Menlo Microsystems Announces Deal To Manufacture The Ideal Switch In Upstate New York

IRVINE, Calif., July 11, 2023 - Menlo Microsystems, Inc. (Menlo Micro), the company responsible for reinventing the electronic switch with its Ideal Switch^® technology, today announced that it has finalized an asset purchase in Tompkins County, N.Y., which will house the company’s first domestic production facility, the Ideal Fab™. Menlo Micro will invest $50 million in the Ideal Fab over the next three years, creating over 100 high tech jobs at the site within the next five years.

Additionally, the company is committing to a multi-year growth strategy through diverse funding sources – including the potential of additional government funds – to grow the Ideal Fab and further expand its U.S.-based manufacturing. As part of Menlo Micro’s strategy, the company’s future domestic expansion would see an additional investment upwards of $150 million and the phasing in of an additional 100+ jobs, commensurate with growth.

Menlo Micro has begun retrofitting the building function to meet the unique and proprietary material science manufacturing requirements for its Ideal Switch^®, with U.S.-based manufacturing estimated to begin in 2024. The new Tompkins County-based fab is expected to produce thousands of wafers per month and create high-quality, skilled, and in demand jobs over the coming years as the company continues to invest in American manufacturing.

New York State’s dedicated and skilled workforce, top-notch universities, and research institutions, along with its bustling innovation ecosystem made it the top choice for Menlo Micro’s first domestic fab. As the company continues to grow its manufacturing presence in the U.S., it is building on its deep roots in the state.

Built out of a decade-long effort at General Electric’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, N.Y., Menlo Micro’s Research and Development arm is located at the Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany, N.Y. In addition to the work based at General Electric, New York-based Corning Glass was an initial investor and key R&D partner.

The company has active university partnerships with the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) and University at Albany with hopes to expand its research and workforce development partnerships to Cornell University and the Finger Lakes region with the launch of its new MEMS (Micro Electromechanical Systems) fab in the Tompkins County, N.Y. Menlo Micro plans to continue expanding in New York, with additional announcements planned in the coming months. To support their expansion in New York State, Empire State Development has awarded Menlo Micro up to $6.5 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credits in exchange for 122 new jobs at their new Ithaca Facility.

Menlo Micro’s Ideal Switch has applications across dozens of critical U.S. industries, including energy distribution and management, telecommunications, aerospace and defense, medical devices, consumer electronics and more. The Ideal Switch will provide unprecedented reductions in size, weight and cost while creating increased reliability, linearity, and power due to key breakthroughs in material science.