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Congrats TSMC, for raising R&D spend! But, what about Indian firms?
Source: IC Insights, USA.
Congratulations to TSMC for making it to the top 10 R&D spenders during 2010! If you look at the IC Insights’ table (see here), you’d understand what I am referring to!
First, the table itself. It has no major surprises, barring TSMC, which again is not really a surprise. As IC Insights itself says, “The industry is increasingly dependent on the success (and hopefully not, failure) of the foundries to continue advancing their IC manufacturing capabilities.”
TSMC has jumped up from 19th to the 10th place in the latest R&D spend. IC Insights expects that TSMC’s R&D spending in 2011 will grow another 20 percent, putting its budget over $1.1 billion for the year.
Otherwise, the top 9 in the list consist of Intel, Samsung, ST, Renesas, Broadcom, Toshiba, Qualcomm, TI and AMD — all big, strong players. However, TSMC, is the only foundry in that list, at the 10th spot.
Now, all of this makes great reading! Everyone connected with the global semiconductor industry is very well aware of TSMC’s strengths and capabilities.
The more TSMC grows in stature, the more will its capabilities grow. A lot of firms have already exited the manufacturing industry, leaving that to the likes of TSMC and others, and some more are due soon.
However, I am thoroughly disappointed by some folks who touch upon India missing out on the R&D story. More of that in a bit!
First. where is the R&D strength of India? There are firms, based outside the country, managed by Indians, who seem to look down on the country. I even received an email from a gentleman, which says: ‘Without semiconductors, India cannot gain technological advantage. Semiconductor should be funded by the defense budget.” I am appalled!
Well, we are trying, aren’t we? There are names that come to the mind — Procsys, Ittiam, SoftJin, eInfochips, MindTree, and so on! Yes, I know they aren’t exactly world beaters. But hey, they are all doing their own thing reasonably well!
Round-up 2010: Best of semiconductors
Right then, folks! This is my last post for 2010, on my favorite topic – semiconductors. If 2009 was one of the worst, if not, the worst year ever for semiconductors, 2010 seems to be the best year for this industry, what with the analyst community forecasting that the global semicon industry will surpass the $300 billion mark for the first time in its history!
Well, here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly, if available for otherwise what has been an excellent year, which is in its last hours, for semiconductors. Presenting a list of posts on semiconductors that mattered in 2010.
Top semiconductor and EDA trends to watch out for in 2010!
Delivering 10X design improvements: Dr. Walden C. Rhines, Mentor Graphics @ VLSID 2010
Future research directions in EDA: Dr. Prith Banerjee @ VLSID 2010 — This was quite an entertaining presentation!
Global semicon industry on rapid recovery curve: Dr. Wally Rhines
Indian semicon industry: Time for paradigm shift! — When will that shift actually happen?
Qualcomm, AMD head top 25 fabless IC suppliers for 2009; Taiwan firms finish strong!
TSMC leads 2009 foundry rankings; GlobalFoundries top challenger!
ISA Vision Summit 2010: Karnataka Semicon Policy 2010 unveiled; great opportunity for India to show we mean business! — So far, the Karnataka semicon policy has flattered to deceive! I’m not surprised, though!
Dongbu HiTek comes India calling! Raises hopes for foundry services!!
Indian electronics and semiconductor industries: Time to answer tough questions and find solutions — Reminds me of the popular song from U2 titled — “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”!
What should the Indian semicon/electronics industry do now? — Seriously, easy to say, difficult to manage (ESDM)! 😉 Read more…
Intel opens manufacturing doors to Achronix! Becomes mini foundry?
For those who are not aware, yesterday, Achronix Semiconductor Corp. announced strategic access to Intel’s 22nm process technology, and plans to develop the most advanced FPGAs.
According to the release, the Achronix Speedster22i FPGA family will shatter existing limitations of FPGAs, allowing cost effective production of high performance devices over 2.5M LUTs in size, equivalent to an ASIC of over 20 million gates.
What’s really interesting in all of this is the involvement of Intel and Achronix’s use of Intel’s 22nm technology.
Now, about two weeks ago, Intel announced investment plans between $6-$8 billion on future generations of manufacturing technology in its American facilities. This will fund deployment of Intel’s 22nm manufacturing process across several existing US factories, along with construction of a new development fab in Oregon. The projects will support 6,000-8,000 construction jobs and result in 800-1,000 new, permanent high-tech jobs.
Following this Achronix activity, could it be just the beginning where Intel also allows several others to make use of its latest process technologies, or is it going to be just a one-off thing? Probably, the first one! Here’s why!
On visiting Intel’s site, there’s a blog post by Bill Kircos, director, Product and Technology Media Relations, Global Communications Group at Intel.
He says: “With Achronix, we are selectively offering access to our 22nm fabs. For perspective, this deal would only make up a tiny amount of our overall capacity, significantly less than 1 percent, and is not currently viewed as financially material to Intel’s earnings. But it’s still an important endeavor for us that we’re committed to deliver on. I can tell you the folks over at Achronix are very excited about the opportunity and the expected performance boosts they will see in their Intel manufactured products. We are too.”
Bill has asked for readers’ views on Intel opening up its manufacturing facilities to others. I have given a thumbs up!
Intel has become a mini foundry for the time being. Depending on whether customers find some ‘alignment’ — which am sure they will — this looks to be a good move on part of Intel.
Finally, I had a very excited caller this morning — an industry friend — who simply gushed — ‘you should write about this’! My guess: he and several others are likely to approach Intel for assistance, if not now, then surely in the near future.
Smaller companies would stand to benefit in the long run if they can have access to Intel’s latest process technologies. Of course, we are talking about really sophisticated chips here!
While we have to see what GlobalFoundries and TSMC have to say, Intel’s latest move will probably make it a really interesting level-playing field among foundries.
Intel's McAfee buy: Too few answers to too many questions, for now!
Yes I know I am a little late with this due to various reasons, but better late than never! On August 19th, Intel literally shocked the IT and information security world with its acquisition of McAfee for a whopping $7.68 billion approximately! Startled, a lot of folks started asking around as to why Intel did such a thing! Is Intel even doing the right thing in the first place?
The world boasts of several magnificent gadgets and devices — mobile phones and smartphones, Internet connected TVs, Wi-Fi enabled eReaders, the iPads, portable navigation devices with wireless interfaces, and so on and so forth! Now, how many of these devices actually boast of great security? Aren’t most of those unprotected?
With so many devices, besides smartphones, getting connected to the Internet every day, and with little or no on-board or ‘in-house’ security in place, this move is perhaps a masterstroke on Intel’s part!
But then, not all of such devices would run on Intel’s chips either! So? How will Intel control the hardware security market and create a monopoly — as some have been pointing out? Or, is there a much larger, hidden picture, which will get revealed over time?
Or, has this been done with the intention to rule the mobile security market, or well, security within the chip, or even device security or hardware security? Also, will this signal the end of malware?
And what about McAfee itself? Will this signal an end to all of its wonderful product development now that it will be part of Intel? What about its customers? Will some of its top executives march out? Intel says that McAfee will continue to run as is, and one hopes that it is maintained.
Personally, I was keen to know what Symantec thought of this acquisition. The company stated: The announcement by Intel to acquire McAfee emphasizes the growing relevance and need for security protection that extends beyond the PC and acknowledges Symantec’s ongoing strategy.
iSuppli raises 2010 foundry forecast; interesting lessons to learn for India from China's story!
Len Jelinek, director and chief analyst for semiconductor manufacturing, iSuppli.
“During the first three quarters of 2010, foundries were under intense pressure to meet customer demand,” said Len Jelinek, director and chief analyst for semiconductor manufacturing at iSuppli. “The pressure is leading to increased revenue, as consumer spending has come back with a vengeance following a dramatic downturn in the fourth quarter of 2008 and for all of 2009.”
By 2014, total pure-play foundry revenue will reach $45.9 billion, managing a CAGR of 9.4 percent from $26.8 billion in 2008. Pure-play foundries are contract manufacturers whose business consists of producing semiconductors on behalf of other chip companies.
Enhancing foundry forecast
I started by asking Jelinek what were the chief reasons for enhancing the foundry forecast. Jelinek said: “The forecast increase is based on the anticipated strength in demand for products in Q2 and beyond. Additionally, it is also simple math. The foundry market had a good Q2, and last year, Q1 and Q2 were quite challenging. So, by having a good first half of the year, the percentage must increase.”
Also, given that there has been renewed demand for consumer electronics products, what are the specific CE products, besides netbooks, mobile phones, that have been seeing renewed demand, and why?
What's happening with the global semiconductor industry?
Next, at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, China, it outlined plans for a new Atom processor-based SoC. It is codenamed as the Tunnel Creek SoC for IP phones, printers and in-vehicle-infotainment systems for cars. Excellent!
Then, at its 2010 Technology Symposium, TSMC announced that it will skip the 22nm manufacturing process node and move directly to a 20nm technology. In fact, it proposes to enter 20nm risk production in the second half of 2012. Brilliant!
Now, I have a release from Future Horizons that outlines the state of the global semiconductor industry. On the one hand, Future Horizons indicates that semiconductor sales have continued to be very strong. This looks set to continue for the rest of the year, resulting in a 2010 that is massively improved on 2009.
On the other hand, several companies still remain unjustifiably pessimistic and confused about the state of the market. Companies now have an opportunity to dominate the market. Instead they continue to be cautious, undermining their own prospects of making some serious money. Isn’t that confusing for the industry? Or, is it confusing itself?
I also have a report from Accenture titled ‘Flying blind in the semiconductor industry’, which you can read on the PC Semicon Blog.
According to Scott Grant, managing director with Accenture’s Semiconductor Business, the fallout from the global recession, massive fragmenting of the value chain, the rise of a more diverse world economy, and new sales and distribution models have created tough challenges for semiconductor companies when it comes to understanding and predicting demand for their chips and managing their supply chains. This lack of understanding is a dangerous liability in a world characterized by unprecedented volatility and competition.
Oh my, these are clearly mixed signals all over again! Or, is the global semiconductor industry having problems with its ‘place-and-route’ strategies? Just a fiigure of speech!
For one, is the global semicon industry truly flying blind? Scott Grant has given suggestions as to how the challenges can be tackled. He advises semiconductor companies to focus on three priorities: sales force effectiveness, supply chain integration and optimizing their collaborative planning and fulfillment capabilities.
Look, I’m not an expert! There are several questions that need to be asked, and I hope some knowledgeable folks can answer those.
For one, should the global semicon industry continue to revel in ‘inappropriate pessimism’,’ how will it affect its fortunes in the short and long terms? Or, are those strategies, as advised by Accenture, enough to help the industry? Next, why this need to skip process nodes? What happens to those betting on 22nm? Okay, will all of that have some impact on the semiconductor equipment industry in the long term? What’s really happening with the global semiconductor industry?
There is a need to swing back to optimism, folks, as Malcolm Penn of Future Horizons says in his monthly update.
As I’m about to call it a day (or evening or night), comes the news that EDA industry organizations, Accellera and The SPIRIT Consortium, have completed their merger!
Didn’t I tell you at the very beginning that this is turning out to be quite a week in the global semiconductor industry?
The next week promises to be fun, especially in the Indian semiconductor/VLSI/electronics industry! Well, it has to do with microelectronics! You’ll find out soon. 🙂 Keep reading this blog, friends.
Intel launches Xeon 7500 processor series
Diane M. Bryant, CIO Corporate VP Intel IT, Intel Corp. and R. Ravichandran, director, Sales & World Ahead Program - Asia, Intel Technology India Pvt Ltd at the launch of Intel's new Xeon 7500 processor series.
Capping off its largest ever data center refresh, Intel Corp. has launched the Xeon 7500 processor series. While the global launch was yesterday, Diane M. Bryant, CIO Corporate VP Intel IT, Intel Corp. and R. Ravichandran, director, Sales & World Ahead Program – Asia, Intel Technology India Pvt Ltd launched the Xeon 7500 processor series in Bangalore, India today.
Intel culminated the transition to the company’s award-winning Nehalem chip design with the launch of the Intel Xeon 7500 processor series. In less than 90 days, it has introduced the all-new 2010 PC, laptop and server processors that increase energy efficiency and computing speed and include a multitude of new features that make computers more intelligent, flexible and reliable.
Expandable to include from two to 256 chips per server, the Intel Xeon processors have an average performance three times that of Intel’s existing Xeon 7400 series on common, leading enterprise benchmarks, and come equipped with more than 20 new reliability features.
Some statistics were also provided. For instance, there is said to be a growing demand for big servers, such as:
* Data growth and information demand: 650 percent data growth.
* Real time business intelligence” $6.8 billion market by 2013.
* High performance computing: $11.1 billion market by 2013, supercomputers $3.8 billion.
Some of the breakthrough capabilities of the Xeon 7500 series include scalable performance — with modular scaling from 2 to 8 Sockets with QPI and 256 Sockets via OEM NCs, flexible virtualization — up to 8x memory bandwidth and 4x memory capacity increases, and advanced reliability — over 20 new RAS features including MCA recovery. Read more…
Intel unveils next generation Atom processors
Today, Intel launched the new Intel Atom platform, which is said to be coming soon to a netbook and entry-level desktop near you! This includes:
– Intel Atom processor N450 for netbooks.
– Intel Atom processor D410 and D510 for entry-level desktops.
– Intel NM10 Express chipset.
The Intel Atom Processor D510 (dual core, for desktop). Source: Intel.
With these next generation of Atom processors, Intel has extended leadership in netbooks. These processors deliver features that consumers desire in netbooks and entry-level desktops, such as lower power, sleeker form factors, enhanced performance and continued affordability. Further, the announcements indicates that Intel remains committed to its Atom roadmap and continued investment and innovation in this category.
Features include the integration of graphics and memory controller into processor and lower power, enhanced performance and enhanced battery life. All of the new chips run at 1.66GHz. Pricing and availability will be announced in January as systems become available from OEMs.
According to David McCloskey, Client Platform Marketing Manager, Intel Asia Pacific, there has been a strong growth in the netbooks category, and these are expected to show continued strong growth, and are likely to grow at a CAGR of 47 percent during 2008-2013.
Likewise, netbooks and service providers have been growing together as well. In fact, strong growth is visible among service providers offering netbooks. Service providers are likely to sell nearly 18 percent of all netbooks sold in 2013.
So, where is the growth occurring in desktops? As per Intel, desktop growth is being forecasted strong in small form factor and all-in-one devices. Intel already has over 80 design wins for netbooks and over 50 design wins for entry-level desktops.
The announcements indicate platform integration for netbooks and entry-level desktops. According to Intel, the Atom processor was designed from the ground up for small devices and low power, and remains Intel’s smallest chip, built on the company’s 45nm high-k metal gate manufacturing process.
The overall package, including chipset, just got smaller due to the increasing integration and 45nm manufacturing, which means smaller, more compact system designs, lower costs for OEMs and improved performance.
Another feature is the move from three-chip to two-chip solution, thereby facilitating lower power and enhanced performance via higher integration. Intel adds that next generation purpose-built Atom architecture enables lower power and increased form factor flexibility.
For netbooks, it means 20 percent lower power and 60 percent reduction in package size. For entry-level desktops, it translates into 50 percent lower power and 70 percent reduction in package size.
Intel is also providing the OS of choice for OEMs and consumers. They can either opt for Windows 7 Starter & Home Basic, Windows XP Home or Moblin.
AMD, Intel settle all disputes! What a relief!!
The big news: Intel and AMD announced a comprehensive agreement to end all outstanding legal disputes between the companies, including antitrust litigation and patent cross license disputes! What a relief!
In a joint statement the two companies commented, “While the relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and enables the companies to focus all of our efforts on product innovation and development.”
As per the agreement the two companies obtain patent rights from a new five-year cross license agreement, Intel and AMD will give up any claims of breach from the previous license agreement, and Intel will pay AMD $1.25 billion. Intel has also agreed to abide by a set of business practice provisions.
AMD will drop all pending litigation including the case in US District Court in Delaware and two cases pending in Japan. AMD will also withdraw all of its regulatory complaints worldwide.
Ramkumar Subramanian, VP, Sales & Marketing, AMD India, said: “This is a historical settlement for the microprocessor industry. The settlement will set transparent ground rules for open, competitive markets, with which Intel, in full public view, has agreed to comply. Fair and open competition dictates that the best product wins and market forces prevail. I am very confident that this development will help us strengthen our market position.”
This is just the kind of news the global semiconductor industry needs! It is hopefully, on path of a major recovery after having faced the worst recession.
It is heartening to note that the two rivals have buried the hatchet and shaken hands — a plea I’ve been making via my blog posts for such a long time.
It would do both Intel and AMD a world of good to focus on their core competencies and continue to produce all of those magnificent chips that make all of our lives so easy and meaningful!
Good work guys and congratulations. May you have all the success and lead the global semiconductor industry to greater heights in the future.
Top 5 high growth markets driving (semicon?) recovery, and top 10 hot and emerging technology platforms
Today, I received two wonderful reports — one, highlighting the top 5 high growth markets driving (semiconductor) recovery, and two, the top 10 hot and emerging technology platforms well poised to profoundly impact manifold sectors across the globe while offering potential high RoI for investors!
First, semiconductors! Semico Research has come up with a report that highlights the top 5 high growth segments driving growth and recovery in the semiconductor segment. For the record, 2009 is likely to see the global semiconductor industry decline by 12.5 percent. The top 5 segments according to Semico Research are:
* Netbooks
* Portable navigation devices (PNDs)
* Digital TVs
* DVD recorders
* Video game consoles
Hey, there really seems to be a lot of light at the end of the tunnel for the consumer electronics industry!
On netbooks, I think Intel needs to be given most, if not, all of the credit. Here’s what iSuppli has to say in its fast facts for Intel’s Q3 results:
* Intel also capitalized on the continued rise in demand for netbook PCs. The company dominates the netbook microprocessor market with its Atom chip. iSuppli predicts global netbook shipments will rise to 22.2 million units in 2009, up 68.5 percent from 13.2 million in 2008.
* While Atom represents only a small share of Intel’s total revenue, its profitability is disproportionately high. “Netbook microprocessors are a high-margin product because they utlilize old technology,” said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst, compute platforms, for iSuppli. “The Atom is based on the old Pentium M microprocessor and uses a mature manufacturing process. Because of this, Intel is getting very high yields and an extremely high margin on the Atom.”
On PNDs, SatNav has recently introduced a Bluetooth enabled multifunction PND. Also, In-Stat reports that the worldwide unit shipments for PNDs will reach approximately 56 million units in 2012.
However, iSuppli has just sent out a story to me, saying that PNDs have now entered a period of slowing growth, spurring companies throughout the supply chain to re-evaluate their business models. Interesting!
As for digital TVs, according to DisplaySearch, developed markets are starting 2009 with strong growth and emerging markets are transitioning from CRT to LCD TVs faster than expected. However, plasma (PDP) TV is expected to fall about 2 percent Y/Y to 14.1 million in 2009 after strong 28 percent growth in 2008. As per iSuppli, OLED-TV revenue will likely rise by a factor of 240 by 2015—but still remain a niche. Let’s see!
DisplaySearch’s total global TV forecast is 200.4 million units in 2009, down 3 percent Y/Y, the first decline in total shipments in recent memory as the global recession and rising unemployment continue to take a toll on demand. However, the slowdown will be temporary as the worldwide economy emerges from recession and new markets enter the initial stages of the flat panel and digital TV transition.
Among DVDs, Samsung has introduced its first internal Blu-ray disc combo drive with BD-R and 8X BD-ROM read speed. Also, Flex-DVD is the latest technology in the DVD replication industry. This single layer format has the same capacity of a DVD-5 (4.7GB for standard size and 1.1GB for 3″ Mini DVD), but is half the thickness of the standard DVD.
Video game consoles — I find it quite interesting! It has been reported that the only products to see a decline in unit shipments in the second quarter were handheld video games, video game consoles, etc. Watch this market segment!
Now, to the top 10 hot and emerging technologies! According to a report from Frost & Sullivan, these are:
* Nanomaterials
* Flexible electronics
* Advanced batteries and energy storage
* Smart materials
* Green IT
* CIGS solar
* 3D integration
* Autonomous systems
* White biotech
* Lasers
Flex-DVD, above, is a great example of flexible electronics. Green IT — although a much abused term, it has certainly been on the top of the charts for quite some time now. Battery technologies and energy storage — yes, certainly. There are rightful places for CIGS solar — a point also made by Dr. Robert Castellano of The Information Network — and smart materials, as well as lasers and white biotech.
Well, what do you think folks? Do you agree with these top 5 and top 10 lists?
Pradeep Chakraborty 