Cumulative chip shipments reach 5 billion! This domestic mixed-signal SOC manufacturer announces its move towards 2.0 model

In today's environment, domestic semiconductors that harm others must not exist, and those that can defend against others must not be absent! The host's sonorous and powerful words made the audience and the industry feel the determination and perseverance of Chinese IC manufacturers to promote domestic substitution, and feel the power of AMEC...

On June 28, 2019, the "2019 Summer New Product Seminar" held by Shenzhen AMEC Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "AMEC") was grandly opened at the Shenzhen Kempinski Hotel. The meeting brought together nearly 400 senior executives and experts from various upstream and downstream industrial chains of the integrated circuit industry. The seminar focused on the 32-bit and 8-bit new products that AMEC has mass-produced in 2019 and will be mass-produced in the second half of the year in the ultra-low power Internet of Things, DC brushless motor FOC control, analog signal processing integration, high-reliability general-purpose chips, smart home appliances, smart security, RF applications, e-cigarettes/wireless charging and other consumer fields. Let's discuss how Chinese semiconductor companies will better meet the challenges and opportunities brought by the industry background from their own perspective.

The meeting was kicked off by the speech of Mr. Zhou Yan, General Manager of AMEC. Mr. Zhou Yan briefly introduced the development history of AMEC. AMEC's ​​predecessor began in 1996, focusing on chip application development; in 2001, Shenzhen AMEC Semiconductor Co., Ltd. was established and transformed into chip design; after one year of hard work, the first self-developed chip was mass-produced in 2002, and the chip used in electric fans was successfully mass-produced in 2003; the first OTP MCU was successfully mass-produced in 2006.......

As the saying goes, "ignorance is bliss." The early SMIC team could not have anticipated that the road to IC design would be so bumpy and difficult. Zhou Yan recalled: "In the early days, the SMIC team all came from program development and lacked practical experience in chip design. They had to start from scratch. The products they developed also had many problems, just like the products of many domestic chip design companies at the time. The company even ordered a thousand 8-inch wafers at the time, which put it under great pressure. Fortunately, we persevered and sincerely served our users, allowing the industry to understand that they get value for money and gradually alleviate our difficulties. The scene of the first chip solution developed by SMIC is still vivid. At that time, the product was successfully developed, but it could not be connected to the customer's computer. In response, SMIC directly sent the company's successfully connected computer to the customer to help the customer test and optimize... After continuously upgrading IC product technology and sincere customer service, SMIC has gradually transformed over the past 18 years and has focused its energy and resources on product optimization and quality improvement."

Eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. Through the joint efforts of many parties, AMEC has worked diligently and steadily to improve product quality, established a rich product line to serve our customers, and contributed to the rise of China's IC industry.

Afterwards, Liu Zeyu, Vice General Manager and Sales Director of AMEC, shared his views on the opportunities and challenges of domestic ICs in 2019, and envisioned AMEC's ​​"2.0 model" based on the company's current situation. AMEC's ​​cumulative chip shipments have exceeded 5 billion, and AMEC will unswervingly carry the role of "China's mixed signal leader."

Looking back at 2018, SMIC cannot be separated from the following five keywords.

China Chip. The industry is worried: What will we do if foreign manufacturers stop supplying the Chinese market? But Liu Zeyu believes that we should think the other way around: if China's IC industry becomes so strong that it no longer needs to buy chips from abroad, what will foreign manufacturers do?

Trade war. The friction between China and the United States continues to escalate. This is a long-term contradiction. The industry does not need to panic excessively and can just do its duty.

Cross-border innovation. The demand for ICs from domestic system manufacturers has increased, and terminal manufacturers, including those in the market, are all busy making "chips". But do terminal manufacturers need to do everything themselves? How necessary is it for them to cross-border innovation? The answer remains to be studied.

Industry mergers and acquisitions. Because of the unpredictable external environment, from semiconductors to distributors and terminal manufacturers, mergers and acquisitions are accelerating, and this will become the norm in the future.

Etching machine and photolithography machine. AMEC reminds you again: AMEC Shenzhen is the original chip manufacturer; the industry partner for producing semiconductor production equipment is Shanghai AMEC Semiconductor. The two AMECs are not the same company and are in different upstream and downstream positions in the industry.

Regarding the changes in 2019, Liu Zeyu also put forward four points:

The Sino-US trade war is intensifying. The most direct impact on customers will be the increase in comprehensive cost pressure.

Huawei incident. This top Chinese customer officially became a regular customer, which is undoubtedly a huge encouragement for the domestic IC industry; AMEC is also ready to "become a regular customer" at any time.

Clearing inventory. The market fluctuated abnormally in 2018, but will stabilize in 2019 as inventory is cleared.

Overseas original manufacturers reduce production. Under the dual influence of international conflicts and the rise of domestic ICs, the market share of overseas original manufacturers has declined, and the profit margins of agents have been continuously compressed. It is believed that more industry eyes will be on local IC companies.

There are opportunities only when there is crisis. This is the true portrayal of domestic IC in 2019. Liu Zeyu shared five opportunities:

National will. China is promoting IC development from top to bottom, including policy support, science and technology innovation board, 5G communication, etc.

The rise of Chinese chips. General-purpose chips are developing the fastest, but they are also inevitably subject to homogeneity and price wars.

Reliable original factory. At this stage, if a company wants to become a regular company, it must be reliable. Not only its products, technology, and quality, but also its financial data, sales system, etc. must be legal and compliant.

Core technology. Only by continuously improving technical capabilities and possessing core technology platforms can enterprises rise to the challenge and truly contribute to the rise of Chinese chips.

Partners. Domestic ICs cannot go it alone, and must closely combine resources and partners from all aspects for common development.

"In response to this, AMEC 2.0 came into being!" Liu Zeyu said proudly, "We will further upgrade AMEC's ​​competitive strength from the aspects of technology evolution, quality improvement, field expansion, platform products, one-stop solutions, rapid development platform, partners, customized services, import substitution, agent and distributor system, local services, etc."

Then, Mr. Miao Xiaoyu, Vice General Manager and Technical Director of AMEC, gave a report on "Analog Signals and Analog Signal Processing", and gave a professional explanation on the definition, identification, extraction and processing of analog signals. In terms of analog signal processing IP, he fully demonstrated the advantages of its product applications with specific examples. Mr. Li Zhenhua, General Manager of Beijing AMEC, gave a detailed report on the BAT series of AMEC high-end products, which AMEC successfully developed in one year and currently has the lowest power consumption in the industry. According to the current test and certification results, AMEC BAT series products are completely comparable to MCUs of European, American and Japanese brands in terms of ultra-low power consumption, high reliability, high system efficiency and precise analog performance. The first BATCubeTM graphical development tool launched in China can also greatly simplify the user's development process and greatly shorten the time to market for products.

Mr. Luo Hongjian, head of the Zhongshan team of AMEC Application Development, gave a report on "Home Appliance Solutions of New Framework" at the meeting. After accurately pointing out the problems faced by small home appliance main control and the confusion of developers, he proposed to cope with the existing competition and challenges through customized chip design and productized application platform, and discussed with everyone the future demand for home appliance MCU products. Mr. Wang Jing, deputy general manager and technical director of Chongqing Zhongke Xinyida (a joint venture between China Electronics Technology Group Corporation and AMEC focusing on the field of motor and drive integration), gave a report on "Design and Quality Control of High-Reliability General-Purpose Chips". Based on Xinyida's existing core advantage product line, he explained in detail the high reliability standards achieved by motor drive chips/products, and the testing and quality control carried out to achieve this standard. Finally, he discussed with everyone how to achieve the goal of stronger, smaller, smarter, more reliable and more durable products.

Then, Mr. Yin Yujun, Director of Xinyida Power Electronics Division, made a report titled "Introduction to SOC and Solutions for Brushless DC Motors", summarizing and analyzing the global market for brushless DC motors, introducing Xinyida's corresponding product lines and services, and further sharing and communicating with everyone through a large number of actual product cases. Mr. Xia Yu, head of the Shenzhen team of AMEC Application Development, made a report titled "Introduction to New Products and One-Stop System Solutions". From an overview of one-stop system solutions, product roadmaps, and introductions to new products such as BAT32, CMS32, and CMS8, to introductions to system-level solutions such as smart smoke sensors and electronic cigarettes, to the display of AMEC's ​​new tool ecosystem, he enthusiastically shared and discussed with the participants, allowing everyone to fully appreciate AMEC's ​​technical advantages and service guarantees.