The semiconductor industry has long been dominated by large companies that design and manufacture their own chips. However, in recent years, a new trend has emerged in the industry – the rise of fabless companies.

Fabless companies are those that design chips but outsource the manufacturing to third-party foundries. This model allows fabless companies to focus on innovation and design, while leaving the complex and expensive manufacturing process to specialized foundries.

This shift in the semiconductor landscape has been driven by several factors. First, the cost of building and maintaining a semiconductor manufacturing facility, known as a fab, has skyrocketed in recent years. It can cost billions of dollars to build a state-of-the-art fab, making it prohibitively expensive for many companies to do so.

Second, the pace of innovation in the semiconductor industry has accelerated, with new technologies and standards emerging at a rapid pace. Fabless companies can adapt more quickly to these changes, as they are not tied to a specific manufacturing process or technology.

Finally, the rise of the Internet of Things and other emerging technologies has created a growing demand for specialized chips and processors. Fabless companies are well-positioned to meet this demand, as they can quickly develop and bring to market new chips tailored to specific applications.

One of the most well-known fabless companies is Nvidia, which designs high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) for gaming, artificial intelligence, and other applications. Another example is Qualcomm, which designs chips for smartphones and other mobile devices.

Overall, the fabless revolution is reshaping the semiconductor industry, allowing for greater innovation, flexibility, and specialization. As more companies embrace the fabless model, we can expect to see even more groundbreaking technologies and products emerge in the years to come.