The semiconductor supply chain has been transformed over the last 10 years. IDMs were once the rule and fabless the exception. Since then, extreme consolidation has changed the supply chain radically. As we ran from sub-micron to nanometers, technology became more difficult, development costs rose, consolidation occurred, while partnering won and PICOS lost. The economic benefits of Bruck’s Rule end with extreme consolidation, so will we run out of green fields? In this video, we look at this question in terms of how consolidation has controlled rising R&D costs, why that's ending, the concentration of the supply base, and financial returns of alternative strategies of partnering styles.
