$ASPI breakdown of their three si28 contracts and why Intel, IBM and Linde are plausible customers.

ASP Isotopes got \\- one contract is with a major U.S. semiconductor company \\- one is with a large global industrial-gases company \\- and one is with a large U.S. buyer ASP has not disclosed the names of its customers. This is not financial advice, speculation only. I have a position in ASP isotopes. ASPI has shipped enriched Si-28 samples to customers, received independent confirmation that enrichment levels tracked its theoretical calculations, and is now targeting commercial Si-28 shipments in H2 following engineering modifications to its enrichment facility. Potential Customer 1: Intel "Major U.S. semiconductor company." Intel is one of the world's most obvious candidates for that description. Intel has spent years developing silicon spin qubits and explicitly designed its quantum programme around semiconductor manufacturing. Intel's Tunnel Falls chip, for example, is a silicon spin-qubit device manufactured using industrial transistor fabrication technology. Intel describes the platform as being designed for at-scale manufacturing using CMOS technology. Strong strategic fit with ASP. ASP is effectively saying: We can provide highly enriched Si-28. Intel is saying: We can manufacture silicon spin qubits using semiconductor processes. The Hitachi Connection In July 2026, Hitachi announced a major collaboration with Intel K.K. and Japan's AIST to accelerate silicon quantum computing from academic research toward industrial application. The programme is intended to develop silicon quantum chips with more than 100 qubits, use Intel's 18A manufacturing process and quantum-device Process Design Kit, develop cryogenic packaging and control technology, and ultimately work toward systems exceeding 1,000 qubits. The infrastructure required to create a real manufacturing ecosystem around enriched Si28 is forming: PDK - chip design - foundry manufacturing - packaging - control - system integration. If Intel is serious about scaling this architecture, the supply of high-quality Si-28 becomes strategically important. Potential Customer 2: June 2024, ASP announced a purchase order from global industrial gases company. The obvious names: \\- Linde \\- Air Liquide \\- Air Products The semiconductor industry already depends heavily on companies like these for highly purified gases and materials. A major gases company has: \\- semiconductor-fab relationships \\- gas purification infrastructure; \\- logistics \\- packaging \\- materials expertise \\- global distribution That industrial-gases company could potentially become a distribution bridge into the semiconductor industry. ASP doesn't need to build a sales relationship with every individual fab. It has effectively plugged itself into an existing semiconductor supply chain. If Si-28 becomes an important material for quantum and advanced semiconductor manufacturing, the companies controlling the supply chain will want reliable sources. Potential Customer 3: IBM / Anderon This trail is imo the most interesting right now. IBM has traditionally been associated with superconducting qubits, rather than silicon spin qubits. At first glance, IBM seemed like an unlikely Si-28 customer. But IBM's strategy has changed. In May 2026, IBM and the U.S. Department of Commerce announced plans for Anderon, a new IBM company intended to become America's first pure-play quantum wafer foundry. The proposed project has up to $1 billion in CHIPS incentives, alongside a $1 billion IBM contribution, and is designed to enable advanced quantum wafer production for a broad range of companies and quantum modalities. IBM isn't simply building quantum computers. It's building silicon quantum manufacturing infrastructure, just like Intel with Hitachi. In July 2026, IBM announced an agreement to acquire HRL Laboratories. HRL brings expertise in silicon-spin qubits and quantum sensing. IBM explicitly said the acquisition could help it work with Anderon on developing spin-qubit manufacturing and accelerating quantum manufacturing learning cycles. IBM is still pursuing its superconducting architecture. But it is now acquiring silicon-spin expertise and building a quantum wafer foundry. That means IBM has created a pathway into the Si-28 ecosystem. The company itself says HRL's silicon-spin expertise could complement its existing programme and help IBM understand how to scale quantum computing over the coming decade. And Anderon is intended to serve a broad range of quantum computing modalities and companies.Therefore, even if IBM itself doesn't use enormous quantities of Si-28, Anderon potentially could become a manufacturing platform for companies that do. That makes Anderon relevant to the Si-28 supply chain even without IBM being a direct buyer. Where Does Argonne Fit? Argonne has been deeply involved with intel in semiconductor quantum research through Q-NEXT. Its Quantum Foundry has housed Intel's Solid State Testbed, supporting development from quantum-dot qubit chips through systems architecture. National laboratories are now helping create the infrastructure connecting: quantum physics - semiconductor fabrication - quantum systems. Argonne could be: \\- an end user \\- a research partner \\- a qualification/testing site \\- a source of technical validation \\- or simply part of the broader ecosystem. The 99% kicker The third customer doesn't necessarily have to be a quantum-computing company. It could be a company developing a next-generation semiconductor application. ASP itself has said Si-28 may have applications beyond quantum computing, including next-generation semiconductors and AI/data-centre technologies. ASP plans to initially sell Si-28 at around 99% enrichment, rather than immediately targeting the ultra-high purities associated with the most demanding quantum applications. That's potentially important because isotopic purification can alter silicon's thermal and phonon properties. 99% Si-28 can provide useful thermal-performance benefits in advanced semiconductor architectures, ASP could potentially address a much larger market than quantum alone. Current status for ASP and their Si28 roadmap First Si-28 samples shipped to a U.S. customer in August 2025 independent testing confirmed enrichment matched theoretical expectations. Current delays were primarily due to non-core equipment, particularly valves, piping and compressors inherited from Klydon. ASP has upgraded 200+ OEM compressors to meet required specifications. Facility is now operating with 48 enrichment stages, producing significant quantities at 98% Si-28 vs. 92% natural abundance. Further compressor upgrades are underway to enable additional enrichment stages. First commercial 99% Si-28 shipments targeted for H2 2026. The 99% Si-28 market could potentially be substantially larger than the market for ultra-high enrichment. The key near-term milestone is therefore commercial 99% Si-28 production, followed by higher-purity material for quantum applications. Si-28 is only be the tip of the iceberg for ASP Isotopes. They're moving toward commercialisation across several strategic-material markets, including Ytterbium-176 and Carbon-14 for nuclear medicine, helium and LNG through its Renergen acquisition, and its HALEU/nuclear-fuel business through Quantum Leap Energy. Targeting first commercial shipments across multiple isotope products in 2026, while Phase 1 helium production is also expected to ramp in Q3 2026. ASP has not disclosed the names of its customers. This is not financial advice, speculation only. I hold shares of ASP isotopes. Sources: ASPI letter to share holders https://ir.aspisotopes.com/news-events/pr… Hitachi + Intel + AIST — Silicon Quantum https://www.hitachi.com/en/press/articles… IBM — Anderon Quantum Foundry https://newsroom.ibm.com/ibm-and-u-s-depa… IBM — HRL Acquisition https://newsroom.ibm.com/2026-07-23-ibm-t… Argonne — Silicon quantum with Intel https://www.anl.gov/article/argonne-launc… ASPI presentation https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/\_fd…