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Taiwan's No. 2 chipmaker UMC eyes entering cutting-edge race

XYang2023

Well-known member
Company evaluates 6-nm partnerships to offset China pressure in older chips

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s second-largest contract chipmaker, United Microelectronics Corp., (UMC) is assessing the feasibility of venturing into cutting-edge chip production, a segment dominated by TSMC, Samsung and Intel, Nikkei Asia has learned.

UMC is exploring future growth drivers, four people said, including potentially 6-nanometer chip production, which is suitable for making advanced connectivity chips for Wi-Fi, radio frequency and Bluetooth, AI accelerators for various applications and core processors for TVs and cars.


 
Maybe UMC can emerge as a critical 49% owner for Intel Foundry with US based PE firms and Intel products as a consolidated 51% owner. TD can be directed through UMC’s experienced engineers while the fabs use Intel’s US and EU based capacity.
 
Maybe UMC can emerge as a critical 49% owner for Intel Foundry with US based PE firms and Intel products as a consolidated 51% owner. TD can be directed through UMC’s experienced engineers while the fabs use Intel’s US and EU based capacity.
The only thing that UMC can provide Intel is PDK Experience and Customers not Tech Intel is way ahead of UMC in that regard.
 
Maybe UMC can emerge as a critical 49% owner for Intel Foundry with US based PE firms and Intel products as a consolidated 51% owner. TD can be directed through UMC’s experienced engineers while the fabs use Intel’s US and EU based capacity.
The only thing that UMC can provide Intel is PDK Experience and Customers not Tech Intel is way ahead of UMC in that regard.
Doing technology development with an eye towards ensuring robust PDKs and bringing customers is very valuable.
 
The only thing that UMC can provide Intel is PDK Experience and Customers not Tech Intel is way ahead of UMC in that regard.

Very true. Having outside eyes looking in is valuable as well. UMC has VERY satisfied and loyal customers. Intel Foundry could learn from that. I'm surprised we have not heard more about Tower Semi doing the same thing and how about Globalfoundries stuck at 14nm they got from Samsung? Intel needs to fill fabs, absolutely.
 
Very true. Having outside eyes looking in is valuable as well. UMC has VERY satisfied and loyal customers. Intel Foundry could learn from that. I'm surprised we have not heard more about Tower Semi doing the same thing and how about Globalfoundries stuck at 14nm they got from Samsung? Intel needs to fill fabs, absolutely.
Intel did mention it recently:

"Most people kind of settled in that that must mean ’27, and that’s generally kind of what we’re thinking is we can be breakeven. It doesn’t require a ton of revenue for Foundry. It’s somewhere in the, you know, single digit, called low to mid single digit billions of revenue that foundry’s got to get from external sources. But I would just remind you that some of that’s going to be our partnership with UMC, some of that’s going be our partnership with Tower, some of that’s gonna be packaging, and some of that’s going to be 18 a, some of that actually is gonna be older generations, know, like, example, Intel sixteen. So it’s not a ton that has to come from 18 a for it to to work."

 
Intel did mention it recently:

"Most people kind of settled in that that must mean ’27, and that’s generally kind of what we’re thinking is we can be breakeven. It doesn’t require a ton of revenue for Foundry. It’s somewhere in the, you know, single digit, called low to mid single digit billions of revenue that foundry’s got to get from external sources. But I would just remind you that some of that’s going to be our partnership with UMC, some of that’s going be our partnership with Tower, some of that’s gonna be packaging, and some of that’s going to be 18 a, some of that actually is gonna be older generations, know, like, example, Intel sixteen. So it’s not a ton that has to come from 18 a for it to to work."


Right, but from what I remember Intel was going to manufacture additional 65nm BCD/RF-SOI capacity for Tower versus Tower getting access to Intel's FinFET processes.
 
Leading edge node development takes billions of dollars.

IBM is a pretender only look at Samsung success and in a few years see Rapidus for what IBM does.

Intel has t been reliable since 10nm. There are no takers for Intel 4/3 or 18A. There is no confidence in the ecosystem to their PDKs nor their ability to manufacture with the yield the real leadership foundry does.

Doubt Intel could offer UMC much
 
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