[Featured Stock] Waybis Rockets Up Amid Trump-Induced Space War...Emerges as Key Player with 'Unique' Technology

In the domestic stock market, aerospace-related stocks have surged simultaneously, leading to a rebound in Waybis. Waybis is the first listed company in Korea to successfully mass-produce gallium nitride (GaN) radio frequency (RF) semiconductor chips. It is the only domestic company that has fully internalized mass production capabilities after successfully localizing GaN RF semiconductors, which were previously entirely imported from overseas. GaN RF semiconductor technology is becoming an indispensable core technology with increasing technical importance in various advanced industries such as anti-drone systems, mobile communication infrastructure, satellites, and aerospace. Expectations are growing that Elon Musk, Tesla CEO who actively supported former U.S. President Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election, will benefit from his space business.

As of 2:47 PM on the 7th, Waybis is trading at 11,060 KRW, up 26.6% from the previous day.

Waybis was listed on the KOSDAQ market on the 25th of last month with a public offering price of 15,000 KRW. After listing, the stock price fell below the 9,000 KRW level due to deteriorating investor sentiment toward new stocks.

Compared to other semiconductor materials such as silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride semiconductors are advantageous for performing RF power amplification functions. Demand arises in various industries including advanced weapon systems, anti-drone, mobile communication infrastructure, and satellite and aerospace sectors. The related market size is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 13%, from about 4.1 trillion KRW last year to 7.5 trillion KRW by 2028.

The company pursued localization under government leadership due to strict export control policies enforced by advanced countries such as the United States, which developed the technology first. Waybis played a key role in this effort, becoming the first and only company to achieve mass production localization of GaN RF semiconductor chips.

Jongseon Park, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, explained, "As of the first half of the year, we secured an order backlog of 38.3 billion KRW," adding, "We expect approximately 100 billion KRW in additional orders this year and next." He also noted, "We are pushing for entry into the Indian market as well as global countries experiencing supply shortages."

Before the commercialization of GaN RF semiconductor technology, vacuum tube-based TWTA RF power amplifiers and silicon-based LDMOS RF power amplifiers were used for decades. With the commercialization of GaN RF semiconductors, the trend of enhancing performance and increasing requirements in major demand systems has coincided, allowing GaN-based RF power amplifiers to perfectly replace the shortcomings of TWTA RF power amplifiers and Si LDMOS RF power amplifiers.

During past participation in domestic advanced weapon system radar projects, it took more than a year to import GaN RF semiconductors essential for Korea’s weapon system development from the allied United States, highlighting the need for localization. Waybis, which succeeded in the first and only domestic localization, is gaining significant attention as an alternative to resolve global supply shortages. As a Tier-1 supplier to Korea’s largest advanced weapon system manufacturer, it has successfully participated in numerous localization, development, and mass production projects, verifying performance and reliability equal to or exceeding that of overseas competitors.