NTT Docomo, NEC, Fujitsu and its chip-making division Fujitsu Semiconductor are teaming-up to form a joint venture to focus on the development and sales of semiconductor products with built-in modem functions. In other words, they want to compete with the likes of Qualcomm and Nvidia (after it acquired Icera).
The technologies individually held by the companies, as well as the results of their joint development work, offer a competitive advantage in the smartphone market, which is expected to grow even more in the coming years.
The new company will be called Access Network Technology Limited and will employ approximately 85 people in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. In terms of ownership, Fujitsu will have the largest stake at 52.8% stake, followed by Docomo (19.9%), NEC (17.8%) and Fujitsu Semiconductor (9.5%).
Now the question is whether these companies together have what it takes to compete with Qualcomm on a global level? We’re not sure, but we’re pretty confident Fujitsu will make and Docomo sell phones and tablets that come with Access Network Technology-made chips. We’ll see what goes after that…