<<Unfortunately, no one has shown how Rambus will make any money from this. (ram being a commodity market).>>
Wrong!!!
Now let's see. Ram is a commodity market. With very high capital costs. Leading to initial margins when new improved product is produced, but then massive overcapacity, vicious price competition, and losses as revenues become insufficient to amortize that massive capital expenditure. At least for most players.
Soooo. How about deciding to sell the design for a truly new, much higher speed set of innovations, but not produce memory yourself? Decide to get paid by charging a small percentage off the top. Of every competing chip in a flood of chips. A 1-2% royalty of a HUGE market. With virtually no capital costs. Only development, and some small selling costs. You know, just like a software company.
Take the idea of a fabless semi company to a new level. Because you sell your design to the whole industry, after getting IP (patent) protection to firmly lock up your design. Pretty swift idea for some Stanford Elec. Engineering professor and Silicon Valley wizz bang management types to put together, with top Silicon Valley venture financing, don't you think? Especially when Intel, the lynchpin of the whole Pc marketplace, is firmly behind the whole thing, in furtherance of their own need to build demand for ever faster processors.
That just might do it.
Call the company Rambus. Intel takes an equity slice itself. With options to buy more. Get it?
Doug |
