Type | Joint venture |
---|---|
Industry | Wireless Semiconductors |
Fate | Dissolved on 18 March 2013 |
Founded | 3 February 2009 |
Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
Key people | Didier Lamouche (President and CEO) |
Revenue | $1.7 billion USD (2011)[1] |
Employees | 5,000 (as of end 2012) |
Parent | STMicroelectronics (50%) Ericsson (50%) |
Website | www.stericsson.com |
ST-Ericsson is a Swiss manufacturer of wireless products and semiconductors, supplying to mobile device manufacturers.[1] ST-Ericsson is a 50/50 joint venture of Ericsson and STMicroelectronics established on February 3, 2009. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it is a fabless company, outsourcing semiconductor manufacturing to foundry companies.
Both Ericsson and STMicroelectronics appoint four directors to the board with Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, serving as the Chairman of the Board and Carlo Bozotti, President and CEO of STMicroelectronics, as the Vice Chairman.
Contents |
History
ST-Ericsson was formed on February 3, 2009 when STMicroelectronics and Ericsson completed the merger of Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST-NXP Wireless into a 50/50 joint venture.
On August 20, 2008, STMicroelectronics and Ericsson announced their intention to merge their wireless semiconductor businesses. ST contributed its multimedia and connectivity products as well as their 2G/EDGE platform and 3G offering. Ericsson contributed its 3G and 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) platform technology. The merger followed an existing strategic co-operation between Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST-NXP Wireless.[2]
Ericsson also had a venture with Sony called Sony Ericsson during 2001-2012.
On December 11, 2012, ST-Ericsson was on the brink of shutdown after its parent company STMicroelectronics decided to move out of the JV, citing loss of market share due to ST-Ericsson failing to attain Break-even. Since ST-Ericsson came into being in 2009, STMicroelectronics has slipped from 5 to 7 in global semiconductor firms' rakings.[3] On March 18, 2013, the parent companies announced that the joint venture was to be closed down, with the parent companies taking over parts, but not all, of its operation and products.[4]
ST-NXP Wireless
ST-NXP Wireless, a joint venture made up of the wireless operations of STMicroelectronics and NXP Semiconductors, began operations on August 2, 2008. NXP and STMicroelectronics announced on April 10, 2008 that they would combine their wireless operations in 2G, 2.5G, 3G, multimedia, connectivity and future wireless technologies. The combined venture was created from businesses that together owned significant portfolios of communication and multimedia patents.
Formerly a division of the semiconductor firm Royal Philips Electronics, NXP was established as an independent company in 2006. STMicroelectronics was formed in June 1987 by the merger of semiconductor companies SGS Microelettronica of Italy and Thomson Semiconductors, the semiconductor arm of France's Thomson.
Ericsson Mobile Platforms
Ericsson established Ericsson Mobile Platforms in September 2001. It was based on the research and development (R&D) group that developed the core technology for Ericsson’s mobile phones throughout the 1990s. Their main development centers were situated in Lund, Sweden and with other three developments centers in Basingstoke (UK) and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (US), and Nuremberg (Germany). In addition, it had R&D, sales and customer support teams in Tokyo (Japan), Shanghai (China), Taipei (Taiwan), Seoul (South Korea), Grimstad (Norway) and Nuremberg (Germany). It provided mobile terminal technology to customers who wanted to develop and produce mobile phones for the GPRS, EDGE and WCDMA mobile standards. EMP and, Ericsson as a whole, donated resources to standardization bodies such as 3GPP, OMA, JCP and OMTP. Ericsson was founded in 1876 and has intellectual property portfolios containing over 25,000 patents.
Portfolio and mobile phone standards
ST-Ericsson offers platforms for mobile devices, integrating both multimedia and connectivity with cellular access technologies in GSM, EDGE, WCDMA, HSPA, TD-SCDMA, TD-LTE and LTE. The company’s NovaThor smartphone platforms support the Android and Windows Phone operating systems. It also provides connectivity and broadcast products for Bluetooth, FM, GPS, GLONASS, WLAN and USB.
ST-Ericsson is a supplier to handset manufacturers, as well as to mobile operators and device manufacturers. One in four mobile devices sold in 2011 was powered by ST-Ericsson's technologies.
ST-Ericsson’s Chinese subsidiary, T3G was acquired in December 2008 and has been developing platforms for the TD-SCDMA mobile standard since 2003.
Locations
Incorporated in Switzerland and headquartered in Geneva, ST-Ericsson employs around 6,700 people worldwide, more than 85 per cent of whom work in R&D.
ST-Ericsson’s main centers are in France, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Germany, UK, India, Singapore, China, Japan and Korea.
References
- ^ a b "About us - General Information - ST-Ericsson". stericsson.com. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ "Ericsson and STMicroelectronics to Create World Leader in Semiconductors and Platforms for Mobile Applications". stericsson.com. 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ^ Leila Abboud (2012-12-10). "STMicro to quit ST-Ericsson mobile chip venture". Reuters.
- ^ "Ericsson and STMicroelectronics agree on strategic way forward for ST-Ericsson". Ericsson. 2013-03-18.
See also
- (French) Syndicat Autonome de STMicroelectronics et ST-Ericsson (UNSA STM&STE)
- (French) Syndicat Autonome ST-Ericsson (UNSA STE)