ARM Holdings (U.K.)
COMPUTEX Taipei 2014, the five-day computer expo that is Asia's largest, will kick off tomorrow (June 3). ARM Holdings, one of the world's leading semiconductor IP suppliers, held a global press conference in Taiwan today (June 2) ahead of Computex to announce that it will establish a CPU design center in Taiwan. This will be ARM's first CPU design center in Asia and the fourth worldwide after the UK, the US, and France. Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Tyzz-jiun Duh and Director-General Ming-ji Wu of the Industrial Development Bureau were also in attendance at the press conference. Deputy Minister Duh welcomed and showed his support for ARM's choice of Taiwan as their Asia R&D center. He looks forward to further collaboration across a range of fields between ARM and Taiwan's local supply chains and technology partners. He hopes that these collaborations can bring about development in peripheral design applications. The Industrial Development Bureau will also pursue policies to drive the continued development of Taiwan's semiconductor industry.
Since 2012, the Industrial Development Bureau has been working through the Institute for Information Industry to establish an Intelligent Electronics Institute. The Bureau has worked with ARM to build a training platform, and signed a long-term strategic co-operation agreement with ARM to promote certification and skill training, introduce ARM's original instructor training and training modules, as well as ARM's skill certification courses to improve the skills and core competencies of Taiwan's chip manufacturing talent. It is worth noting that ARM received an International Procurement Office (IPO) award from MOEA in 2012 for helping Taiwanese IC designers and manufacturers improve their mobile computing R&D capabilities. A cooperation agreement has also been signed with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing with the hope that ARM's latest processors and technologies will lead to mutually beneficial information sharing and feedback. The establishment of the CPU design center will further facilitate close interaction between Taiwanese semiconductor companies and ARM, making it a key part of the advancement of technological development in Asia-Pacific's semiconductor industry.
ARM operates under a unique business model, collaborating with chipmakers by licensing its intellectual property. Over 95% of handheld smart devices worldwide are equipped with processors based on ARM architecture. As the industry looks to the Internet of Things as the next sector for rapid growth, Taiwan is well-placed to develop a complete IoT supply chain, thanks to an industry cluster effect, a large pool of skilled semiconductor R&D workers and unique division of labor. In the foreseeable future, ARM's CPU design center in Taiwan will have the opportunity to rapidly integrate with Taiwan's related industries, creating further business opportunities for IoT and smart mobile device applications.
MOEA looks forward to more in-depth collaboration with ARM in talent development after the establishment of its CPU design center. MOEA also hopes that ARM will work with Taiwan's CPU technology development teams in industry, academia and research sectors to further the development of Taiwan's high-end application processing technology. Both ARM and MOEA are looking to advance their strategic planning and create business opportunities in IoT applications worldwide. Taiwan's end-to-end semiconductor supply chain and skilled talent pool will be extremely advantageous in achieving a mutually beneficial partnership that will accelerate Taiwan's industrial development and improve its global competitiveness.
Source: Department of Investment Services, MOEA