GlobalFoundries acquires Renesas technology
Technology acquisition expands GF’s portfolio and differentiated roadmap while accelerating the commercialization of memory solutions.
GlobalFoundries has acquired Renesas Electronics Corporation’s proprietary and production proven Conductive Bridging Random Access Memory (CBRAM) technology, a low power memory solution designed to enable a range of applications in home and industrial IoT and smart mobile devices.
The transaction further strengthens GF’s memory portfolio and extends its roadmap of embedded non-volatile memory (NVM) solutions by adding another reliable, customizable embedded memory solution that is relatively easy to integrate into other technology nodes. Specifically, this technology will enable customers to further differentiate their SoC designs and advance a new generation of secure and intelligent devices.
“We’re committed to differentiating our technology portfolio to be the foundation of our customers’ energy efficient IoT applications today and for decades to come,” said Mike Hogan, chief business officer of GF. “With the acquisition of this innovative memory technology, GF is now playing an essential role in accelerating development of NVM solutions which will enable our customers to design the next generation of intelligent and connected devices. CBRAM technology unleashes a new paradigm of performance and ultra-low energy use, enabling a wide range of applications, from wearable devices to smartphones, to extend the time between battery charges from hours to weeks to years in specific use cases.”
CBRAM’s low power consumption, high read/write speeds, reduced manufacturing costs and tolerance for harsh environments make it particularly suitable for consumer, medical, and select industrial applications. In 2020, GF entered into a licensing agreement with Dialog Semiconductor, which was acquired by Renesas in 2021, to offer its CBRAM technology as an embedded, NVM option. Today, CBRAM is being qualified on the company’s 22FDX® platform, with plans to extend it to other platforms.
