SI-SOFT, IP Mall Project Kickoff by Global UniChip Corp.

For launching a Si-Soft Project with nearly NT$10 billion invested under government's aggressive orientation and through the joint effort of academic institutes, industrial sectors and government authorities, Taiwan government is in an attempt to create another economic miracle by leading the island into a global "System-On-Chip"(SOC) design center in 2010. Therefore, the government has encouraged electronic design sectors to provide abundant "Silicon Intellectual Property" (SIP) thus establishing a complete SIP database. Through the set-up of an IP MALL, the circulation and re-use of SIP can be expedited. Thus reducing the cost of IC design companies for repeated development, and shortening the development lead time for SOC design to allow the IC design and design service industries have sufficient and reliable key components for marching into the worldwide IC design market.

As a pilot of the Si-soft Project, the IP Mall provides a transaction platform to gather SIP and promote the IP re-use services. It will quickly enhance IC design techniques and competitiveness, make the foundry business more attractive to worldwide customers, and help SIP designers gather market information to expand global marketing channels. The IP Mall is designated to offer well-planned SIP agency services to extensively reduce the transaction cost and time of both SIP suppliers and users.

From the IP Mall, IC designers may overcome technical and know-how barriers by obtaining the required SIP and services for SOC design. It will be a one-stop service for SIP verification and quality assurance.

Since SIP is a new industry, most of the companies involved are like avant-gardes artists that fight alone in a market with neither adequate information, smooth marketing channels, complete SIP verification, or quality assurance know-how. So the services IP Mall provides could solve the problems IP providers face today and enable designers to concentrate on central technological developments. The IP Mall will expand as the increase of new IP Startups gains momentum.

Taking advantage of self-development and verification SIP, Global UniChip Corp. (UniChip) closely cooperates with IP vendors and foundry to provide SOC design services and mass production know-how to system providers. UniChip has started the development of the IP Mall project since the beginning of this year and its application for government subsidies has already entered final review. Moreover, to satisfy the demand of SOC design industry and accomplish the goal of the Si-soft Project, UniChip will shortly conduct a survey to understand the needs of all parties related to the IP Mall (IP vendor, SOC designer, system users, etc.) and their expectations of the IP Mall. Through the know-how of SOC design and production, its participation in the project with other subprojects, including personnel training, EDA and application platform development, killer application development, and IP development, UniChip hopes to promote Taiwan's semiconductor industry to a higher level.