Electronics manufacturing is a very labor-intensive process, employing a combination of robotic and chemical processes and treatments, manual labor but above all – it is a very dislocated process.

Over the course of past 15 years, we managed to witness the manufacturing changed in its scale, employing tens of millions of people and massively reducing time to market. Still, the process takes a lot of time, and not all can be done as efficiently as possible.

There are two base components of any piece of electronic equipment on the market: chip and PCB (Printed Circuit Board) and revolution is coming to both: IBM / GlobalFoundries is working on bringing flexible wafers from the domain of concept to a mass produced parts (still, we’re 5-6 years out), while Voxel8 just launched a 3D printer that can print PCBs.

Both innovations come from the East Coast: IBM/GlobalFoundries and the University of Albany, while Voxel8 is a hardware startup founded by Dr. Jennifer Lewis, Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

During CES 2015, the company introduced its first publicly available multi-material printer that among others, can lay the conductive silver ink. Yes, a 3D printed multi-layer PCB is becoming a reality. Do not expect your next graphics card or mobile phone to be 3D printed, as precision needed is on the very leading edge (some might say over the leading edge) of what industry can make.

However, this $8,999 3D printer should enable numerous 3D printed products from the world of Internet of Things (Machine-2-Machine, embedded electronics or IoT in marketing speak).

You can see more about the product in a video below:

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AMD’s (NYSE: AMD) Senior vice President of Manufacturing Operations John Docherty’s recently joining GlobalFoundries’ Global Operations as a senior vice president was not a highlighted issue in the industry with an official press release but was echoed and affirmed by the press.

GlobalFoundries said that Docherty is responsible for the global alignment of operations in such areas as quality, procurement, supply chain, manufacturing technology, industrial engineering and program management.

Docherty has 35 years of semiconductor manufacturing experiences and had hands-on experiences with APU, CPU and GPU manufacturing while he was working for AMD. With his experiences of senior positions at Motorola Semiconductor, LSI Agere Systems and ATI, Docherty’s switching gears from AMD to GlobalFoundries could turn out to be a smart move for both companies, as he knows what GlobalFoundries’ most prominent customers need.

For GlobalFoundries, Docherty can be assisting with 14nm FinFET production to ensure it arrives at market as soon as possible, while AMD will be relying on 14nm silicon from GlobalFoundries to counter Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) upcoming GPU architecture, codenamed “Pascal,” which is based on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s 16nm process that was believed to be launched in 2016.

Docherty’s move and future cooperation relationship between AMD and GlobalFoundries were regarded as an attempt at vertical integration for both companies, now that AMD established GlobalFundries as a subsidiary company in 2009. GlobalFundries, meanwhile, established a partnership with Korean rival Samsung (KRX: 000830) in April, to collaborate over the 14nm process.

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International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) has released its earnings report for third quarter 2014, and the figures are less impressive than anticipated. For 3Q 2014, Big Blue reported an EPS of $3.68, which is 14% lower than the $4.32 expected by analysts. With a reported shortfall of $1 billion in the company’s revenue target year-over-year, IBM’s revenue fell 4% to $22.4 billion.

CEO Ginni Rometti says the company is “disappointed” with its performance this quarter, which the company attributes to a “marked slowdown in September in client buying behavior.” Moreover, this quarter’s results also “point to the unprecedented pace of change in our industry,” says Rometti.

With this turnout, Rometti says the company is abandoning its medium-term earnings target made by former CEO Sam Palmisano, who promised that IBM will earn a combined $20 EPS by 2015. As that is not likely to materialize, the company is set to focus on its cloud computing strategy, which it has put a premium in with the recent acquisition of a major cloud services provider and the off-loading of hardware-making divisions.

IBM has been making strategic acquisitions of cloud-focused companies in the past six years. In 2013, Big Blue acquired Softlayer Technologies — the biggest privately-held cloud company — for $2 billion. IBM has also off-loaded hardware-related divisions and assets. These include selling its consumer PC operations to Chinese firm Lenovo in 2004 and then doing the same for its server business this year.  Other strategic moves, such as a renewed focus on security, mobile and business analytics have also seen growth in the first three quarters of the year, so far.

Along with the Q3 2014 earnings announcement, IBM also confirmed the earlier report that it is off-loading its Microelectronics business to GlobalFoundries, booking this as a one-time charge of $4.7 billion pre-tax. IBM is set to pay GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion over the course of three years to produce chips with access to IBM’s intellectual property and engineering resources.

With its weak quarterly report, IBM fell 7.3% Monday with shares trading at $13.30. Being a component of the Dow Jones Industrial average, IBM’s decline has pulled fown the Dow by 85 points.

The cloud may have a silver lining after all, however. IBM reports that revenue from its cloud-related businesses have grown 50% year-to-date. Meanwhile, cloud delivered as a service has grown 80% year-to-date, with third quarter annual run rate of $3.1 billion.

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Over the weekend, IBM (NYSE:IBM) posted a statement that it would be making a “major business announcement” this Monday, during which the company will also make its third quarter earnings report before the market opens.

There have been earlier speculations that this announcement could pertain to a deal with GlobalFoundries, as IBM had been courting the semiconductor foundry to take over its chipmaking division. Insider sources cited by Bloomberg basically confirm this, saying that IBM has agreed to pay GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion to take over its unprofitable chip manufacturing operations.

As part of the deal, IBM will also reportedly receive $200 million in assets, bringing the net cost to $1.3 billion. According to the sources, GlobalFoundries is keen on IBM’s intellectual property and engineering talent rather than just the manufacturing facilities. This will be particularly essential to GlobalFoundries’ business, in view of the increasing miniaturization of the chipmaking process.

Under the deal, GlobalFoundries will produce Power processors over a period of 10 years. IBM will pay the $1.5 billion over the course of three years.

What’s the deal?

IBM has long been courting GlobalFoundries to take on its chipmaking division, which has been largely unprofitable over the past few years, given the dominance of companies like Intel, Samsung and Qualcomm in the server, desktop and mobile chip business. IBM’s micro-electronics business accounts for only 2 percent of the company’s revenue, although this division contributes to as much as $1.5 billion in annual losses. Given this, the company has reportedly made earlier proposals to off-load its chipmaking division. GlobalFoundries was named as a prospect earlier this year, as the two companies already have dealings as part of a joint venture. However, IBM’s $1 billion offer did not match GlobalFoundries’ $2 billion asking price, sources say.

Still, the company will not abandon its involvement in chip design altogether, as it still reportedly plans to maintain control over the design and intellectual property of the chips it will use.

The $1.5 billion price tag is seen to be a financial win for IBM, as it announces its Q3 2014 earnings later today.  The company is expected to hold its earnings conference call 7 a.m. New York time, before market opens. With its “major business announcement”, the company will be mitigating the $1.5 billion annual loss and will instead reduce this to about $500 million a year for the next three years — a move that will improve its bottom line.

IBM’s revenues are projected to fall for the 10th straight quarter this Q3 2014. As of the same period last year, earnings-per-share was at $3.99. EPS at 2Q 2014 was at $4.32, and analysts expect the same level this period. Will this be the start of a turnaround for IBM? Off-loading a poorly-performing division might be a good start.

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One of Qualcomm’s most senior and pivotal employees has been snatched up by the fab company Globalfoundries after spending 12 years with the company.

Bill Davidson has been a investor relations and global marketing executive at Qualcomm for the past seven years, last assuming the role of SVP of Qualcomm Investor Relations, SVP of Strategy and Operations for Global Market Devlepment-QTI. QTI is Qualcomm’s biggest business unit, accounting for almost all of the company’s non-licensing revenues and profit.

Davidson has been one of the pivotal figures inside Qualcomm over the past 12 years at the company, and his departure surely comes as a surprise to many. But, his knowledge and expertise in the areas of investor relations, operations and marketing will be invaluable at a company like Globalfoundries that is still looking to find a firm footing. While Davidson will not be taking the role of CEO at Globalfoundries, which was recently filled this year by Sanjay Jha, he will be assuming the position of Chief Administrative Officer. In his new role he is responsible for Global Marketing, Communications, Government Affairs, Human Resources, Real Estate, Facilities and Compliance.

Considering his experience in the past, this position is a great one for him to take and will finally put him in the C-level executive territory which anyone in his position would strive for. While it’s not likely his departure is indicative of any larger trends of executives leaving Qualcomm, there is still reason to pay attention to both companies to see where their execs are coming and going. Globalfoundries has had a history of hiring very experienced and knowledgeable people, but it hasn’t always worked out for them.

This is their second major C-level executive from the mobile industry, as their current CEO Sanjay Jha was formerly Motorola’s CEO and Bill Davidson comes from Qualcomm, a company born and bred from mobile. As such, it doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to suggest that Globalfoundries’ focus may be turning towards mobile and they may work harder to develop more processes to satisfy potential new customers or expanding current ones.

Shareholders are likely to hope that this time Globalfoundries’ CEO will be able to steer the company in a more stable direction where they can be feared among the likes of Samsung and TSMC. There is no doubt that Globalfoundries is a world class fab and foundry, but they have had a fairly spotty past which has cast doubt upon their future every time, and the short tenure of Ajit Manocha doesn’t help that (three years as CEO). But even so, Globalfoundries is still growing and expanding and it is still rumored to be in talks with IBM to take over its Fishkill foundry. Globalfoundries has also been responsible for nearly 2,400 jobs being created in the upstate New York area, economically driving that part of New York state through the recession.

While it remains to be seen how its new 14nm FINFET technology will work out (and who will be customers), there is no doubt that Globalfoundries have made a good choice in bringing Davidson on board.

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In the five years since GlobalFoundries broke ground in Malta, Saratoga County, New York for their Fab 8, they have exceeded their promise of job creation in the community. Instead of its initial projection of 1,200 new jobs, the company is responsible for approximately 2,400, including construction of the Technology Development Center on its existing 223 acre campus.

The direct jobs have a trickle down effect resulting in 3,000 indirect jobs according to a study by Dr. Everett Ehrlich, business economist. GlobalFoundries also made a capital investment of $6.9 billion, plus the building of the new Technology Development Center which increases that number by $2.1 billion as reported by the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (SEDC). In January, Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Investment Company’s (ATIC) chief executive said they plan to invest up to $10 billion over the next two years in GlobalFoundries’ upstate New York semiconductor factory.

GlobalFoundries Fab 8 first job fair drew nearly 1,500 applicants in Saratoga, New York

GlobalFoundries has an interesting history. It came into being in March 2009 through a partnership between AMD and Mubadala Technology (formerly known as ATIC). In January 2010, the company picked up Chartered Semiconductor. In 2012, AMD [NYSE:AMD] divested itself of GlobalFoundries which is now wholly owned by Mubadala Technology (formerly known as ATIC). With corporate offices in California’s Silicon Valley and manufacturing facilities in Germany, Singapore and New York, GlobalFoundries now has five 200mm fabs and three 300mm fabs in production.

In Saratoga, their first chips were manufactured in 2012 using the 32nm SOI (silicon on insulator) process. The customer for the 32nm microprocessors which featured HKMG (High-K Metal Gate) and eDRAM was IBM. The SOI process was used to build the microprocessor that powered IBM Watson, the question-answering computer that won the Jeopardy quiz show.

Since then, the relationship between IBM and GlobalFoundries has waxed and waned. Big Blue was courting GlobalFoundries to buy its not-so-profitable chip-manufacturing operations. However, reports indicate that GlobalFoundries’ bid was lower than what IBM had hoped for. It is said that GlobalFoundries wanted IBM’s intellectual property, not its physical property which is no longer state of the art.

GlobalFoundries has not relied solely on IBM business. For example, a fabless semiconductor company is using the 55nm eFlash NVM Platform from GlobalFoundries which is a member of the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC). Scaleo chip headquartered in Sophia-Antipolis, France specializes in automotive electronics for powertrain and in-vehicle information. The company has developed a new family of microcontrollers embedding unique technologies related to real-time process and control of highly electrified internal combustion engines and electric motors using the GlobalFoundries’ Platform. The microcontrollers are based on programmable logic and a set of ISO 26262 compliant functional safety features to improve powertrain system safety integrity and accuracy.

GlobalFoundries technicians work in a cleanroom

The Scaleo order is only one of many opportunities for prospective GlobalFoundries employees to work on. If you want to be one of the many international applicants interested in working at the Malta campus on the grounds of a former missile testing range, GlobalFoundries is hiring. A few of the open positions are: hardware test engineer, manager of information technology, senior financial analyst, and equipment technician.

Despite its success, GlobalFoundries has its problems ranging from anecdotal to tragic. This week, three individuals were charged with grand larceny for stealing scrap metal from the plant. On a more serious note, a man employed by a construction company working on the new Technology Development Center was fatally injured as they were moving an industrial air exchanger into a fourth floor opening. Construction was suspended during an investigation of the accident.

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AMD’s earnings broken down by revenue per division also spoke to how the company was able to beat the street’s expectations.

Computing Solutions: In their Computing Solutions business, which primarily focuses on CPUs and chipsets, AMD saw a decline of 8% quarter over quarter and 12% year over year, indicating that the PC market did shrink overall year over year, but an 8% decrease sequentially is almost to be expected going from the company’s busiest quarter (as was the case with Intel). They managed to post an operating loss of $3 million rather than an operating loss of $7 million in the previous quarter, primarily driven by lower operating expenses. This is compared to an operating loss of $39 million in the same period a year ago, clearly indicating AMD’s ability to adjust, slowly. Additionally, their CPU ASP remained flat sequentially but down ‘slightly’ year over year (no percentage provided).

Graphics and Visual Solutions: In AMD’s Graphics and Visual solutions division, which includes console APUs, AMD saw their revenue in the first quarter of 2014 decrease 15% sequentially and increase 118% year over year. This is clearly being driven by their ‘semi-custom’ SoC business and their GPU business which saw revenue increase both sequentially and year over year, indicating AMD’s thirst to improve their graphics strength. They reported that GPU sales were improved due to strong demand for their AMD Radeon R7 and R9 series of graphics cards. However, AMD still has a lot of room for improvement here with most of the GPU marketshare still being in Nvidia’s hands. Additionally, it appears as though the Xbox One’s slow-down in sales may have been the biggest factor in this change from quarter to quarter as Sony’s PlayStation 4 sales are strong as ever.

AMD also reported stronger operating income with an operating income of $91 million, compared to $121 million in Q4 2013, however, when compared to the same quarter a year ago at $16 million, AMD looks to be doing much better. The sequential decline was blamed by AMD on decreased revenue from ‘semi-custom’ SoCs while the year over year increase was also driven by higher sales of ‘semi-custom’ SoCs, basically consoles drove sales very strongly.

AMD’s outlook for 2014 was also a bit rosier than expected as they did report that they expected to see revenue for 2014 to increase year over year and that they expected their gross margin to remain around 35% which is exactly where they reported it for this quarter. Based on these slightly better than expected earnings, improved outlook and GPU sales strength, AMD’s stock is currently up 6% in after hours trading, clearly indicating investors’ happiness with this quarter’s earnings.

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Samsung and Globalfoundries have announced a partnership to collaborate on a global scale to deliver 14nm FinFET technology to their customers. This partnership is different from the already existing Common Platform Alliance which includes Globalfoundries, Samsung and IBM, but is likely a product of that relationship considering that IBM is mostly a research fab and doesn’t really produce many commercial wafers. This 14nm FinFET collaboration is an effort by both companies to build up enough fab capacity in order to satisfy the demand of their customers on this leading-edge technology.

As you can see from the slide above Samsung and Globalfoundries’ partnership means that the two companies are able to deliver both choice, supply, compatibility and to do it all on a global scale with multiple fabs around the world. This 14nm FinFET partnership will cover both 14LPE and 14LPP processes which will allow for multiple products across the board to be manufactured with either Samsung or Globalfoundries’ 14nm FinFET. In the past, Samsung and Globalfoundries talked about how the Common Platform would enable such partnerships to occur and to be honest many didn’t believe that it would be possible, especially with Samsung being so tightlipped at the Common Platform Alliance last year.

According to Globalfoundries and Samsung, their new 14LPE 14nm process will boost performance by 20% while simultaneously delivering a 35% power savings over competitor’s 20nm solutions (clearly targeting TSMC and their 20nm here). They also compare themselves against other FinFET solutions and 20nm solutions, specifically targeting the value proposition of switching to 14nm FinFET indicating a 15% smaller chip with the switch from 20nm Planar to 14nm FinFET.

In terms of the capacity itself and the fabs capable of delivering this capacity, there will be a total of 4 fabs in 3 locations delivering this 14nm capacity to customers. Those come in the form of three Samsung fabs and one Globalfoundries fab. The locations of these fabs are actually in two countries, the US and Korea, even though Globalfoundries does have fabs in Singapore and Germany as well. However, those are not part of Globalfoundries current 14nm plans so they aren’t counted as part of the fab capacity for 14nm.

In addition to the four fabs on two continents, Samsung and Globalfoundries also talked about their expectations for 14nm FinFEt with the Design In phase already ready and a ramp of the process expected to occur by the end of 2014. They have already qualified the 14LPE process back in February and have already released the 14LPE and 14LPP PDK along with all of the libraries and IP design kits. Essentially, now is the finalization phase of various processes with certain chip designs with mass production occuring by the end of this year. What this could mean is that some of TSMC’s customers building for their 20nm process could see themselves leapfrogged by this new Samsung and Globalfoundries 14nm collaboration, especially if they can deliver enough volume to the customers that matter. Obviously, we probably won’t be seeing any 14nm products this year, but a Q1 release wouldn’t be out of the question, which could mean that we may end up seeing some products in time for MWC.

Samsung and Globalfoundries have quietly been working together to steal customers from TSMC, their biggest competitor, meanwhile Intel has been chugging away at their own 14nm process trying to maintain their foundry leadership. If Samsung and TSMC are able to deliver 14nm early enough and to fill their capacity, they could give their customers an advantage that many of them have been hoping for. Parity with Intel’s own processes. While it remains to be seen who will be utilizing Samsung and Globalfoundries 14nm processes we have already been hearing some murmurings about some large semiconductor companies exploring this new collaboration’s 14nm process. It will be interesting to see how chips built on this 14nm FinFET process will compete against Intel’s 14nm process as well as how TSMC will answer today’s announcement considering that their 20nm appears to be having some problems with some partners. We do know that there’s a good chance that a lot of TSMC’s 20nm will be occupied by Qualcomm and their new chips, but I have a feeling that 20nm will be a fairly shortlived node.

Samsung and Globalfoundries have also created a video that talks about this 14nm FinFET partnership and what it means to the companies, their partners, and the industry as a whole.

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According to Madshrimps, Globalfoundries is working hard on improving its existing process nodes and the results are very encouraging. Thanks to engineering experts over at Abu Dhabi-powered Dresden foundry, AMD will be able to release Phenom II 955 processor.

Phenom II 955 allegedly works at 3.2 GHz, with working voltage of only 1.25V, down 0.10V from Phenom II 920 and 940. If all things work out, P-II 3.2 GHz just may be the ticket for the upcoming launch of AMD 800 series of chipsets. We’re not sure is this processor will be market as the Black Edition model or not. AMD has a policy of not commenting on unreleased products, thus treat this as a rumor.

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