ARM to reportedly produce chips, as UK government steps up semiconductor push!

Following the announcement of the EU Chips Act on April 18, 2023, that EU has agreed on Euro 43 billion ($47 billion) plan for semiconductor industry to catch up with USA and Asia, ARM, the, UK-based semiconductor giant, is now considering producing its own chips, reportedly!

Earlier, Intel Foundry Services (IFS) and ARM had announced a multi-generation agreement to enable chip designers to build low-power compute system-on-chips (SoCs) on Intel 18A process. The collaboration will focus on mobile SoC designs first, but allow for potential design expansion into automotive, Internet of Things (IoT), data center, aerospace and government applications.

ARM customers designing next-generation mobile SoCs will benefit from leading-edge Intel 18A process technology, and from IFS’s robust manufacturing footprint that includes US- and EU-based capacity.

Prior to this, the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (BEIS) had proposed an inquiry that will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the semiconductor industry and its supply chain in the UK. In this inquiry the committee seeks to understand current and future demand for computer chips in the UK, the strengths and weaknesses of the UK semiconductor industry and its supply chain, and the opportunities for collaboration among the United States, the European Union, and other allies. The UK government's response is reportedly being awaited!

The UK Government welcomed the BEIS Select Committee’s review of the semiconductor industry in the UK, and attached a full response to the recommendations. The Government agreed fully on the importance of the semiconductor industry. In response to increased global competition and geopolitical tensions, there is a need for timely, coherent and decisive action to be taken across the market.

In Dec. 2022, it had been reported that a new national institution could be established as part of plans to boost the infrastructure underpinning the UK’s industry through the government’s upcoming semiconductor strategy.

The strategy is based on three areas: Grow the UK sector, safeguarding the UK against supply chain disruption, and securing the UK against the security risks associated with semiconductor technologies.

The forthcoming UK semiconductor strategy should include:

• An analysis of the semiconductor production and supply chain, recognizing different characteristics for different sub-sectors of the industry, and areas of strength and weakness.
• A heatmap, showing where different semiconductor industries and niches are located within the UK, and how they are positioned in relation to the supply of relevant skills, equipment, research capability, and in relation to other factors valued by firms in those industries.
• An account of which industries in the UK, and which key products are dependent upon a secure supply of semiconductors at reasonable cost.
• In addition, it is recommended that the government produces a risk and resilience strategy for the semiconductor industry alongside its Semiconductor Strategy, as a matter of urgency.

Government’s semiconductor strategy should consider scope for development of the UK semiconductor industry in the following fields:

• Intellectual property and design.
• Supporting the design chain for leading-edge node chips.
• Matching UK manufacturing capability to UK design capability.
  Developing manufacturing processes for silicon semiconductors.
• Development of existing strengths in compound and advanced material semiconductors, to meet demand in emerging markets; Facilitating the construction of new fabs, including consideration of an open access fab in the South Wales cluster.

In the World Fab Forecast report, SEMI said the global semiconductor industry is projected to spend more than $500 billion on 84 fabs by 2024, despite the semiconductor industry in some trouble this year. More than half of those began construction in 2022 and 2023.

Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced global semiconductor industry sales totaled $41.3 billion in January 2023, a decrease of 5.2% compared to December 2022 total of $43.6 billion, and 18.5% less than the January 2022 total of $50.7 billion.