Toshiba outsourcing chip fabrication to Samsung?
updated 11:35 pm EST, Thu December 23, 2010
LSI chips developed through IBM partnership
Toshiba has reportedly established an agreement with Samsung over its system chips, with fabrication said to be outsourced to the latter company, according to an unconfirmed report in the Japanese newspaper Nikkei. The strategy change is reportedly designed to allow Toshiba to concentrate its production efforts on flash memory.
A company executive recently confirmed plans to outsource production of its latest LSI chips, though the partner was not disclosed. The chips, which were borne of collaboration with IBM,
Although both companies are direct competitors in the flash memory market, Samsung was reportedly chosen for its existing production capabilities. Toshiba will effectively avoid costs associated with fabrication plants and equipment upgrades.
Aside from the LSI facilities, recent reports suggest Toshiba is in the process of selling one of its Nagasaki-based fabrication plants to Sony for approximately $599 million. [via Bloomberg]
