Chip company Mobix Labs Inc. has raised $6 million in a share sale to boost its production capacity and plans to move into a “military approved facility” in Irvine to support its growing defense business.
The company, backed by OC entrepreneur James “Jimmy P” Peterson, has been making inroads into aerospace and Pentagon-related work, while also struggling with a greatly reduced share price.
Mobix Labs says its parts are incorporated into numerous military and defense platforms, including the F-35 Lightning, F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-22 Raptor, MH-47 Chinook and Apache helicopter, among other products.
Irvine Expansion Upcoming
The new Mobix facility will be in Irvine, where the company is keeping its headquarters.
“We’re not disclosing the exact square footage at this time, but I can share that the new facility will be materially larger than our current footprint and purpose-built to support increased capacity and efficiency for our West Coast operations,” Mobix Labs President and CFO Keyvan Samini told the Business Journal on Jan. 9.
He said the company expects to settle into the new facility within about 60 days.
Tech Embedded Around World
“Our technology is embedded in systems that are used around the world—including right here in Orange County,” Samini said. “Thousands of people in OC interact with those systems every day—often without realizing Mobix is part of what enables them.”
The company also provides medical technologies.
Mobix said Jan. 6 the sale of common shares provided aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $6 million, before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses (Nasdaq: MOBX). The pricing indicated that each share was sold for an average of 20 cents.
CEO Phil Sansone said the money will be used for various purposes with a goal “to move faster on strategic opportunities—particularly M&A” that can expand the business.
Mobix Labs is a “fabless semiconductor and connectivity company.” The term “fabless” refers to a company that designs and markets semiconductors while outsourcing the manufacturing to a third party.
Its focus areas also include 5G communications.
The company had 51 employees as of January.
Shares Slide from $3.50 to 24 Cents
Mobix Labs went public in December 2023, when the shares were trading around $3.50 apiece, giving the company a valuation of about $90 million at the time.
The share price was down to 24 cents each at the close on Jan. 8 for an intraday market cap of $23 million, a slump that has risked its listing on the Nasdaq.
Mobix Labs said it has until April to bring its share price up to Nasdaq standards, or it risks being kicked off the exchange.
The company said on Dec. 18 that fiscal year 2025 revenue is expected to be $9.7 million to $9.9 million, an improvement over the $6.4 million the year before.
Mobix Labs emphasizes its EMI line, which produces products to reduce unwanted noise and electromagnetic interference in military and aerospace electronics systems.
The company on Jan. 5 announced the appointment of industry veteran Amir Asvadi as general manager of the EMI product line and defense manufacturing operations.
