Update

Financials
Balance sheet in May 27, 2014:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12wJMe3A6Ie8ris86m2OJ_1vucurdcVtM3fDkNCjKIRI/edit?usp=sharing

Cash flow from Feb 28, 2014 to May 27, 2014:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1phCAhMR-9_AaRXKICfN_M7gw4rI1hsOtRD_6PElmLOM/edit?usp=sharing

Comments about Recent News & Concerns
Policy: The bank deposits and third-party payment systems for Bitcoin exchanges in China are all closed. Workarounds exist (like buying physical cards with deposit code) but the real trading volume is severely affected.

Conversion: We have OTC conversion channels to trade USD for Bitcoins in Hong Kong.

1) 2) When the chip is busy hashing the values in task addresses (including 44) cannot be changed.

3) Each 1 in the nonce_mask indicates a nonce for the current job. If the number of nonces exceeds 4, the first ones will be dropped.

4) There aren't safeguards.

For 1) and 2) we suggest a higher SPI clock for better efficiency. Using the difficulty setting larger than 1 could alleviate most hashrate losses caused by 3) and 4).

We confirm that XBTec indeed ordered and possessed a batch of our BE200 8mmx8mm chips.

Update

The documents as well as the (verified & produced) sample design are out:

Schematics - https://mega.co.nz/#!uNMkFZoI!lnlRehlynQQzNRfQ87_UYek1RtrOUvLZ6a074XeRqlo

Reference PCB File - https://mega.co.nz/#!DZVHgS6D!6pmTsmrito8rfVJJ-etvznOtUcalbAT6vU-C8EqY0_I

datasheet - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dmXzyMqtr7tVZukk2DAJih2sRq5jDy5DQPkwCce570/edit?usp=sharing

bonding list - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al1fvFT7Sd5bdFFZSUllNW5seVRfM01kcDVqZkJfdFE&usp=sharing

9x9 package pictures -
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11fvFT7Sd5bUV90cFN4cEhTNEk/edit?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11fvFT7Sd5banZkMDZqSTBGTEE/edit?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11fvFT7Sd5bWjh6MmJsMFpCYkU/edit?usp=sharing

8x8 package picture -
https://mega.co.nz/#!DA1mBJzB!7hFnoT8ZYQd1d30m2oHbuscD36cCQ4ou7stsr5Lo03Y

The package we are using is 9mmx9mm, but it might be partly switched to 8mmx8mm.
Also, we plan to increase the center pad size to at least 7mmx7mm, so please leave enough margin on the PCB to avoid unnecessary re-designs.

They are a set of test cases to make sure that the chip indeed accepts the jobs and correctly outputs the corresponding nonces.

The next step is to make a better testing environment (powering, cooling) to know the maximum hashing speed on several voltage levels. (As well as at how low voltage the chip totally stops working and how at how high it explodes)

Update March. 29, 2014: The chips passed all functionality tests.

Update

The chips passed the functionality tests.

Update

The first wafers were out in March 22th. The engineering batch of packaged chips will be out in March 28th. After that we can immediately start testing on functionality and power consumption.

The open-source part will be the reference PCB, not the chip.

Update

The updates of the chips can be found here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=438359.0

ASICMiner is not affiliated with AntMiner in any forms of shareholding, technical sharing or business partnership.

The tapout date is pulled back to early Feburary due to further modifications for robustness and stability, but mass delivery date is still March.

Update March 29, 2014: The chips passed all functionality tests.

Update April 21, 2014: The documents as well as the (verified & produced) sample design are out:

Schematics - https://mega.co.nz/#!uNMkFZoI!lnlRehlynQQzNRfQ87_UYek1RtrOUvLZ6a074XeRqlo

Reference PCB File - https://mega.co.nz/#!DZVHgS6D!6pmTsmrito8rfVJJ-etvznOtUcalbAT6vU-C8EqY0_I

datasheet - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dmXzyMqtr7tVZukk2DAJih2sRq5jDy5DQPkwCce570/edit?usp=sharing

bonding list - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al1fvFT7Sd5bdFFZSUllNW5seVRfM01kcDVqZkJfdFE&usp=sharing

9x9 package pictures -
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11fvFT7Sd5bUV90cFN4cEhTNEk/edit?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11fvFT7Sd5banZkMDZqSTBGTEE/edit?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11fvFT7Sd5bWjh6MmJsMFpCYkU/edit?usp=sharing

8x8 package picture -
https://mega.co.nz/#!DA1mBJzB!7hFnoT8ZYQd1d30m2oHbuscD36cCQ4ou7stsr5Lo03Y

The package we are using is 9mmx9mm, but it might be partly switched to 8mmx8mm.
Also, we plan to increase the center pad size to at least 7mmx7mm, so please leave enough margin on the PCB to avoid unnecessary re-designs.

(Reserved for Updates)

Declaration: Before physical chips are out and fully tested, all specs/dates/data are for reference only and subject to change.

Although with unexpected obstacles, timing rearrangements and delays, our chips are still on track of delivery in March. This thread for releasing information of chips to public, with the intention of getting enough (direct) customers or (indirect) resellers aware before actual chips are produced.

The information will be updated to be more and more accurate, as we are updated with our fab, engineers, as well as the mining market.

Specification
Process node: 40nm
Package type: QFN64 8mmx8mm (with another option of QFN64 7mmx7mm possible)
I/O: Standard SPI protocol with clk, in, out and cs.
Rated Hashrate: 12.8GHash/s per chip, with a wide range of overclock/downclock options
Rated Voltage: 0.72V, recommended voltage range is 0.55V-1V
Power Consumption: 0.2J/GHash low voltage, 0.35J/GHash rated voltage

What to expect with the chips
Datasheets and reference PCB design are going to be released as soon as they are ready.

Chips will be available for ordering once the functionality and yield rate are confirmed with testing on actual chips.

There will be three modes of orders: Immediate delivery, 2-month delivery and 3-month delivery, with the price getting lower one by one. For 2-month and 3-month delivery, premium + balance payment may be supported to enhance liquidity and enable larger orders.

Both USD and Bitcoin payments are supported, but the nominal price will be based on USD.

Full devices from ASICMiner are definitely going to exist on the form of samples and small batches. ASICMiner may also build new mining farms based on new chips. Unsliced wafers may also be available for sale. But the main business direction is to provide packaged chips.

Price range
0.49$/G-0.99$/G, depending on order size and delivery speed of choice.

Please bear in mind that when choosing brands of Bitcoin mining chips, the cost of making whole working mining devices, including PSUs, DC/DC, heatsinks, fans, and room cooling facilities, needs to be taken into account. With our relatively low power consumption, the customer can save more money on the devices' side.

Partners
We are especially interested in the following types of business partners:

1. Large mining operation owners who can also do massive PCB production of their own.
2. Mining device manufacturers who can improve our open-source design or make new designs from scratch.
3. Resellers with various channels and abundant liquidity in cash or Bitcoins.

Contact
Please PM to (friedcat) on bitcointalk, or mail to (cat@bitquan.com)/(fnnirvana@gmail.com) for future partnership discussions. Please do not use them for information inquiry, because all info about chips will be published here.

Answers to Recent Questions of Shareholders' Concern

- When can we expect an official public relations appointment and what channels will be used to announce information?
  Still no dedicated full-time PR employee yet, since existing people in the company can only do it part-time, and knowing internals about the company business and arrangements poses requirements on some kind of loyalty for new employees, therefore we are still looking for the right people. Before that my collegues and I will keep updating information. The channel will still be forums from the start.

- What is the size of the first Gen 3 deployment and when is it expected?
  It depends on if there are any external orders for the first Gen 3 deployment and the final performance when the chips are out. From 2P to 20P are possible.

- How will Gen 3 be divided between mining, franchising and hardware sales?
  It depends on the users of our chips. It is a safe bet that we will be moving more to pure chip distribution. But if the edge of low cost on whole devices and deploying still exists in 2014 on our side, we will do more mining/franchising/hardware sales ourselves.

- What process size does Gen 3 use?
  40nm. Anything below that and taking the same optimization way as ours will consume too much time before taping out.

- What will happen after all cubes are sold? Will there be anything coming between now and the first Gen 3 deployment?
  During pre-production and production of the Gen3, most of our time will be spent on negotiating large chip orders (from us) and locating large-scale mining farm operations.

- Have dividends been paid out to shareholders for the cube sales yet?
  Yes. But fiat payments are not exchanged for Bitcoins yet and kept as company funds.

Update

PR & Communications
We understand that transparency and communication to shareholders and the public needs improvement. We are in the process of identifying a dedicated employee for this. We will issue bi-weekly reports for shareholders and improve response time for questions.

Next Gen Chips
The projected time of taping out of Gen3 is January 20. Power consumption target estimation is <0.2W per G on low power mode and <0.2$ per G on wafer cost. Please notice that the timeline is of course subject to change/adjust, and the estimation on power and cost is also based on software tool/simulation results.

Current Hardware Sales
The number of cubes left for sale/deployment is 9000. About 1/3 are ordered already. All older devices (USBs/new blades) are sold out.

G.ASICMINER
If nothing unexpected happens, Ukyo will provide a shareholder list to Friedcat on Dec 1, for direct shares.

Financial Reports

Balance Sheet (Public Version): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al1fvFT7Sd5bdDlHek0tem01M2IzSnhDUjBHbWI4dmc&usp=sharing

Cashflow (Public Version): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al1fvFT7Sd5bdDh0enIxT0pycEVkZ2h6TE1BZ0dZd0E&usp=sharing

Income (Public Version): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al1fvFT7Sd5bdExaZzlQMXhwNl83Y2JlM19zeEpTa1E&usp=sharing
  with Expense Listings (Public Version): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al1fvFT7Sd5bdERwbENzbDFvMWpHWEVSOWpoc2dlVGc&usp=sharing

Quick Update

The original vague range of October 20s is now made accurate at October 27th, when the projected publication of financial reports. This time it will be more detailed and informative than the last time's.

Upcoming scheduled to be happening (in time order):

Imminent repricing according to the market and the quantity.
Immersion cooling exhibition.
Payment system out of pre-alpha.
Blockchain-based exchange out of pre-alpha (whether to migrate whole ASICMiner database is still a serious debating topic).

Quick Update

We are still on track of accumulating reinvestment funds, continuing from last month, so please expect less-than-raw-income dividends in the next few weeks. The financials will be given out in October 20s, as mentioned in the last update.

Self-retained (not sold) Hashrate distribution:

Air cooling datacenter - 47TH/s
Under franchising - 19TH/s
Immersion cooling - 5TH/s with 3-5TH/s per day towards 60TH/s in total.

Official ASICMiner Update by the Board

1. Automatic Payment
We are currently working on the payment back-end, and we might begin the design process next week as well.

2. BTCT closing
BTCT told us that they will release the database for us to merge on October 10.

3. Sales/Opportunity Update
We haven’t heard from the previously mentioned potential chip buyer. We met with two other groups making 65/55nm in China interested in collaboration, but we hadn't solid cooperation conclusions yet.

4. Franchising
We have created partnerships with two new franchises.

5. Cooling Update
We hope to share a good video or exhibition materials by the end of the month.

6.Advertising Update
During the next wave of hardware sales, we will increase our advertising efforts.

7. Research & Development
We had tried several different really intricate and speculative designs for 2014, based on the assumption being competitive in a fully saturated market (average return rate getting close to normal business' single digits per year). but originally with a limited channel/staff, it can be very difficult to fully explore them. So, we conducted interviews, and recently identified several exceptional people.

We will be spreading design risk by working on several designs simultaneously and having all other designs' info/simulation results fed back to the main design process. Our designs changed aggressively and the expected successful rate (on a working mask) drops compared to the standard flow so it has to be fully (wave-level) simulated before fabrication.

8. Financial Report
The next official ASICMINER Financial Report is scheduled to be released on October 20s. We had been in the process of accumulating reserves for a two-year-based small lab (all salaries) and a full mask cost for 40nm for one month. Additional income may be reserved for other chip advancements.

9. Hardware Solutions
ASICMINER is exploring and considering several alternative hardware manufacturing roles aside from mining-related products.

OFFICIAL ASICMINER UPDATE
 
In an effort to take ASICMINER to the next level as a business, the board met today to discuss ways we can provide better service to our customers and better communication to our shareholders. Below you will find some updates of what's been going on behind the scenes.
 
PR & Communications
1. The board has committed to meeting even more often than we have been, and intentionally gleaning whatever info can be shared from each meeting, and posting it to public.
2. The board will be assisting with writing these posts to make things easier for Friedcat.
3. The board is in discussions to create content and designs for an official website.

BTCT closing
Today, we discussed this topic and Friedcat will be reaching out to Burnside to determine the best way to handle all of his PT shareholders. Burnside might just give Friedcat a database to process, and TAT Investments has offered to handle a full migration to the AM1 asset on HavelockInvestments.com if it is feasible and agreeable.

LTC ASIC
ASICMINER determined LTC ASIC is not viable since a high-speed memory bus is much more useful in other industries and very expensive to make in this regard.

Hardware Update
• Already shipped devices(Gen1, already shipped) were limited by quantity of the power chip supply we pre-ordered before two months.
• We made an order of another brand of power chips which are about two weeks late. In October this will provide another 500TH/s (Gen1).
• If any deal of ordering Gen1 chips from outside buyers via us is reached, additional orders will be made.
• The size of the Gen2 order will be decided as appropriate, according to the network difficulty when it is time to finalize the order size.

Franchising
The board is working to polish the franchising program and is currently discussing the idea of hosting auctions to determine the best pay-per-share rates for ASICMINER, and what profitability the franchises require to operate. ASICMINER intends to grow the franshising program at a faster pace in October, so please participate in this process if you are capable of hosting blades and looking to mitigate some of your risks in buying hardware.
In order to make accurate bids, franchisees need 3 things:
1) Some of the blades as a sample, so they can plan and see what they are doing.
2) Reliable estimates and timelines for delivery, as this can severely impact the ability to operate efficiently.
3) Clear terms or a formula to know when their PPS value can be adjusted as the difficulty increases.
 
Custom Cooling Systems
We have been finalizing on our HK datacenter with our professional partner on immersion cooling. This product will be of interest both miners, and other industries that require cooling of similar hardware. Our cooling system partner built it as an exhibition house where everything is clean and shiny for investors/buyers to visit and for ASICMINER to make videos as a demonstration.

Sales/Advertising Update
ASICMINER is pursuing for additional sales & advertising opportunies. A Google Ads campaign will be considered, as well as Reddit and other websites. Forum ads are getting expensive now, and ROI is unclear for them.

In this thread we collect any update/change of the address from AUCTION buyers.

If you hadn't modified your full name/address/zip code/phone number please don't update to us.

If you had, please send your full name/address/zip code/phone number to the forum account (ASICMiner-PR). Please don't send to our mailboxes unless you had signed your original purchasing reply/PM with your private key which you would also use for the mail, since the auction purchases were all based on forum accounts.