1. Purpose and scope
Product silicon on a full mask set costs far more than a test chip, so few startups can pay for it from seed money. The Series A is usually the round that does. Investors fund it when the evidence from the last two stages is convincing: the core claim held on the company's own silicon, design partners saw value on their own problems, and the team has a credible, costed plan to a product customers will buy. The round and the product definition are therefore one piece of work. The plan the round pays for must be the plan the specification describes, and the unit cost model must make the business case work at the prices partners signalled.
In scope: the product requirements and specification, the production node, design kit and libraries, the package and test strategy, product IP licensing, the power and clocking architecture, the unit cost model and production supply plan, the product development plan and hiring plan, the financial model, data room and Series A round documents, and early floorplan and implementation trials. Out of scope: product RTL, verification and full implementation, which belong to Product Silicon Design & Verification and Product Silicon Sign-off.
12 more sections for registered members.