At Rambus, we create cutting-edge semiconductor and IP products, spanning memory and interfaces to security, smart sensors and lighting.
Monetizing Semiconductors From Silicon to Services
Over the past five years, the semiconductor industry has faced a number of complex challenges. As 2018 begins, the industry continues to seek a return to stability and organic growth within the parameters of a new business paradigm that is both viable and collaborative.
Over the past five years, the semiconductor industry has faced a number of complex challenges. These include increased development costs, eroded ASPs, market saturation and heightened, yet unsustainable M&A activity.
As 2018 begins, the semiconductor industry continues to seek a return to stability and organic growth within the parameters of a new business paradigm that is both viable and collaborative. Within this context, semiconductor companies are acknowledging the potential of new markets and downstream revenue opportunities as they explore a more comprehensive “silicon to services” model that spans the data center to the mobile edge.
This includes end-to-end IoT security solutions and PaaS-based services such as in-field feature configuration, advanced analytics, predictive maintenance alerts, self-learning algorithms and intelligent, proactive interaction with customers. In addition to services, the concept of open-source hardware and building silicon from disaggregated, pre-verified chiplets is beginning to gain traction as companies move to slash costs and reduce time-to-market for heterogeneous designs.
Specific strategies to unlocking the full potential of semiconductors will undoubtedly vary, which is why it is important for us to explore a future in which the industry, along with various research organizations and government offices, plays an open and collaborative role in helping to sustainably monetize both silicon and services.
Download Part 1: Charting a New Course for Semiconductors
After half a century of sustained expansion and innovation, semiconductor sales and profits are noticeably slowing. This can be attributed to a number of factors, including the rising cost of designing and manufacturing new chips. Although still at a relatively nascent stage, open-source hardware has already managed to positively disrupt the semiconductor industry by encouraging innovation, reducing development costs and accelerating time to market. Reprogrammable chips can potentially replace a one-size fits all strategy for a ‘Features as a Service’ (FaaS) approach. As such, reprogrammable silicon will undoubtedly play a major part in building the IoT, which spans a broad range of applications and environments with varying requirements. A Features as a Service (FaaS) framework will allow companies to dynamically enable features at multiple points in the semiconductor value chain, ranging from manufacturing to in-field use. Join us as we explore potential ways of creating a more sustainable future for the semiconductor industry and beyond.
