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> How much would it cost to start a design semiconductor business? On the low end of the budget. A decade ago, it would've taken you $1m in China for a 50/50 s
by baybal2 6y ago
> How much would it cost to start a design semiconductor business? On the low end of the budget.
A decade ago, it would've taken you $1m in China for a 50/50 shot at it.
If your first tapeout works, you will make money, if not... you wasted $1m.
$1m looks like pocket change to most American tech people now, but the fabless trains has long since departed.
You will need a sum with few more zeroes, to get a jumpstart in the industry now.
There was 4-3 years long extreme consolidation push in the industry, with big swallowing dozens producers of commodity products. It is very reminiscent how the demise of American oil industry happened when the industry gone from thousands of oil producers, to less than 10 in one decade. Everybody bets now that there will be 10-15 or so mega-fabless running the industry in coming decade.
- londons_explore 6y agoIt massively depends what you want to build... There are plenty of designs where just $10k will get you an ASIC built in some university... It won't be anything like leading edge silicon though, but for some products that's all you need.
- baybal2 6y ago> There are plenty of designs where just $10k will get you an ASIC built in some university With a few micron university process? Yes, can you commercialise it? No. I believe 180nm has for long been the limit of how "commercially viable" is defined even for stuff like analogue, and discrete logic ICs.