Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, a dedicated semiconductor foundry, has formed a collaborative network with four incubation and services centers in China to nurture the growth of local integrated circuit (IC) design startup companies.

The collaboration is intended to help the startups transition successfully along their product value chain for system-on-chip product development and integration, as well as manage the supply chain to enable design-through-manufacturing success. The incubation and services network includes Shanghai Research Centre for IC Design, Shenzhen IC Design Incubation Co. Ltd, EDA Centre of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Xi'an IC Design Industrialization Base of China.

The centers serve as an extension of Chartered's engineering support and customer service model. Through the centers, startup companies gain access to Chartered's process and design-enablement solutions–such as design rules, electrical test specifications, spice models, technology files, libraries, silicon-validated IP and process design kits–for their product definition and design. In addition, startups can access Chartered's multiple-project wafer (MPW) program for product prototyping. Several startups in China have already successfully migrated from chip design to production utilizing Chartered's proven manufacturing processes down to 0.18-micron, paving the way for product commercialization. There are also a growing number of customer product tape-outs running on Chartered's MPW prototyping program as a result of this collaborative network.