re: SNDK, chips article excerpts: "Fabless chipmakers have become victims of their own success. Despite unprecedented expansion by the three major foundry service providers, demand is outstripping the supply from foundries."
"While few foundry customers will admit—publicly—that their supply of product has been severely constrained, most are concerned that the capacity shortage could worsen, limiting their ability to grow."
"There is nothing more painful for fabless companies than to lose market share because of their lack of supply,” says Tower’s Nissan-Cohen, “so you’re starting to see strategies changing.
One of the most surprising
shifts is at Sunnyvale,
CA-based SanDisk Corp.,
which agreed in May to invest
some $400 million for half the
capacity of a Toshiba fab in
Manassas, VA, where the
companies have formed a joint
venture to design and
manufacture flash memory
products. In July, SanDisk also agreed to make a $75-million strategic investment in Tower Semiconductor in return for a 10% stake in the company and access to capacity in its new fab. “SanDisk is no longer a fabless company,” says Dan Auclair, the company’s senior vice president of business development and licensing.
He says it wasn’t easy deciding to get into manufacturing, but SanDisk’s foundries haven’t been able to meet the soaring demand for its products for nearly a year. “There’s no question it has slowed our growth,” he says.
full article:
eb-mag.com
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