Semiconductor IP News and Trends Blog

Chinese Foundry Gains IP Portal

What does the recent launch of a new intellectual property (IP) portal that utilizes China’s largest foundry mean to chip designers?

What does ChipEstimate’s collaboration with SMIC – China’s largest foundry – mean to third party intellectual property (IP) providers and chip designers? I asked Chipestimate to elaborate on this collaboration. Here’s what they had to say. – JB

Blyler: SMIC has had some production challenges this year (see, “SMIC Weighs Changes After Posting Net Loss”). Will this collaboration on IP help or hinder similar challenges in the future?

Chipestimate: While I’m not in a position to comment on any challenges referred to, I am glad to explain that SMIC and ChipEstimate.com are working closely to ensure the worldwide electronics industry has fast, easy and intuitive access to the growing database of semiconductor IP cores being designed for SMIC manufacturing processes.  Representing a growing portfolio of IP, the database contains up to date marketing and technical content from premier IP suppliers across the globe focused on meeting the needs of SMIC customers.  The IP portal serves to streamline and centralize communications between SMIC’s growing customer base, their ecosystem of IP suppliers and the foundry.  By making accurate, current IP information up to date through the portal, users will be able to make the most informed decisions about sourcing IP designed for SMIC’s manufacturing and suppliers have a consistent, central channel to disseminate this information to their join customers.

Blyler: Do the asian portals (Japan, and now China) present additional security issues?

ChipEstimate: ChipEstimate.com is a global IP and chip planning portal with approximately 40,000 users worldwide.  Earlier this year, we launched ChipEstimate.Jp in Japan in partnership with some of the world’s largest foundries and IP suppliers.  While maintaining tight and effective security controls is a fundamental requirement of any website these days, especially those dealing in cataloging intellectual property, we’ve found no additional delta risk in addressing the Asian markets.  We continue to utilize the latest in IT technologies to ensure safe and secure data management and user access at ChipEstimate.com.

Blyler: Is the Chinese site localized?

ChipEstimate: Not at this time, but it’s something we are seriously considering for the future pending additional customer feedback.

Blyler: Will semiconductor IP from local Chinese companies be listed on the portal?

ChipEstimate: Absolutely.  This is another exciting aspect of the portal is that smaller domestic China based IP suppliers now can tap into the worldwide ecosystem of electronics companies looking to source IP designed for SMIC’s manufacturing technologies.

Blyler: Do the same quality metrics apply to both North America-European and the Asia-Pacific third party IP?

ChipEstimate: Yes.  While broad adoption of quality metrics remains a struggle for the industry at large, we do find the metrics do apply globally with those companies that have adopted them coming from all worldwide geographies.

Blyler: Have you experienced any pushback from the other foundries?

ChipEstimate: Since ChipEstimate.com maintains an industry neutral stance, in fact hosting micro sites for most of the world’s leading foundries, we’ve had only positive reaction to the announcement from our users and ecosystem partners.