Intel buys Tower – Best way to become foundry is to buy one

Intel buys Tower – Best way to become foundry is to buy one
by Robert Maire on 02-15-2022 at 10:00 am

Intel Tower Semiconductor Acquisition

-Intel jumpstarts foundry model with Tower semi buy @$54B Gets complementary tech to round out offerings
-Approval based on satisfying China’s needs as well
-Margin concerns overblown- Will it be allowed to flourish?

Intel pays up to get foundry and technology….

Intel announced a $5.4B acquisition of Tower Semiconductor… Read More


GloFo inside Intel? Foundry Foothold and Fixerupper- Good Synergies

GloFo inside Intel? Foundry Foothold and Fixerupper- Good Synergies
by Robert Maire on 07-18-2021 at 6:00 am

Intel GlobalFoundries Acquisition

Intel reportedly talking to Abu Dhabi to buy GloFo for $30B
Would jumpstart Intel Foundry but require investment & repair
Avoids IPO risk – Allows Abu Dhabi escape- NY benefits
Doesn’t impact near term shortage or market share

Reported by WSJ- Intel in talks to buy GloFo
The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel… Read More


Chips for America Act – Funding Failures & Foreigners or Saving Semiconductors?

Chips for America Act – Funding Failures & Foreigners or Saving Semiconductors?
by Robert Maire on 06-06-2021 at 6:00 am

Government Bailout

-A repeat of the auto industry bailout of self inflicted issues?
-Not just money but systemic change is needed
-Perhaps chips need an Elon led revolution like autos & space
-Govt $ need focus not thrown into existing spend avalanche.

 

Are chips a replay of the auto industry bailout a decade ago? Deja Vu all over again.

The… Read More


It’s not a Semiconductor Shortage It’s Demand Delirium & Poor Planning

It’s not a Semiconductor Shortage It’s Demand Delirium & Poor Planning
by Robert Maire on 04-25-2021 at 10:00 am

Biden Chip Shortage

-The semiconductor industry is not to blame its the customers
-How do you fix something that’s not really broken?
-Long taken for granted, semi’s are sexy again
-Pawns in a Political Power Play?

Its not the chip makers that screwed up. It’s the customers that stressed the system beyond breaking

The semiconductor… Read More


GloFo & TSMC lawsuit- A Surrogate Trade War- Pushing TSMC into China’s open arms?

GloFo & TSMC lawsuit- A Surrogate Trade War- Pushing TSMC into China’s open arms?
by Robert Maire on 08-29-2019 at 10:00 am

Surrogate Wars
Is GloFo using the trade war as an excuse?
Does TSMC get lumped in with China on trade?
Does this alienate TSMC into China’s embrace?

Much like Vietnam and Korea before it, there have been a number of “surrogate” wars between the US and China as well as many other wars between the US and Russia using… Read More


Is the Q4 Bounce Back now a 2009 Recovery?

Is the Q4 Bounce Back now a 2009 Recovery?
by Robert Maire on 09-10-2018 at 7:00 am

Last week saw a unique confluence of events that continue the negative news flow in semicap following the story about GloFo. At a financial conference, Micron’s CFO said NAND prices were declining, this was on top of an analyst note in the morning about the same issue. Even though this should be no surprise as memory has had … Read More


GloFo dropping out of 7NM race?

GloFo dropping out of 7NM race?
by Robert Maire on 08-27-2018 at 12:00 pm

Could this be more bad news for semicap spend? Negative for US chip independence & AMD costs ? Rumors of Global Foundries dropping out of the 7NM race have been increasing rapidly. What could be a fatal blow to the GloFo 7NM program was AMD deciding to go with TSMC for 7NM first for one product and finally for its next generation CPUs.… Read More


UTBB SOI can scale down to 5nm says Skotnicki…

UTBB SOI can scale down to 5nm says Skotnicki…
by Eric Esteve on 07-29-2015 at 12:00 am

…and FinFET down to 3nm. This assertion is the result of extensive research work made by Thomas Skotnicki, ST Fellow and Technical VP, Disruptive Technologies, leading to numerous publications, like in 1988 in IEEE EDL or in 2008 in IEEE TED paper. I say extensive, I should also say long, very long, as it took almost 30 years for the… Read More


GlobalFoundries did NOT Pull the Emergency Brake!

GlobalFoundries did NOT Pull the Emergency Brake!
by Daniel Nenni on 12-31-2014 at 10:00 am

Barron’s again published an unsubstantiated semicondutor rumor that is making the rounds. It all started with a Christmas day blog by Robert Maire who is a long time semiconductor analyst. Please note that he is not a semiconductor professional (someone who actually works in the industry) but he certainly does know people who … Read More


Should we pay the price of Innovation?

Should we pay the price of Innovation?
by Eric Esteve on 08-08-2014 at 8:00 pm

I agree that this question sounds stupid: nobody is forcing me to buy an innovative product, or even a gadget, if I don’t want to pay a high price, I just don’t buy the product. But it seems that some people don’t really think that way. The story is related to Qualcomm sales in China, and recently announced partnership with SMIC…

The PartnershipRead More