Peraso, a semiconductor company, could look to raise additional capital to fund acquisitions around year-end or in early 2026, CEO Ronald Glibbery said.

The San Jose, California-based company is looking to build on recent momentum following difficulty during the COVID-19 pandemic. It only had two customers when it went public, and demand from those customers faltered in recent years as they stockpiled after the semiconductor shortage during the pandemic, Glibbery said.

Today, the company has 80 engagements in its pipeline and has found recent momentum in the military industry, he said, pointing to Peraso’s drone surveillance capabilities.

It would look to acquire for scale and expects to target companies with USD 10m-USD 20m in annual revenue, Glibbery said.

Peraso itself generated about USD 13m-USD 15m in revenue last year, Glibbery said, adding that increasing revenue and getting to cashflow positivity are key objectives this year.

The company has “casual relationships” with some investment bankers and expects to engage an advisor when it gets more serious about M&A, Glibbery said. Ladenburg Thalmann has advised the company previously, he added.

Last year’s revenue came from a product that has reached the end of its life, and Peraso is transitioning to generating revenue from its wireless product, according to Glibbery. It expects comparable revenue this year from the wireless product and could double revenue in 2026 with customer growth, he said.

The company expects to finance a buy with a combination of cash and stock, Glibbery said, adding that a purchase is likely to ultimately coincide with a raise. Peraso’s illustrative enterprise value was USD 2.9m at the end of September, according to CFO James Sullivan.

Its shares were trading at USD 0.91 mid-morning on 19 March for a market cap of USD 3.6m. Glibbery acknowledged the company’s low market cap and said he expects to see a positive response in the stock in the next 12 months as Peraso is starting to see orders back in the books. It regained compliance for continued listing on the Nasdaq exchange last November, according to Investing.com.

Peraso is the primary supplier shipping mmWave 60GHz devices, according to the CEO. Its main competitor used to be Qualcomm, but Glibbery said that the company has essentially exited the market.

Peraso historically focused on broadband and high-speed internet, but stealth and military communications have recently been driving strong engagement, Glibbery said. It also offers some niche products around high-speed video.

The company could also look to acquire artificial intelligence capabilities, Glibbery said. AI could help with data centers’ power consumption issues if it’s built at the edge of the network, having wireless high-speed links from the edge of the network directly to the device, he said.

Peraso itself could be a take-out target, Glibbery acknowledged, adding that it isn’t actively shopping. It hasn’t seen any formal inbound offers.

The company predominantly serves the US but sells products globally, including in Africa, Europe, Japan, China, and India, Glibbery said, noting it will sell military communications in the US and Canada.

MSK provides general corporate counsel. Weinberg performs its audit.