Industry Expert Blogs
Fabless ASIC Vendors to Expand Design Services-November 2, 2011 |
Contrary to popular belief, the ASIC is not dead. ASIC design starts have been dwindling for some time, although chip costs and complexity continue to soar.
The move has prompted ASIC vendors to provide more and value-added services for customers. For example, one fabless ASIC house, Global Unichip Corp., has unveiled what the Taiwan company calls its new “Flexible ASIC Model.”
As part of the effort, the company has expanded its IC packaging design team and quietly amassed its own intellectual property (IP) cores. “We want to be more of a design services company,” said Jim Lai, president of Global Unichip.