Toshiba, Fujitsu to develop SoCs, but 'may' merge units

Toshiba, Fujitsu to develop SoCs, but 'may' merge units to speed up designs
By Semiconductor Business News
June 19, 2002 (10:41 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20020619S0021

TOKYO -- In another major partnership in Japan's IC industry, Fujitsu Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. today announced plans to explore a comprehensive collaboration focusing on system-on-a-chip (SoC) products, including the possibility of "integrating" their respective operations.

Aiming to provide SoC chip solutions at the 100-nm (0.10-micron) node and below, Fujitsu and Toshiba will establish several joint working groups to investigate the development of chip standards, processor cores, and advanced ICs for communications and other fields.

Through these collaborations, Fujitsu and Toshiba aim to further strengthen their respective semiconductor businesses and create a competitive model that combines their complementary capabilities.

As the collaboration progresses on the SoC front, Fujitsu and Toshiba also said that they "may seek" ways to expand the scope of their partnership, including the possibility of "integrating" their operations. No other details were given about these plans, however.

Fujitsu and Toshiba are no strangers to each other. The companies are already collaborating in the semiconductor field, including their joint development of FCRAMs for networking applications.