Posted on Monday, December 17 2012 @ 17:01 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
X-bit Labs
writes analysts predict that the arrival of 450mm wafer technology may provide a big boom for Intel's custom foundry business.
“To date IFS [Intel Foundry Solution; the company itself calls the division as Intel Custom Foundry - X-bit labs] has remained mostly a niche effort, but we would argue that as Intel’s manufacturing lead continues to widen at 14nm and especially at 450mm, IFS will become a more meaningful driver of top and bottom line performance,” wrote John Pitzer, an analyst with Credit Suisse, reports Forbes web-site.
According to the analyst, Intel’s average selling price of around $120 per chip as well as $10,000 – $11,500 in revenue it gets from a 300mm wafer are not going to be harmed by the foundry business model, which is by definition less profitable than manufacturing of own devices. But the analyst believes that there will be no problems, especially considering the lead that Intel keeps in the microprocessor business.
