ELECTRONIC NEWS HIGHLIGHT W34.2024

1. Renesas announces completion of acquisition of Altium

Renesas Electronics Corporation recently announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Altium. This combination lays the foundation for Renesas and Altium to create an innovative electronics systems design and lifecycle management platform. The platform will provide integration and standardization of various electronic design data and functions, improved component lifecycle management, and enable seamless digital iteration of design processes. designed to increase overall productivity. This delivers significantly faster innovation and lowers the barrier to entry for system designers by reducing development resources and inefficiencies.

Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas said: “ This is a historic milestone for both Renesas and Altium as we take another important step forward in delivering an enhanced user experience for electronic system designers. With the addition of Altium’s design software and cloud platform capabilities, we are excited to transform the future of electronic systems design with Aram and his team of talented, industry-leading software engineers”.

Following the completion of the transaction, Altium is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas. Altium CEO Aram Mirkazemi has assumed the role of Senior Vice President and Head of Software & Digitization at Renesas. He also holds the position of Chief Executive Officer of Altium.

Learn more: Renesas announces completion of acquisition of Altium

2. ST sales decreased 25% in the second quarter of 2024

According to STMicroelectronics’ latest financial report, the company’s second quarter revenue was $3.23 billion, down 25% year-on-year. In addition, impacted by excess inventory and reduced demand from auto chip manufacturing customers, this year’s revenue forecast is down to $13.2 billion to $13.7 billion, lower than with a previous forecast of $14 billion to $15 billion.

Revenue of like-for-like products MEMS and AM&S decreased 10.0% year-over-year, primarily due to reduced image sensor performance; Microcontroller revenue decreased 46.0% year-over-year in the second quater of 2024.

Jean-Marc Chery, CEO of STMicroelectronics, said low auto sales also impacted the company’s consumer electronics sales growth. The quarter contrasted with previous expectations, with no improvement in customer orders, lower auto demand and higher personal electronics-related sales.

STMicroelectronics remains hopeful that electric vehicles will drive growth for the rest of the year.

Learn more: ST sales decreased 25% in the second quarter of 2024

3. Malaysia aims to double semiconductor exports by 2030

According to the report, Malaysia plans to increase semiconductor equipment exports to 1.2 trillion ringgit (about $257 billion) by 2030.

According to figures released by Malaysia, Malaysia exported semiconductor equipment worth RM593 billion and RM575.45 billion in 2022 and 2023.

Wong Siew Hai, president of the Malaysian Semiconductor Industry Association, said the target would strengthen Malaysia’s position as the world’s sixth-largest chip exporter. However, Malaysia is facing a shortage of domestic talent and is currently having to look for solutions to recruit talent from abroad.