GlobalFoundries Stops All 7nm Development: Opts To Focus on Specialized Processes
by Anton Shilov & Ian Cutress on August 27, 2018 4:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Semiconductors
- CPUs
- AMD
- GlobalFoundries
- 7nm
- 7LP
GlobalFoundries Press Release
GlobalFoundries Reshapes Technology Portfolio to Intensify Focus on Growing Demand for Differentiated Offerings
Semiconductor manufacturer realigns leading-edge roadmap to meet client need and establishes wholly-owned subsidiary to design custom ASICs.
Santa Clara, Calif., August 27, 2018 – GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced an important step in its transformation, continuing the trajectory launched with the appointment of Tom Caulfield as CEO earlier this year. In line with the strategic direction Caulfield has articulated, GF is reshaping its technology portfolio to intensify its focus on delivering truly differentiated offerings for clients in high-growth markets.
GF is realigning its leading-edge FinFET roadmap to serve the next wave of clients that will adopt the technology in the coming years. The company will shift development resources to make its 14/12nm FinFET platform more relevant to these clients, delivering a range of innovative IP and features including RF, embedded memory, low power and more. To support this transition, GF is putting its 7nm FinFET program on hold indefinitely and restructuring its research and development teams to support its enhanced portfolio initiatives. This will require a workforce reduction, however a significant number of top technologists will be redeployed on 14/12nm FinFET derivatives and other differentiated offerings.
“Demand for semiconductors has never been higher, and clients are asking us to play an ever-increasing role in enabling tomorrow’s technology innovations,” Caulfield said. “The vast majority of today’s fabless customers are looking to get more value out of each technology generation to leverage the substantial investments required to design into each technology node. Essentially, these nodes are transitioning to design platforms serving multiple waves of applications, giving each node greater longevity. This industry dynamic has resulted in fewer fabless clients designing into the outer limits of Moore’s Law. We are shifting our resources and focus by doubling down on our investments in differentiated technologies across our entire portfolio that are most relevant to our clients in growing market segments.”
In addition, to better leverage GF’s strong heritage and significant investments in ASIC design and IP, the company is establishing its ASIC business as a wholly-owned subsidiary, independent from the foundry business. A relevant ASIC business requires continued access to leading-edge technology. This independent ASIC entity will provide clients with access to alternative foundry options at 7nm and beyond, while allowing the ASIC business to engage with a broader set of clients, especially the growing number of systems companies that need ASIC capabilities and more manufacturing scale than GF can provide alone.
GF is intensifying investment in areas where it has clear differentiation and adds true value for clients, with an emphasis on delivering feature-rich offerings across its portfolio. This includes continued focus on its FDXTM platform, leading RF offerings (including RF SOI and high-performance SiGe), analog/mixed signal, and other technologies designed for a growing number of applications that require low power, real-time connectivity, and on-board intelligence. GF is uniquely positioned to serve this burgeoning market for “connected intelligence,” with strong demand in new areas such as autonomous driving, IoT and the global transition to 5G.
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FunBunny2 - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
"Oh....the.....horror....."the snark is well done. but... a static socio-economic environment is otherwise called "The Dark Ages". but this one is forever. if Social Darwinism is the paradigm going into the permanent Dark Age, said children's biggest worry won't be the missing electronics that double in speed every few years.
benedict - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
There never was a need to buy a new TV every 4 years. The crazy consumerism making people replace their perfectly working electronics every 1-2 years is a phenomenon almost exclusively happening in the USA and it cannot end soon enough.Believe it or not, life will keep going on after the death of Moore's law.
FMinus - Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - link
I think most people just keep their TVs until they die or the provider does something to make them obsolete, like in my case in 2008 my cable provider decided to kill analog over cable completely, so I had to throw out that CRT TV otherwise I'd still have it for a few more years, but that was a reasonable switch. That flat panel that replaced the LCD is still working in the bedroom, whilst we bought a new TV for the living room somewhere in 2014, and I intend to keep it until it dies, or the standards change and it becomes useless, but that likely wont be happening before it actually dies by itself.V900 - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
AMD will land on their feet, but this will REALLY suck for IBM who must regret betting the farm (and their fabrication guys on Global Foundries.)And of course, with only 2 fabs doing leading edge work, at some point it could mean delays for everyone who isn’t Apple or Samsung.
nevcairiel - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
Its really still 3 fabs, TSMC, Samsung and Intel. Maybe Intel will use that chance and do more third-party fabbing.V900 - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
It’s not as easy as that.It’s not like Intel is running a furniture factory, where anyone can get their table built, if IKEA is taking up all of the production at the usual plant.
(This is also why Intels last attempt at “renting out fab space” went so poorly.
Intels fabrication methods are tied into their design methods. They’re using their own tools and even design things somewhat differently from other companies. (Even AMD).
Intel’s fans and designers are used to a process that’s much more reliant on full-custom hand-crafted circuits which are intimately tied to the process.
Pretty much all of their IP, including the stuff for fabrication is designed and developed in-house, and is sometimes CPU specific.
Compare that to the rest of the industry that mostly uses common tools, and you can see the problem.
Going from TSMC to Samsung with a design might mean a delay of a few months, as you rejig the design to be built on Samsung’s process and tools.
Going from TSMC to Intel would mean a major delay as you redo the design for a process that was designed specifically for Intels needs and internal tools. If the chip is really complex, in some cases it would be easier and faster just to junk your design and start from close to scratch.
zodiacfml - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
Now it seems that if a fab produces mobile chips, it is more likely to thrive.Comdrpopnfresh - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
Very interesting. To me, this represents the canary in the silicon mine. Though, I did not expect it as soon as this.Maybe the other foundries will see these changes for what they are- submitting to physics. No sense in expensive pursuits that hasten arriving at the end of the road.
rahvin - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
I think the writings been the wall for a while. Fab prices have been far exceeding estimates, almost exponential growth in costs is simply unsustainable.ChrisGar15 - Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - link
There is an industry view that mature markets evolve into 3 main players. (with occasional disruptions & consolidations) There is a big player (e.g., 70% market share) ... and 2nd player (20-30% market share) ... and a niche/3rd player.I think the semiconductor market is evolving this way also. (my guess is Samsung will evolve to be the 2nd player -- but we'll see)