Reborn in 2010, the AI ​​in my mind is too powerful.

Although Chen Yiran knew he might encounter a cold reception, he also knew that TSMC was a company that always treated people differently based on their status.

But he didn't expect things to turn out this way; TSMC's corporate culture is so deeply ingrained.

TSMC's booth was located in the very center of the South Hall, and its size was quite impressive.

The backdrop features the slogan "TSMC 2010: 28nm Ready," with the numbers in gold foil, exuding a very assertive feel and announcing that they are already looking ahead to 28nm.

A salesperson named Alex quickly came out to greet him. He was very professional and first introduced TSMC's 40nm and 28nm process nodes.

They didn't mention the well-known yield rate problem in the industry, and then started asking Chen Yiran what her needs were.

After Chen Yiran revealed his identity and began asking questions about PDK authentication,

Although the other party didn't directly give me a hard time, their attitude had clearly changed. They provided me with a standard PDK certification process document, which listed five steps and estimated the timeframe to be 9 to 15 months.

"TSMC has a dedicated review committee for the certification of new EDA vendors. Your company can send your technical data and white paper to this email address first, and the committee will discuss them at the quarterly review meeting. If the initial review is passed, we will arrange for a technical team to work with you."

"Can't we expedite it? Is there absolutely no way? I've already found several design teams that have agreed to test it. Our software is still quite popular."

Alex replied with a forced smile, "You can send us the information first. We will evaluate it carefully."

Yes, very much TSMC.

In her past life, Chen Yiran had a classmate who worked at TSMC in the United States after graduation, so Chen Yiran also knew something about TSMC's rigid corporate culture.

This is just how TSMC's lengthy corporate process works; it's not directed at anyone in particular.

Chen Yiran also felt that she had no more ideas. After a year of waiting, she decided to let it go.

Zhou Gong confirmed that SMIC could complete the certification process in a month and a half, while TSMC can wait a year if it wants.

Despite thinking this way, Chen Yiran still obediently took the PDK process white paper.

Sigh, they have a lot of power, there's nothing we can do about it.

Right across from us is Samsung, its booth no smaller than TSMC's. The display board reads "Exynos 2010" and "Apple A4/A5".

Samsung, having just secured a processor manufacturing contract from Apple, is heavily promoting its manufacturing capabilities. The South Korean engineers at their booth were all dressed in dark blue vests with the Samsung logo embroidered on the left chest.

There were so many people at this time; it was probably the busiest booth. Samsung's business is indeed extensive, and all of them are top-tier in their respective industries. Even on the last day, there were still quite a few people there.

Chen Yiran didn't want to squeeze in, thinking she'd look at other things first and come back later.

Wandering aimlessly along the way, I found a good potential partner in the last row.

This company's booth wasn't large, but its decor was noticeably different from other contract manufacturers. The main color scheme of the backdrop was dark blue and green, and below the company logo was printed GlobalFoundries: The New Face of Semiconductor Manufacturing.

It was a very sincere slogan, but it didn't attract many visitors.

GlobalFoundries was spun off from AMD’s manufacturing division in 2009. With the acquisition of Singapore Chartered Semiconductor and investment from Abu Dhabi ATIC, it is nominally the world’s third-largest foundry.

However, the reality is that 80% of this company's production capacity is still fulfilling orders for AMD. More like an appendage to AMD than a true contract manufacturer, GlobalFoundries is likely eager to shed this image.

All the white papers and exhibition posters were trying to prove to others that they were not AMD's foundry.

So when Chen Yiran arrived, Martin, the business development director who led the team to the exhibition, personally received him.

Martin is a typical semiconductor industry veteran, in his early fifties, with short, graying hair and a very stylish demeanor.

Previously in charge of manufacturing relations at AMD, he was forced to switch to business development after GlobalFoundries became independent.

"I saw your data at the North Hall yesterday, it's impressive, but I reckon you've offended quite a few people. Just watch, soon some people will start resorting to lawsuits or other means."

"So far, we've only received one threatening letter."

Martin chuckled. He had seen too many stories of startups being scared off by big companies in the EDA industry, so he knew Chen Yiran was joking.

He got straight to the point and began to talk about GlobalFoundries' needs.

GlobalFoundries' 45nm process is mature and has excess capacity; what it lacks is not technology.

"But our problem is that TSMC has full certifications from Synaptics and Cadbury, and they also have all sorts of other mainstream standalone tools. Customers aren't worried about the stability of their PDKs; our 45nm PDK is stable, but the certification process is difficult."

Major EDA vendors prioritize TSMC's 40nm certification, while we're ranked lower; they still see us as AMD. We used to supply AMD with SOI technology, but now we need a more compatible CMOS process.

"So you need someone to jump up and help you with the verification."

"Yes. We need an EDA company that's willing to be the first to complete the certification process on our 45nm. If you fill this gap for me, I can offer you terms that TSMC can't."

Chen Yiran felt that the two sides were a very good match, but still asked, "Why us? To be honest, you are the third largest manufacturer after all. Even if you have just become independent, I find it hard to imagine that you need a startup like us."

Martin sighed and said, "It's not as good as you imagine. Established factories don't prioritize us much. And there have been very few new companies in this industry in recent years. It must be due to the subprime crisis. It seems like we haven't seen any new faces at all in the last few years."

Martin found it a little funny to see Chen Yiran thinking after listening.

"Haha, I actually enjoy programming too. I probably know more about you than you think; I saw your first project, that web crawler. I've also been using compilers since then, so I was quite surprised to see you in this field."

I think you probably just came here because the framework suited you, but your understanding of the industry isn't actually that comprehensive. Let me tell you, the last batch of EDA companies that focused on single-point breakthroughs were basically founded in the early 2000s. After that, there haven't been any truly mainstream EDA companies.

Venture capitalists wouldn't even look at this industry; unless you have your first pot of gold like you, they can't get in.

Moreover, the three giants are too powerful, leaving very little room for error for smaller companies in the market. The last company that wanted to challenge the three giants, making end-to-end digital design tools, was Magma, but you see, they didn't even participate this time. Price wars, patent lawsuits, bundled sales... they couldn't hold on any longer, and I heard they might already be in acquisition talks.

Chen Yiran actually knew about these things, but since the information was all obtained from the internet and Datong, hearing a veteran in the industry talk about them still made him feel a bit pressured.

Fortunately, his approach is completely different from before, so at least he doesn't have to worry too much about patent litigation.

So the issues are price and bundled sales. In a sense, he's not too afraid of a price war. First of all, it's too easy for him to make money. He can easily make something up and survive, since his company's costs aren't high to begin with.

Bundled sales are the biggest weapon, but he believes that his single-point breakthrough is too powerful to break through the blockade. Besides, with Jasmine's support, it is not impossible for him to complete the entire process in two or three years.

Chen Yiran thought for a moment and said to Martin, "We are a perfect match. In that case, let's cooperate and make a name for ourselves as soon as possible."

"Haha, good, it's time to make some noise."

The two discussed the details, and because they hit it off immediately, the conversation went very smoothly.

Several agreements were eventually finalized.

First, GlobalFoundries will send FlowEDA the complete set of 45nm PDK data within a week of the confidentiality agreement being signed.

Second, GlobalFoundries will assign a PDK engineer to specifically work with Grey.

Third, GlobalFoundries will internally push for the certification process to be completed within a month.

Fourth, GlobalFoundries' official website and press releases will list FlowEDA as a 45nm ecosystem partner.

Fifth, GlobalFoundries will waive the certification fees.

Chen Yiran felt a little embarrassed, realizing that GlobalFoundries was making all the effort. He immediately said he would do his best to accelerate the certification of GlobalFoundries' 45nm process.

We will also advise several early agreement customers to consider GlobalFoundries' 45nm foundry services if possible.

After visiting the two important booths, Chen Yiran felt good.

Although the familiar TSMC has not materialized, GlobalFoundries seems to be a better fit. It would be quite interesting if history could be changed and a three-way battle for supremacy could be created.

Chen Yiran started walking towards Samsung, and when she arrived at Samsung, something even more surprising happened.

Samsung not only readily agreed to PDK's request, but also offered to give him money.