美國無晶圓廠(fabless)公司美滿電子 (Marvell Technology) 并沒有完全遷移到中國的打算。不過，這家美國公司高層卻表示，該公司的目標(biāo)，是要成為“中國最大的半導(dǎo)體公司”。Marvell 在中國的員工人數(shù)已達(dá)1,900人，且仍在持續(xù)增加中，該公司明確承諾了在中國的發(fā)展目標(biāo)，并表示，已經(jīng)有一些目標(biāo)已經(jīng)陸續(xù)實(shí)現(xiàn)了。 今年稍早，《EE Times》曾專訪Marvell的共同創(chuàng)辦人戴偉立(Weili Dai)。出生于上海的戴偉立表示：“根留硅谷這一點(diǎn)對我們來說非常重要。因?yàn)檫@里有包括人才和技術(shù)在內(nèi)的完整生態(tài)系統(tǒng)。” 然而，這些都無法阻擋Marvell跨向太平洋的那一端。

Marvell的共同創(chuàng)辦人戴偉立(Weili Dai)
wgzesmc

除了該公司在上海的設(shè)計/工程中心聘用的1,600名員工以外，Marvell也正準(zhǔn)備在南京拓展第二個據(jù)點(diǎn)。Marvell并未透露太多細(xì)節(jié)，但承認(rèn)正在與當(dāng)?shù)卣献鳌Ｐ聯(lián)c(diǎn)的規(guī)格預(yù)計會很龐大。 該公司解釋了對中國的投資策略。“中國的技術(shù)發(fā)展非?？焖?，這個市場非常有活力，”Marvell中國區(qū)總經(jīng)理李廷偉說。“大家都知道中國代表著巨大的機(jī)遇，但要真正將其轉(zhuǎn)換成商機(jī)，你就必須親自來到這里?！? 這包括了Marvell與諸多本地領(lǐng)先的電信和電視服務(wù)供貨商在系統(tǒng)開發(fā)和服務(wù)方面所進(jìn)行的策略合作。Wei Li解釋道，芯片公司必須與各地的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)密切合作，反應(yīng)必須非?？焖?，而且必須要與當(dāng)?shù)胤?wù)結(jié)合。 他認(rèn)為，Marvell目前正處于絕佳位置，同時具備美國硅谷公司的技術(shù)領(lǐng)先，以及在中國本地半導(dǎo)體公司能快速針對當(dāng)?shù)匦枨笞龀龇磻?yīng)的優(yōu)勢。 李廷偉指出，在中國，一個很大的特色是他們?nèi)狈?yīng)用文件的概念?！八麄儙缀醪皇褂梦募涗洝！彼硎?，設(shè)計師和工程師必須參加許多會議去做演示文稿，并仔細(xì)聆聽決策者說了些什么，這很重要，因?yàn)楣こ處熀驮O(shè)計師必須要知道客戶提出哪些新需求?！澳惚仨氹S時與客戶保持聯(lián)系，”他說。 800工程師專攻移動應(yīng)用 今天的Marvell在中國有著許多不同產(chǎn)品線。其中包括智能電視；機(jī)頂盒(STB)；通用被動光網(wǎng)絡(luò)(UPON)技術(shù)──Marvell聲稱這是全球唯一支持EPON、GPON、主動式以太網(wǎng)絡(luò)等三種光纖媒體協(xié)議的單芯片解決方案；以及行動芯片。 在所有產(chǎn)品線中，行動部門是Marvell目前在中國最龐大的業(yè)務(wù)，共有800名工程師致力于開發(fā)手機(jī)產(chǎn)品。 盡管Marvell的手機(jī)芯片業(yè)務(wù)曾依靠 Research In Mothion (RIM)的黑莓機(jī)(Blackberry)而大放共彩，但該公司的行動業(yè)務(wù)卻也隨著RIM在全球智能手機(jī)市場的失勢而下滑。 然而，Mavell聲稱，該公司已經(jīng)為再度爭取行動市場占有率準(zhǔn)備好足夠的彈 藥。而讓該公司有信心做出此一承諾的關(guān)鍵，是Marvell在中國、美國和以色列的800名、200名以及500名工程師。 以下是Marvell移動產(chǎn)品副總裁李春潮(Ivan Lee)接受《EE Times》的專訪記錄。李春潮主要負(fù)責(zé)Marvell在中國和美國的開發(fā)業(yè)務(wù)。 問：為何Marvell在各個不同地點(diǎn)設(shè)置行動開發(fā)團(tuán)隊？各地團(tuán)隊之間如何分工？ 李春潮：這么做是有歷史因素的。我們在以色列的500人主要來自2006年收購自英特爾的X-scale開發(fā)團(tuán)隊。這個團(tuán)隊的開發(fā)重點(diǎn)3G和WCDMA。Marvell之所以能贏得RIM的Blackberry設(shè)計訂單，便是因?yàn)橐陨袌F(tuán)隊的努力。 問：那么，中國和美國的移動開發(fā)團(tuán)隊扮演什么樣的角色？ 李： 在中國，我們的重點(diǎn)一直在四年前開始的TD-SCDMA；現(xiàn)在則專注于TD-LTE的發(fā)展。我們在中國的行動產(chǎn)品開發(fā)團(tuán)隊是由硅芯片設(shè)計師、DSP設(shè)計 師、協(xié)議堆棧開發(fā)人員，以及負(fù)責(zé)開發(fā)Android和其它上層軟件的設(shè)計師所組成。我們在美國有200人，包括在德州奧斯汀的SoC設(shè)計團(tuán)隊、加州的團(tuán) 隊、麻州的Android軟件工程師，以及亞利桑那州的硅驗(yàn)證團(tuán)隊。 問：你說Marvell在中國有800人負(fù)責(zé)行動產(chǎn)品的研發(fā)。但我發(fā)現(xiàn)，許多人使用的名詞定義有很大不同。你如何定義研發(fā)？ 李：這個團(tuán)隊負(fù)責(zé)從TD-SCDMA的概念到架構(gòu)開發(fā)到量產(chǎn)的所有環(huán)節(jié)。在我所說的800人之中，有99.9%從事研發(fā)工作。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 本文下一頁：押注在LTE

相關(guān)閱讀：
• Marvell、聯(lián)想和中國移動共同推動中國3G TD 智能手機(jī)
• 三星GALAXY Xcover安卓智能手機(jī)采用Marvell WCDMA解決方案
• 三星Android手機(jī)S5820采用Marvell 3G TD解決方案wgzesmc

{pagination} Marvell的LTE賭注 問：直到2008年以前，Marvell都還未進(jìn)入中國行動市場。你為何不去購買一些已經(jīng)開發(fā)出TD-SCDMA芯片，或是去并購握有相關(guān)IP的公司？ 李：事實(shí)上，我們觀察過所有能提供IP的公司以及潛在的收購目標(biāo)。但最終我們認(rèn)為，如果自己來，我們可以做得更好。 當(dāng)然，當(dāng)時很多人說我們太晚進(jìn)入市場。他們還說我們應(yīng)該去買一些IP，我們應(yīng)該使用成熟的協(xié)議堆棧。 問：回到2008年，當(dāng)你決定加入市場時，當(dāng)時有哪些公司已經(jīng)能提供TD-SCDMA解決方案？ 李：展訊(Spreadtrum)、聯(lián)芯(Leadcore)、聯(lián)發(fā)科(MediaTek, 該公司當(dāng)時收購了ADI的調(diào)制解調(diào)器業(yè)務(wù))等。但這些解決方案的成本很高，而且我們也發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的整合度并不好。我們認(rèn)為，我們應(yīng)該針對未來發(fā)發(fā)展制定出一個架構(gòu)。 問：未來的架構(gòu)──你指的是TD-LTE嗎？ 李：目前我們正在開發(fā)TD-LTE調(diào)制解調(diào)器。在TD-LTE領(lǐng)域，事實(shí)證明，不僅需要多模，還需要能應(yīng)對多頻段的應(yīng)用。 中國移動(China Mobile)近日公布了該公司對TD-LTE的需求。必須能在中國境內(nèi)的TD-SCDMA和GSM頻帶上操作，而且還需要TD-LTE調(diào)制解調(diào)器來提供在4G和FDD上的漫游能力，更別說是3G和WCDMA了。 2012年底前，我們將開發(fā)出能符合中國移動所有要求的TD-LTE調(diào)制解調(diào)器。 問：我的理解是，要設(shè)計一個能將每一種基頻──包括TD-SCDMA──都包含在內(nèi)的真正多模、多頻LTE，并不是容易的事，甚至對高通(Qulacomm)來說也是如此。這是真的嗎？ 李：沒錯。因?yàn)椴⒉皇敲總€人都擁有完整的解決方案。但在Marvell，我們所開發(fā)LTE解決方案將會是普遍的──不僅可用于中國移動，而且能用在全球市場。 問：我看到Marvell押注在LTE的行動策略。但在中階和入門級智能手機(jī)市場呢？有人說Marvell并不看重這塊市場。而在此同時，像聯(lián)發(fā)科這類公司卻正大舉進(jìn)軍此一領(lǐng)域。 李： 我們不會對這塊市場視而不見。事實(shí)上，我們的 PXA920 已經(jīng)在中國的TD-SCDMA智能手機(jī)市場居主導(dǎo)地位。我們了解到多核心解決方案的重要性正日漸提升，有關(guān)這點(diǎn)，我們的競爭對手做得很好。因此，我們計劃 在未來兩到三季內(nèi)推出整合雙核心、四核心和GPU的TD-SCDMA芯片。 問：你說你的團(tuán)隊并不像許多跨國公司一般僅專注在客戶支持層面，即所謂的“輕產(chǎn)品開發(fā)”(light product development)？ 李：沒錯。我們擁有相當(dāng)程度的自主權(quán)。我們在中國進(jìn)行研發(fā)和產(chǎn)品開發(fā)等工作。 問：你擔(dān)心IP失竊或員工流動問題嗎？ 李：我知道，過去幾年來IP盜竊問題頻傳。但在Marvell，我必須說我們很幸運(yùn)。我們很重視知識產(chǎn)權(quán)的保護(hù)，我們已經(jīng)有完善的IP政策。如果貫徹我們的保護(hù)機(jī)制，我想很多相關(guān)問題都能緩解的。 問：你們的員工流動率高嗎？ 李：我們在中國的員工都是年輕人，年輕人往往更常換工作。但我們的員工一直很穩(wěn)定。一部分原因在于我們是少數(shù)真正在做硬核心開發(fā)的企業(yè)。這在中國并不普遍。而我們的工程團(tuán)隊訓(xùn)練有素，非常專業(yè)。 編譯： Joy Teng 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 本文下一頁：參考英文原文：Marvell aims to be China chip leader ，by Junko Yoshida

相關(guān)閱讀：
• Marvell、聯(lián)想和中國移動共同推動中國3G TD 智能手機(jī)
• 三星GALAXY Xcover安卓智能手機(jī)采用Marvell WCDMA解決方案
• 三星Android手機(jī)S5820采用Marvell 3G TD解決方案wgzesmc

{pagination} Marvell aims to be China chip leader Junko Yoshida SHANGHAI, China – No, Marvell Technology is not moving to China. However, the U.S. fabless chip company based in Santa Clara, Calif., has a goal to become “the largest semiconductor company in China,” according to a Marvell executive here. With 1,900 people already employed in China and the number climbing, the California- based company is clearly committed to its China aspirations, and already sees some of its goals within reach. Earlier this year during an interview with EE Times, Weili Dai, Marvell’s Shanghai-born co-founder, went on record saying: “It’s important for us to stay in Silicon Valley. That’s where the entire eco-system of great talent and technologies resides.” But that isn’t stopping Marvell from stretching a tentacle across the Pacific. In addition to the company’s main design/engineering site in Shanghai – which employs some 1,600 people, Marvell is in the process of adding its second campus in Nanjing. The company is not disclosing details, but it acknowledges that it’s working with the local government. The new site is intended to be of a substantial size. Marvell’s Chinese investments require little explanation. “Technology is moving very fast and China is a very dynamic market,” said Ting Wei Li, vice president and general manager, responsible for Marvell’s China business. “Everyone knows that there is a huge opportunity here, but to convert that opportunity to a real business, you need to be here.” That includes Marvell getting engaged with leading telecom and TV operators and strategic partners in the system and service businesses in the local market. The ecosystem the chip company needs to work with is becoming increasingly local, moving very fast, and integrated with services, Wei Li explained. He believes Marvell is in a good position to leverage the best of the both worlds: As a Silicon Valley-company where U.S. technology still leads, while being a local semiconductor company in China capable of responding to local needs quickly. Wei Li noted that one area where the Chinese are deficient is documentation. “They’re not used to it.” He said designers and engineers need to be present at more meetings, listening carefully to what decision makers are saying, and need to be aware of new requirements as they emerge. “You need to stay connected,” said Wei Li. 800 engineers focused on mobile Marvell in China is working on a number of different product segments today. They include smart TVs, set-tops; Universal Passive Optical Network (UPON) technology, which Marvell claims is the world's only single-chip solution that supports all three fiber media protocols, including EPON, Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) and Active Ethernet; and mobile chips. Of all these product lines, the mobile group commands the biggest presence in Marvell’s China operation, with 800 engineers now devoted to R&D in mobile products. Although Marvell’s mobile chip business has had a great run and a slew of design-wins with Research In Motion’s Blackberry products, the chip company’s mobile momentum seems to have fizzled a little as RIM began getting squeezed out of the global smartphone market. Mavell, however, claims that the company has a enough amunitions in reserve to regain its share. Driving the company’s renewed commitment in the mobile business are 800 engineers in China, 200 in the United States and 500 in Israel. Following is an excerpt from a one-on-one interview EE Times conducted with Ivan Lee, vice president of mobile products at Marvell. He oversees development work both in China and in the United States. EE Times: Why is Marvell’s mobile product team so spread out? And what’s the division of labor among those teams in different locations? Ivan Lee: It’s largely for historical reasons. Our 500 people in Israel are largely coming from an Intel X-scale team that Marvell acquired in 2006. Their focus is on 3G, WCDMA development. Marvell’s success at getting design wins in RIM’s Blackberry was the work of our Israel team. EE Times: What roles do your China and U.S. mobile teams play, then? Lee: In China, our focus has been more on the TD-SCDMA work we started four years ago; and now more on TD-LTE development. Our mobile products team in China consists of: silicon designers; DSP designers; those who develop protocol stacks; software developers working on Android and other upper layers. Our 200 people in the U.S. include a SoC design team in Austin, Texas and a team in Calif.; software engineers and Android development in Mass.; and a silicon validation team in Chandler, Arizona. EE Times: You said Marvell’s 800 people responsible for mobile products in China are engaged in R&D. I find some people use the term very loosely. How do you define R&D? Lee: The team here did everything from conceptualization of TD-SCDMA to its architectural development and production. I describe 99.9 percent of these 800 people as engaged in R&D. Marvell bets on LTE for mobile strategy EE Times: With all due respect, Marvell didn’t get into the mobile business in China until 2008. Why did you decide not to buy a company who had already developed TD-SCDMA or acquire anyone who had IPs? Lee: We actually did look at all the IP options and potential acquisition targets. And we decided that we can do better if we do it ourselves. Of course, at that time, many people told us that we were already too late to the market. They also advised us that we should purchase some IPs, and we should be using protocol stacks that have matured. EE Times: Who already had TD-SCDMA solutions on the market in 2008 -- when you decided to join the baseband fray? Lee: Spreadtrum, Leadcore, MediaTek (after their acquisition of ADI’s modem team), etc. The cost for these solutions was high; and we found them integrated poorly. As we were coming from nowhere, we thought we should develop an architecture that scales for the future. EE Times: Speaking of architecture that scales for the future, are you referring to TD-LTE? Lee: We are currently working on a TD-LTE modem. The TD-LTE, as it turns out, needs to be not only multi-mode but also it must respond to multi-frequency bands. China Mobile recently announced the requirement for their TD-LTE. While it needs to be able to operate on TD-SCDMA and GSM inside China, it requires TD-LTE modem to offer roaming capability on 4G and FDD, not to mention 3G, WCDMA. We’ll have a TD-LTE modem by the end of 2012, which meets all the requirements set forth by China Mobile. EE Times: My understanding is that to design a truly multi-mode, multi-frequency LTE with every baseband flavor in it – including TD-SCDMA – is not easy to do, even for Qulacomm. Is that right? Lee: True, because not everyone has a complete solution. But at Marvell, we do. Our coming LTE solution will be universal – not only applicable for China Mobile but for the worldwide market. EE Times: I see Marvell betting on LTE for the company’s mobile strategy. But what about the growing mid- to entry-level smart phone market? Some say Marvell took its eyes off on that segment. Meanwhile, companies like MediaTek are eating your lunch. Lee: I wouldn’t call it us taking our eyes off. We’ve done very well with our PXA920, dominating China’s TD-SCDMA-based smartphone market. But we do understand that the multi-core solutions are becoming very important, and our competitors have done very well. Our plan is to roll out over the next two to three quarters a family of TD-SCDMA-based chips – integrated with dual core, quad core and GPU. EE Times: You say your group is not about “l(fā)ight product development” focused more on customer support – which a lot of multinationals have been doing. Lee: Ye. We have quite a bit of autonomy here. We execute R&D, product development here in China. EE Times: Are you at all concerned at all about IP theft or employee retention? Lee: I understand that IP theft happened in the past. But at Marvell, I must say we’ve been lucky. We take IP protection very seriously, and we have put our IP policies in place. I think a lot of problems can be alleviated if we check our IP mechanism carefully, train our employees right. EE Times: What about employee retention? Lee: Our employees in China are young, and young people tend to move more often. But our work force has been pretty stable. Part of the reason is that we are one of the very few companies doing hardcore development work. That’s not very common in China. Our engineering team is well-trained and very specialized.