Last week I talked with two experts at Mentor about the challenges of getting IC designs into the 32nm/28nm node on the Common Platform (IBM, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Samsung). Global Foundries issued a press release talking about how the four major EDA companies have worked together to qualify EDA tools for this node.
Sudhakar Jilla,… Read More
Unlike the last CES, this year I saw compelling technology, technology that will definitely drive the semiconductor industry and make the analyst fortunetellers look bad yet again. Anyone who thinks semiconductor growth next year will be in single digits is absolutely wrong, TSMC will grow even more, 20%+. First and foremost… Read More
GlobalFoundries has brought the Common Platform Alliance back from the dead!?!?!?! Good thing too as it is probably their most comprehensive weapon against TSMC and answers the single biggest question customers have at 28nm and that is; Will there be enough CAPACITY?
The Common Platform technology alliance hosted its first-ever… Read More
As mentioned in previous blogs, design enablement is a key enabler to fabless semiconductor design and manufacture, without question. The purpose of this blog (in 500 words) is to compare and contrast two very different design enablement strategies and engage the semiconductor community in a meaningful discussion.
The GlobalFoundry… Read More
It has been an interesting month in the semiconductor business. Record revenues, profits, aggressive expansion plans, something we have not seen before and may not see again. Let’s start in Taiwan then move to Silicon Valley, Upstate New York, China, and Korea, with a look at: financials, capacity, and consolidation.
TSMC and… Read More
It was a pleasure to see the GlobalFoundries (GFI) corporate pitch at the Mentor Graphics U2U Conference last week. Wally Rhines is a tough act to follow but Mojy Chian, Senior Vice President of Design Enablement at GlobalFoundries, presented a compelling argument for a refined foundry business model. The GFI people were also … Read More
According to the EETimes – “The leading-edge foundry market is up for grabs, as several vendors have stumbled or been victims of the shakeout “. According to people who actually work with the foundries, like myself, the leading edge foundry market will continue to be dominated by TSMC and GlobalFoundries is the “dark horse”. Samsung… Read More
One may ask why in the semiconductor world would GlobalFoundries(GFI) exhibit at the Mobile World Congress last week, the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry. And not just exhibit, GFI turned out at en force with meeting rooms and bright orange signage declaring a mobile revolution. Why? Here is your first clue:… Read More
TSMC Versus Global Foundries and TSMC versus SMIC clearly indicate that TSMC is the number one foundry in the world and it will be that way for the foreseeable future. The question now is who will be number two? Who will seriously challenge TSMC?
UMC has 10 fabs, 8 in Taiwan, 1 in Japan, and 1 in Singapore. Global Foundries will have Chartered’s… Read More
The big news last week was Global Foundries’ (GFI) agreement to acquire Chartered Semiconductor (CHRT) for $3.9B, but what does it really mean to the semiconductor world in total?
CurrentlyTSMC has 11 fabs producing wafers, 8 in Taiwan, 1 in Shanghai, 1 in Singapore, and 1 in Washington State. After the acquisition, Global Foundries… Read More
