Oki Electric and
UMC/UMCJ Broaden Semiconductor Business Partnership September 4, 2002, Tokyo and Chiba,
Japan — Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (TSE:6703) together with UMC
(NYSE: UMC) and UMC's Japan based subsidiary UMC Japan (UMCJ), today announced
that the companies have reached a comprehensive business agreement for the
leading-edge process foundry partnership which also includes System LSI design
alliance for mutual IP development and availability. Oki will align itself with
UMC's process design rules and target parameters of transistor characteristics
for the 0.15µm process generation. The process is also compatible with each
company's mask data level, which will allow Oki to utilize UMC/UMCJ's production
capacity when needed to assure stable supply for large volume requirements or to
respond to sudden increases in demand. For advanced 0.13µm technology and
beyond, the broadened foundry partnership will enable Oki to offer competitive
system LSI products in a timely fashion and utilize UMC and UMCJ's advanced
process technology. This will allow Oki to focus its investments and resources
more effectively on developing System LSI products and design properties. The
design alliance aspect of the agreement incorporates Oki into UMC's Gold IP™
program as a Design Plus partner. According to the agreement, Oki will port its
entire portfolio of strategic IPs such as Oki's ARM® based integration platform
and design environment, "µPLAT™" for use on the foundry's advanced technologies.
Oki will also make available total solution services to UMC's foundry customers
including its design supports and IP licensing services.
Katsuhiko Sano, President of Silicon Solutions Company at Oki Electric
commented, "Broadening our long-term business partnership with UMC/UMCJ is one
of Oki's System LSI development strategies. With this agreement, Oki will be
able to provide System LSI products to customers timely with a total service
solution. This comprehensive agreement will also enable us to focus our
resources more effectively on developing improved design environments."
John Hsuan, UMC Vice Chairman and CEO, said, "Oki will greatly increase its
ability to deliver market winning products by concentrating its resources on LSI
design and development while leveraging UMC's prowess in technology development
and cost-efficient manufacturing. This move is historic in that it marks the
first example of an IDM company in Japan moving towards the fabless business
model that has proven so successful in the USA and other countries over the past
decade. We are also extremely happy to offer Oki's extensive IP portfolio to our
other foundry customers. This is definitely a win-win situation for UMC and Oki
that has benefits for other companies in the industry as well."
Currently, UMCJ is producing 0.35µm / 0.22µm products for Oki.
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