Semiconductor industry: the name of the game

Abstract

The historic three decades, 80's, 90's and 00's are discussed with a focus on the Japanese semiconductor industry in view of global relationship. Financial strategy and market nature rather than pure technology issues drove furious and drastic changes from prosperity to new paradigm in the 90's. For the new century, some key concepts are implied such as from scale to individuals and IPs, from large teams to small ones, and from technology driven to application driven. Strategies needed to overcome the transition impact, and what required for the post-transition competitions are suggested.