Microchip Technology has announced two significant developments showcasing its commitment to innovation and supply chain resilience. Firstly, the company has expanded its partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the leading semiconductor foundry, to establish specialized 40-nm manufacturing capacity at Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, TSMC’s subsidiary in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. This strategic move aims to diversify Microchip’s supply chain and enhance its manufacturing capabilities.

In a separate development, Microchip acquired Neuronix AI Labs to bolster its expertise in power-efficient, AI-enabled edge solutions using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Neuronix AI Labs specializes in neural network sparsity optimization technology, enabling reduced power consumption, smaller size, and streamlined calculations for applications like image classification and object detection—all while maintaining high accuracy. These initiatives reflect Microchip’s proactive approach to advancing semiconductor technology and expanding its portfolio of cutting-edge solutions.

Michael Finley, senior VP of Worldwide Manufacturing and Technology at Microchip, and Shakeel Peera, VP of Microchip’s FPGA business unit, highlighted the main features of these two announcements.

“Neuronix technology brings to Microchip a wealth of IP, automated tools and compilers that manage sparsity optimization without developer intervention, analyzing models, partitioning them for optimal FPGA use, and producing efficient hardware implementations,” Peera said. “This streamlines the deployment process, enhancing performance and energy efficiency.”

https://www.eetimes.com/microchip-drives-chip-innovation-with-tsmc-ai-advancements/