Not sure if this is a direct competitor to TNTTF.
TEL, Yield Dynamics plan joint development in process control software
By Semiconductor Business News Aug 7, 2000
URL: semibiznews.com
TOKYO--Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) today announced it has taken a stake in Silicon Valley-based Yield Dynamics Inc., a supplier of yield management and process control software for wafer fabs. The two companies also announced a partnership to extend Yield Dynamics' process control software from its current focused in lithography to other processing segments using TEL's expertise and customer relationships.
"By making an investment and partnering with Yield Dynamics, our customers will benefit from the synergy of two independent companies working together with the goal of creating the highest quality products for advanced process control," said Tetsuro Higashi, chief executive officer and president of TEL. The Japanese semiconductor equipment giant began reselling Yield Dynamics' software in Japan last January.
Details about the equity position were not released by TEL.
"Based on the success of Yield Dynamics' products in the Japanese market and our assessment of the quality of the company and its technology, we determined it was the leading company for yield management and process control software, and that this technology is crucial for the expansion of our industry," Higashi said.
Yield Dynamics intends to use TEL's investment to expand development of process control software, said Jonathan Buckheit, president and CEO of the Santa Clara, Calif., company. The new development partnership with TEL will also expand Yield Dynamics' offering.
"To address the numerous semiconductor manufacturing specialties that require process control software, we believed that our software expertise should be augmented by process knowledge that is inherent in the tool manufacturer through both the tool's design and its use and application in customer fabs," Buckheit said. |
