October 30, 2006 – Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing says it is making a “strategic investment” in Taiwan ASIC/SoC design firm Gateway Silicon Inc., a spinoff of local IDM Macronix International Co. Ltd., which will continue to hold a majority stake in the firm. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Chartered and Gateway Silicon will collaborate to develop and optimize design services, extending GSI’s expertise to leverage Chartered’s portfolio of “value-added solution” plug-in modules. Areas of focus include microcontrollers, nonvolatile memory, high-voltage devices for applications such as display drivers and digital TV tuners, RFID tags and smart cards, and low-power products for applications requiring extensive power management capabilities.

With GSI, the foundry adds “a strong regional presence and a proven expertise in key application areas,” stated Bo Cheng, president of the Asia Region for Chartered.

GSI, based in the Hsin-chu Science Park, was founded in August 2006 to focus on R&D in analog/digital IP for consumer ICs, providing service in SOC implementation and IC turnkey realization. Offerings include proprietary platform solutions, competitive wafer packages, and integrated turnkey services, from conceptual design to system verification to mass production.