Global Foundries, Santa Clara, Calif., announces a change in its technology portfolio to intensify its focus on delivering differentiated offerings for clients in high-growth markets. In line with the strategic direction new CEO Tom Caulfield has articulated, the company will shift focus to its 14/12nm FinFET platform, while the 7nm FinFET program will be put on hold indefinitely. Research and development teams will be restructured, reducing the total workforce and redeploying technologists to 14/12nm FinFET derivatives and other differentiated offerings.
The ASIC business will be established as a wholly-owned subsidiary, independent from the foundry business. The independent ASIC entity will provide clients with access to customized 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.
Investing in identified areas of clear differentiation, a focus will be on “connected intelligence” in new areas such as autonomous driving, IoT and the global transition to 5G. These products include its FDXTM platform, 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.
