The rationale behind the Tower Semi acquisition and things to watch out for at Intel’s investor day.
Intel bids for Tower Semi
First I have to quote myself because Tower was an error of omission. In November in a piece that was likely too long for its own good, I mentioned that trailing edge fabs are in a huge position of strength… Read More
-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
There’s a quiet upheaval happening in the semiconductor industry. The rules that have always governed the industry are fraying, undoing assumptions that we took for granted, that was pounded into us in school. The irreproachable Moore’s Law, that exponential progress will make things cheaper, better,… Read More
The last year has seen a ton written about the semiconductor industry: chip shortages, the CHIPS Act, our dependence on Taiwan and TSMC, China, etc.
But despite all this talk about chips and semiconductors, few understand how the industry is structured. I’ve found the best way to understand something complicated is to diagram… Read More
-KLAC – great QTR & calendar year but supply chain impacted
-Management feels supply chain to improve after March Q
-Demand remains strong, driven by foundry/logic
-Process management is next best place in industry after litho
Great end to calendar year
KLA reported revenues of $2.53B with non GAAP EPS of $5.59 nicely… Read More
Hello! The most important semiconductor company in the world reported earnings last night. It’s been something of a tradition to post Taiwan Semiconductor Company (TSMC) earnings posts not behind my paywall, and I think that I’m going to continue that to kickoff each earnings season.
There are so many threads in the TSMC call that… Read More
-Chips for America is better than nothing, but not much
–TSMC $40-44B Capex crushes competition (Intel & Samsung)
-Additional efforts other than handouts are necessary
-Could/should TSMC be “adopted” as a US company?
Competition can’t keep up with $40-$44B of Capex
TSMC’s recent announcement… Read More
Previous SemiWiki articles have described the evolution of embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM) IP from (charge-based) eFlash technology to alternative (resistive) bitcell devices. (link, link)
The applications for eNVM are vast, and growing. For example, microcontrollers (MCUs) integrate non-volatile memory for … Read More
Frequent SemiWiki readers are no doubt familiar with the advances in packaging technology introduced over the past decade. At the recent International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco, TSMC gave an insightful presentation sharing their vision for packaging roadmap goals and challenges, to address the growing… Read More
-Chips enable tech sector which underpins entire economy
-Is the US chip sector “Too Big To Fail”?
-If US chip industry fails, does tech & everything else follow?
-How chip/Taiwan crisis compares to 2008 financial meltdown
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
We find it an incredible juxtaposition… Read More
