Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and Renesas Technology Corp. confirmed Wednesday (Dec. 28) that the companies have initiated a joint study on the feasibility of creating a Japanese foundry to which each company could outsource some fabrication.
In a joint statement issued Wednesday, the companies said the joint study would consider establishing of a planning company, the outline of which is not yet decided
Citing a Bloomberg report, EE Times Tuesday reported that the three companies were expected to be among the first to form the long-awaited Japanese foundry. The Bloomberg report said the cost of a fab and production targets would be decided by the middle of next year, with agreement on issues such as ownership and royalties for the technology to come by mid-January.
Last month, Hitachi, Toshiba and Renesas, along with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. and NEC Electronics Corp., reportedly reached a basic agreement to establish a joint fab at a cost of about 200 billion ($1.67 trillion).
In light of this week's news, it is unclear whether Matsushita and NEC remain attached to the potential project.
