Rambus woos European consumer electronics industry
Christoph Hammerschmidt
(05/17/2006 www.eetimes.com)
MUNICH, Germany — Looking beyond its PC-centric base, intellectual-property vendor Rambus Inc. is moving to strengthen its position in consumer electronics. And for Los Altos, Calif.-based Rambus, courting Europe’s consumer companies will be part and parcel of that strategy.
Rambus has built a business providing high-speed chip-to-chip data interfaces to manufacturers of computer memory chips, chip sets and and processors. But Sharon Holt, senior vice president for sales, licensing and marketing, cited unserved opportunities in the consumer electronics markets, not only in digital device design but in analog and mixed-signal devices as well. And "multimedia is the motor of consumer electronics,“ Holt said.
Rambus established its first European office in January and now is working to extend its service offerings on the continent. With STMicroelectronics and Infineon memory spinoff Qimonda already on its customer list, Rambus hopes to attract companies more focused on the consumer sector. "Philips is not yet our customer but [looks] very interesting because of their position in the consumer space," Holt said. "Siemens also has interesting technological problems we could help solve.“
Data communications and networking present opportunities for Rambus technology, said Holt, as developers in those markets confront noise and other signal integrity issues. Gaming platforms will remain an important target for Rambus technology. High-definition TV is another focus. Holt perceives mobile devices as "more of a future market" for the company.
As it targets consumer markets, Rambus will stick with its established business model of developing, patenting and ultimately licensing technologies that it believes will be important in the future. On more than one occasion, Rambus has turned to the courts to enforce its patents. But while Rambus will continue to “protect strategic technologies,“ Holt said, it has “absolutely no desire to become a 'patent only' company" and will continue to provide design services and support to IDMs and fabless chip vendors.
