A View of the Future for GLOBALFOUNDRIES

Find the Latest SoC Solutions
for... Automotive... IoT... Security... Audio... Video

GLOBALFOUNDRIES' first 10 years were marked by significant progress as well as some growing pains, as we chronicled in Part 1 of this series, and by a major pivot in corporate strategy, as detailed in Part 2. In this third and final installment, we'll look at how GF, with a newfound sense of identity and purpose, is remaking itself to capitalize on the fundamental changes taking place in the semiconductor industry.

globalfoundries.com, Dec. 30, 2019 – 

Many people from outside our industry call semiconductors "computer chips." It's a term that should perhaps be retired, in light of the fact that semiconductors are increasingly used not only for traditional computing, but in an exploding number and variety of applications in virtually every field of human endeavor where data can be put to good use. Wearable fitness devices, cars that are increasingly autonomous, and voice-activated personal assistants are just a few examples.

These diverse and fast-growing applications require semiconductor solutions tailored to their specific needs. Therefore it is of paramount importance to have the ability to integrate features such as 5G-ready radio frequency (RF) and mmWave capabilities, low power consumption, embedded non-volatile memory, high-voltage capabilities, silicon photonics, advanced packaging, and others, into cost-effective solutions.

As it begins the second decade of its corporate life, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is in an enviable position to serve such specialized requirements, with 15 node-based technology platforms, 14 unique and/or best-in-class application feature sets, and thousands of titles in its intellectual property (IP) ecosystem. Combined, these assets enable GF to offer literally tens of thousands of different application solutions. GF calls this formulation its Innovation Equation, and no other specialty foundry on the planet has anything close to it.

These offerings are being enhanced by the pivot away from extreme scaling that GF CEO Tom Caulfield initiated last year. The pivot has repositioned the company, by shifting resources away from 7nm technology development, and into more comprehensive and intense efforts to bring further innovations to the platforms already in its portfolio. In this way, GF is adding value for clients without introducing dramatically more costly manufacturing processes.

 Back