To bring the company to a healthy financial situation and position it for future growth, Eindhoven, the Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors said today it is launching a redesign program driven by a challenging economic environment, a weak US dollar, and the reduction in size of the company after moving its wireless business into a joint venture with STMicroelectronics.

With today the 50th anniversary of the integrated circuit (IC), Dallas-based semiconductor giant Texas Instruments Inc launched it's "Kilby Labs," to be a center of innovation for fostering creative ideas for breakthrough semiconductor technology and built on IC inventor Jack Kilby's legacy of revolutionizing our lives through chip innovation.

NEC Electronics has joined the IBM-led Fishkill Alliance, with a goal of implementing NEC’s automotive microcontrollers and other products on the high-k/metal gate process at 32 nm design rules. “Spurred by the success we’ve had in the high-k program, NEC wanted to get involved directly, as well as in the early research work in Albany,” said Gary Patton, vice president of the IBM Semiconductor Research & Development Center.

Making it the eighth semiconductor manufacturer in IBM's joint development alliance working to advance performance and power improvements for next generation silicon technologies, NEC Electronics inks a multi-year joint development agreement to jointly develop next-generation semiconductor process technology.