Blockbuster! The "big reconciliation" of thestorage industry, pointing out the future marketdirection?
According to related reports, the United States memory manufacturer Micron Technology (Micron Technology) spokesman said in a media email statement on December 24, has reached a global settlement agreement with Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., LTD., the two companies will withdraw their prosecution of each other globally, ending all litigation between the two parties.
Recalling the origin of the incident, in 2016, when Taiwan's United Microelectronics (UMC) and Fujian Jinhua signed a technical cooperation agreement to assist Fujian Jinhua to develop 32-nanometer DRAM (dynamic random access memory) related process technology, the results are shared by both sides. After the technology research and development is completed, it is transferred to Jinhua, Fujian Province for mass production. After that, three senior executives of Micron transferred to UMC, leading to technology property rights cases.
In September 2017, Micron accused UMC of stealing trade secrets in Taiwan, China, accusing employees who had moved from Micron to UMC of stealing Micron's trade secrets and allegedly leaking Micron technology to UMC. In December of the same year, Micron sued Fujian Jinhua and UMC in the United States, claiming that UMC stole intellectual property, including memory chip technology, through Micron employees in Taiwan and delivered it to Fujian Jinhua. At the same time, Fujian Jinhua also filed a countersuit against Micron for alleged infringement of a series of products sold in China.
In November 2021, UMC took the lead in reaching a settlement agreement with Micron, in which both parties would withdraw their respective lawsuits and UMC would pay Micron a one-time settlement of a confidential amount. Prior to this, the US Department of Commerce had listed Fujian Jinhua on the "entity list" of export control on the grounds of national security.
Today, Micron and Fujian Jinhua also reached a settlement, ending all previous lawsuits. The settlement will give Micron the opportunity to resume business in the Chinese market. In June, Micron announced plans to invest more than 4.3 billion yuan in its packaging and testing plant in Xi 'an over the next few years. Micron CEO Mehrotra also visited China in November to express his willingness to expand investment in the Chinese market. At present, memory is bottoming out, a new cycle is opening, and new opportunities such as AI and automotive electronics will also bring broader market demand. Micron's choice of reconciliation at this time is a rational choice to embrace a larger market.
The reconciliation of the two companies also means that Fujian Jinhua is expected to open a new journey. From a broader perspective, it is also the first step to break the ice in the "chip war" between China and the United States, but does it mean that the United States will give up its wrong policy of suppression? I am afraid that this powerful inertia can not be changed today. The only thing that is certain is that after years of development, China's storage industry has gained a place in the international market and established a good reputation in the hearts of local consumers. Traditional storage manufacturers can no longer ignore the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises.
From the reconciliation of Micron and Jinhua, it can be seen that the industrial chain is still to avoid some wrong disputes in order to move towards win-win. Under the market pattern of fair competition and diverse choices, local storage manufacturers will open the market with excellent product force and win the favor of more individual and enterprise users. The rise of the local storage business, not only out of the determination to enhance the hard power of science and technology, but also from the independent choice of the huge market, some external factors to impose intervention, can not stop the prosperity of the local storage business.