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A Brief History of GLOBALFOUNDRIES

A Brief History of GLOBALFOUNDRIES
by Daniel Nenni on 09-13-2012 at 7:30 pm

In response to changing industry dynamics, AMD announced in October 2008 a new strategy to focus exclusively on the design phase of semiconductor product development. To achieve that strategy, AMD partnered with Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) of Abu Dhabi to create a new joint venture company designed to become… Read More


Intel Finally Comes Clean on 22nm SoCs!

Intel Finally Comes Clean on 22nm SoCs!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-12-2012 at 7:00 pm

Ever since Intel announced that they will leverage their advanced process technology leadership into the mobile SoC market I have expressed my doubts. I know how Intel designs their microprocessors, having worked for many of their vendors over the years and having friends at Intel who are actually doing the work. Disclaimer: … Read More


Fabless Semiconductor Ecosystem Update 2012

Fabless Semiconductor Ecosystem Update 2012
by Daniel Nenni on 09-11-2012 at 6:00 pm

Just a reminder, the semiconductor industry is doing quite well thanks to the fabless semiconductor ecosystem. TSMC, my economic bellwether, reported another great month with a 32% increase over August 2011 and a 16% increase over January-August 2011. TSMC is forecasting Q3 at a 7% increase over Q2, which was an amazing 21% increase… Read More


Intel’s Haswell and the Tablet PC Dilemma

Intel’s Haswell and the Tablet PC Dilemma
by Ed McKernan on 09-07-2012 at 12:26 pm

Paul Otellini’s greatest fear in his chase to have Intel win the Smartphone and Tablet space is that he opens the door to significant ASP declines in his current PC business. This is the Innovator’s Dilemma writ large. In 2011, Intel’s PC business (excluding servers) was $36B at an average ASP of $100. Within that model is an Ultra … Read More


The GLOBALFOUNDRIES Files

The GLOBALFOUNDRIES Files
by Daniel Nenni on 09-06-2012 at 9:58 am

There’s a new blogger in town, Kelvin Low from GLOBALFOUNDRIES. Kelvin was a process engineer for Chartered Semiconductor before moving on to product marketing for GF. His latest post talks about the GF 28nm SLP which is worth a read. There was quite the controversy over this Gate-First HKMG implementation of 28nm that IBM/GF/Samsung… Read More


A Brief History of Semiconductors: the Foundry Transition

A Brief History of Semiconductors: the Foundry Transition
by Paul McLellan on 09-04-2012 at 11:30 am

A modern fab can cost as much as $10B dollars. That’s billion with a B. Since it has a lifetime of perhaps 5 years, owning a fab costs around $50 per second and that’s before you buy any silicon or chemicals or design any chips. Obviously anyone owning a fab had better be planning on making and selling a lot of chips if they are going to make… Read More


TSMC 28nm Update Q3 2012!

TSMC 28nm Update Q3 2012!
by Daniel Nenni on 08-28-2012 at 7:30 pm

Reports out of Taiwan (I’m in Hsinchu this week) have TSMC more than doubling 28nm wafer output in Q3 2012 due to yield improvements and capacity increases while only spending $3.6B of the $8.5B forecasted CAPEX! Current estimates have TSMC 28nm capacity at 100,000 300mm wafers (+/- 10%) per month versus 25,000 wafers reported… Read More


Qualcomm Acquires Intel’s Playbook

Qualcomm Acquires Intel’s Playbook
by Ed McKernan on 08-10-2012 at 12:00 pm

The Mobile Tsunami wave has yet to crest and the surfers strong enough to mount it are dwindling fast to the dismay of market watchers and experienced analysts. The distraction of these past few days is the courtroom drama being played out between the sumo wrestlers, Apple and Samsung, which in the end will not result in a cessation… Read More


The GLOBALFOUNDRIES Value Proposition!

The GLOBALFOUNDRIES Value Proposition!
by Daniel Nenni on 08-09-2012 at 5:00 pm

From the very start I continually asked the GF guys what their value proposition is other than, “We are not TSMC”, which seems to be the easy way to foundry riches but clearly is not. In the early days of GF there was a lot of pride, pomp, and circumstance but that does not necessarily sell wafers. Today we are seeing a very different GF … Read More


TSMC Leads Semiconductor Sales Growth in 2012!

TSMC Leads Semiconductor Sales Growth in 2012!
by Daniel Nenni on 08-06-2012 at 10:00 am

As a fitting postscript to my “Brief History of the Fabless Semiconductor Industry”, semiconductor research company IC Insights compiled a list of the top semiconductor companies for the first half of 2012. As the traditional IDMs go fabless and sink in the ratings, the foundries post record gains led by TSMC at 22%, GlobalFoundries… Read More