gold remaining in the USD 1,800 range. On the other hand, the stock of a next-generation chip producer, which seems ready for the mass market, has moved.
BRAINCHIP HOLDINGS – FROM ZERO TO ONE
Rocket launch for the BrainChip Holdings shares in 2022. While the share price was still at EUR 0.44 on the first trading day of the year, the stock has almost quadrupled to EUR 1.62 to date. For months, we reported that the Australians, who also have development facilities in California, are developing a revolutionary chip based on artificial intelligence in the Akida device, which has high potential. However, commercialization could be achieved faster than expected thanks to the collaboration with the US military and German automotive giant Mercedes.
Based on the Akida™ neural network processor, technology company Information Systems Laboratories plans to develop an AI-based radar research solution for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). In addition, the Stuttgart-based Mercedes Group is relying on the chip, whose technology is ideally suited for modern edge devices and in autonomous driving, IoT devices, robotics, medical diagnostics and security technology. For example, the “Hey, Mercedes” voice control system in the EQXX is said to run five to ten times more efficiently than the voice control system used in the past.
The latest news comes from the US Patent and Trademark Office. Here, BrainChip received the green light for its eighth patent in total. The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted the patent for “Event-based Classification of features in a reconfigurable and temporally encoded convolutional spiking neural network.” The patent protects BrainChip’s neuromorphic processor, which is configured to perform convolution on digital input data that has been converted into spikes.
“This latest patent is one of 8 patents we have received since 2008 to protect our intellectual property rights and secure our global competitive advantage in neuromorphic artificial intelligence,” said BrainChip founder Peter van der Made. “As the world’s first and only commercial manufacturer of neuromorphic artificial intelligence chips (Akida1000), we must maintain our lead over our competitors by ensuring our unique and revolutionary technology is protected and secure.”
The technology undoubtedly has the potential for commercialization. The stock market value has increased to EUR 2.62 billion in recent weeks, so a short-term stabilization of the share price is likely. In the long term, however, the Akida chip has further potential.
More information is expected from the Company at the International Investment Forum (IIF) on February 17, 2022. You can register for free at www.ii-forum.com.
PROSPECT RIDGE RESOURCES – THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL
Opinions continue to be divided on gold. After a disappointing 2021, the precious metal could also get off to a roaring start this year. Despite the announcement of up to 4 interest rate hikes, the general conditions continue to be better than ever, as inflation is more likely to rise in the long term, as are the debt ratios of most countries. Thus, gold is likely to be rediscovered as the inflation hedge, and an anti-cyclical entry into gold producers or exploration companies would be a logical step.
In fact, Michael Iverson, a veteran in the mining sector, wanted to take a well-deserved retirement. In a career spanning more than thirty years, he has generated more than USD 1 billion in market capitalization and raised more than CAD 100 million in capital from the market. But the potential of the 80,000-hectare Holy Grail concession area prompted him to take over as CEO at Prospect Ridge Resources. The area was selected based on regional geological, structural and geochemical similarities consistent with mineralization 50 km to the northwest in the Golden Triangle. The Company believes the project has the potential for a regional hydrothermal system and will extend the boundaries of the Golden Triangle to this vast, poorly explored region.
In 2021, the Company completed two major acquisitions of the Holy Grail and Knauss Creek mines, creating a district-sized concession area in northern British Columbia. A total of 6 zones of visible gold were identified, returning new preliminary results of up to 117 grams of gold per tonne and 4,740 grams of silver per tonne. The pace is expected to continue in 2022. Prospecting work is expected to continue, and compilation of data will take place during the winter in order to immediately begin additional drill programs. Approximately 50% of the 2021 samples remain outstanding and are expected to return steadily over the coming months, with some of the samples showing visible gold.
Prospect Ridge Resources has approximately CAD 5.2 million in cash and is well-positioned to stem the 2022 drill programs. The stock market value currently stands at EUR 18.14 million.
ASML DELIVERS
Chip supplier ASML has delivered its figures for the past fiscal year. Both sales and earnings increased disproportionately due to the chip boom. At EUR 5.88 billion and an increase of 66%, the net result even exceeded analysts’ forecasts. Revenues climbed by 33% to EUR 18.61 billion.
As the semiconductor crisis continues, ASML expects a further jump in sales of more than 20% to EUR 24.00 to 30.00 billion. Reason to cheer for shareholders. Shareholders are also to benefit from a doubled annual dividend to EUR 5.50.