Toshiba to have chip design center in Brazil
Valor Econômico
Toshiba signed a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a joint venture for the development of semiconductors in Brazil, entering into a partnership with the Wernher von Braun Center for Advanced Research and Semp Toshiba Informática (STI), Brazilian subsidiary of Toshiba. The partnership, announced on Friday, will have US$ 4 million in capital and it will be 60% held by STI, 30% by Toshiba and 10% by the Research Center. The operation will be based in Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo, and it will initiate the development of semiconductors for applications in the country, at the end of March, said Toshiba in an announcement.
As stated in the document, the Corporate Vice President and Executive Officer of the group of electronic devices and components of Toshiba Corporation, Shozo Saito, 20 Brazilian engineers were trained in Japan for five months. Besides, Japanese engineers will train Brazilians for one year in Campinas. The partnership between the Japanese company and the Brazilian Government was announced in April 2006, with the adhesion of the ISDB-T standard for the Brazilian system of digital TV in Brazil.
The Director-President of the Wernher von Braun Center for Advanced Research, Dario Sassi Thober stresses out the project originally does not involve the plan of evolving to the stage of manufacturing of chips in the country. A project like that, he said, would require nearly 200 suppliers only of chemicals. "Brazil does not have even ten [suppliers] and not all are qualified. Investing in the design of chips is much safer and it already gives a big margin in relation to intellectual property", says Thober.
The director adds the projects developed will not be limited to catering to Semp Toshiba and that the alliance will effectively work as a new unit of the company. The intention, says Thober, is to reach the Latin America market until the end of 2011 and expand to other regions of the world.