I received a plethora of e-mails regarding my recent article, entitled "Opinion: Semi IP sector is a lost cause"
Then, I asked for the IP vendors themselves to respond to a set of questions. Here's one letter to the editor:
Editor,
I agree that the silicon IP market is in a tragic state. I think the often cited quality issue is an out of date stereotype. I have witnessed plenty of high quality IPs.
The fundamentals of a business are in question here. Why are no new SIP companies forming? They cannot make a profit. The customers tend to think they are just hiring labor with no value add so they negotiate the IP company down to zero profit.
Only microprocessor core companies have leverage at this point, because they have established a brand (ARM, MIPS etc.) Most IP companies cannot charge a royalty so profit is pretty thin.
Then foundries play a role in this business challenge by not quite meeting the spec of the process every now and then, which pretty much trashes whatever effort the IP company invested. The foundry apologizes; sometimes but never covers the loss.
The foundries play a song (split personality) that they support third-party IP to customers but in reality they want to provide their own free IP so they can lock the customer into their fab and potentially prevent the customer from throwing the mask set over to a cheaper compatible foundry in the future.
On top of all of this the number of design starts continues to decline. If you do not have a unique or strongly branded offering this is not a happy place to do business and build equity.
So why do these few IP survive?
ARM: Positive brand -- and value commands royalty
MIPS: Positive brand -- and value commands royalty
RAMBUS: Patent troll -- demands value via litigation
The only others worth mentioning survive due to a shortage of analog designers.
Les Wilson
RSS
Digital
10 emerging technologies to watch:
EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010. Biofeedback or thought-control of electronics are among the contenders.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Executive pay:
The economy stinks. Rank-and-file engineers are feeling the pain. What about technology CEOs? We crunched the numbers buried in corporate financial statements to find out. Here's what we found.
10 companies in trouble (revisited):
What follows is an updated version of 10 companies in trouble. Some companies have been removed since the last version, others remain. Still others have been added to the mix.
Early predictions for 2010:
The electronics industry is recovering, but there is still some uncertainty in the market. Some see a boom year in 2010. Some see a double dip. So what's in store for the rest of this year and 2010?
Top 10 IC vendors with cash:
The world's biggest IC companies by revenue rank not only among the best in their respective industry segments but are also more likely to have huge piles of cash that can be used to fund acquisitions, R&D and product development.
Notable women in microelectronics:
There is no better time than a global economic recession to examine the keys to successful corporate governance. So, EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in semis.
EE Times updates Silicon 60:
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
