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An empty Fab is a terrible thing to waste, especially when it is leading edge. By the end of the year Intel will, by my back of the envelope calculation, be sitting with the equivalent of one idle 22nm Fab (cost $5B). What would you do if you were Paul Otellini?
Across the valley, in Cupertino, you have Tim Cook, whose modus operandi is … Read More
These last days have been full of Apple related stories; maybe it’s time to discuss a new topic? Like for example Samsung, direct competitor for Apple in the smartphone market, and take a look at the company move toward more vertical integration. Everybody working in the SC industry knows that Samsung is ranked #2 behind Intel, even… Read More
What
In just 20 days you can get an update on four Mentor Graphics tools as used in the TSMC Open Innovation Platform (OIP). Many EDA and IP companies will be presenting along with Mentor, so it should be informative for fabless design companies in Silicon Valley doing business with TSMC.
… Read More
Whenever people hear that I travel internationally one week a month they cringe at the thought of crowded airports, 12 hour flights, jet lag, and days packed with meetings. I generally shrug, accept the label of travel warrior, and say it is all part of doing business in the semiconductor ecosystem. But in reality, it is not as bad … Read More
Today GlobalFoundries announced a 14nm process that will be available for volume production in 2014. They are explicitly trying to match Intel’s timeline for the introduction of 14nm. The process is called 14XM for eXtreme Mobility since it is especially focused on mobile. The process will be introduced just one year after… Read More
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
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
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
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
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
Flynn Was Right: How a 2003 Warning Foretold Today’s Architectural Pivot