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If Intel decides they're not going to continue foundry services after 14A - you can just shift back to TSMC like everyone did between Samsung and TSMC?
by tgtweak 9mo ago
If Intel decides they're not going to continue foundry services after 14A - you can just shift back to TSMC like everyone did between Samsung and TSMC?
- SteveNuts 9mo agoAnd just hope they have any capacity to deliver? That's what I'd worry about, especially right now.
- variaga 9mo ago"Just shift back" is really underestimating how much effort it takes to port a design to a different foundry. Sure, you can target a new stdcell library and recompile your RTL (and re-floorplan, and re-do a bunch of other stuff) but you also have to swap out all your memories and interfaces, not all of which may have exact equivalents... it can easily take 1+ years of work for a competent team, and if you have to shift back all that time and effort was wasted.
- tgtweak 9mo agoSeems most major players are not only fabless but also fab-agnostic - as I noted they switch from one supplier to another even for the same product line. I'm sure it is work but it doesn't seem to be an existential crisis for a huge provider to send some volume to a new fab - certainly if it's derisking supply capacity, tariffs or other geopolitical risks.