Phison Electronics Corp (群聯電子) yesterday formed a strategic partnership with Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd’s (清華紫光) NAND flash memory module subsidiary to build a larger presence in China, the world’s biggest semiconductor market.
Phison, which supplies NAND flash memory controllers and modules, signed a memorandum of understanding with Beijing Unis Memory Technology Co (北京紫光存儲科技), joining the ranks of local semiconductor companies that have teamed up with Tsinghua Unigroup, which aims to become a major semiconductor firm globally.
Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投資控股) and contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Co (聯電) are among Tsinghua Unigroup’s partners.
Phison would deepen its cooperation with Beijing Unis Memory Technology in the memory industry supply chain, from chip design and joint project development to contract manufacturing, the companies said in a joint statement.
Beijing Unis Memory Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tsinghua Unigroup, designs NAND flash memory controllers and modules, and develops its own solid-state drive modules.
“Beijing Unis Memory Technology, an upstart in the memory storage market, is expected to play an important role in the industry. Phison aims to create new business opportunities via this strategic cooperation,” Phison chairman Pua Khein-seng (潘健成) said.
Beijing Unis Memory Technology chairman Ma Daojie (馬道杰) said the company has been seeking strategic partnerships with well-established firms in the memory industry supply chain, including Phison and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC, 長江存儲).
YMTC, a NAND flash manufacturing arm of Tsinghua Unigroup, entered volume production in the third quarter of this year.
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