08-30-2018, 03:21 AM
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/27...y-industry
Quote:We used to have 19 firms competing at the leading edge. STMicro announced it would lean on foundries for production after 14nm and never put that node into production. Currently, there are five firms offering 14nm, four of which offered it as a leading-edge node: Samsung, TSMC, Intel, GlobalFoundries (leading-edge, with GF using Samsung’s IP) and then UMC, which began offering 14nm as a new capability this summer. We may still see secondary foundries deploy on nodes like 14nm once they are no longer leading edge, but even this is uncertain. The cost structures are squeezing companies out of the market. Whether solutions like FDX can provide alternatives remains to be seen.
The goal of the GlobalFoundries spinoff was to create new customer opportunities and give AMD a partner in a more reliable position to deliver regularly foundry technology improvements. That dream largely failed to materialize. In all honesty, a departure from GF is probably best for both companies — even an incredibly aggressive Epyc and Ryzen sales ramp would not have supported AMD’s 7nm needs within the necessary time frames. Meanwhile, GF wants to focus on the market segments where it might actually have a chance of making a mark, and it’s hard to fault that. But the continuing decline in total customer base, alongside steep cost increases is an ominious preview of a future in which we may have just one company building on the leading edge — or possibly no companies at all.