Spansion
| File:Spansion logo.svg | |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Defunct | March 12, 2015 |
| Fate | Acquired by Cypress Semiconductor |
| Successor | Cypress Semiconductor, subsequently acquired by Infineon |
| Headquarters | Sunnyvale, California, United States |
Key people | John Kispert (CEO and Board Member of Spansion) |
| Products | Embedded systems based on flash memory |
| Revenue | Around $1.3 billion USD (2013 annual) |
Number of employees | Approximately 3,700 (2014) |
| Website | www |
Spansion Inc. was a technology firm from the United States focused on designing, developing, and manufacturing flash memory, microcontrollers, mixed-signal and analog components, as well as system-on-chip (SoC) solutions. Based in Sunnyvale, California, the company employed roughly 3,700 personnel by 2014. Initially established as the joint venture FASL between AMD and Fujitsu, it later became an independent corporation.
In August 2013, Spansion broadened its product range through the $175 million acquisition of Fujitsu Semiconductor's Microcontroller and Analog Business, which added more than 1,000 employees worldwide.
With a customer base exceeding 10,000 globally, Spansion’s offerings served critical sectors such as automotive electronics, household appliances, computing peripherals, consumer electronics, industrial uses, and networking infrastructure.
History
Spansion traces its roots back to 1993 when it was formed as FASL LLC, a joint venture between AMD and Fujitsu called Fujitsu AMD Semiconductor Limited. In 2003, AMD took full ownership and rebranded the company as Spansion LLC in June 2004. The firm officially separated as an independent flash memory manufacturer in December 2005.
Under the guidance of CEO John Kispert starting in 2009, Spansion recovered from bankruptcy to surpass $1 billion in yearly revenue while expanding its customer portfolio. The strategic purchase of Fujitsu’s microcontroller and analog business in 2013 further enhanced its market presence and international footprint.
Mergers and acquisitions
In October 2007, Spansion acquired Saifun Semiconductors Ltd., an Israeli company, bringing all MirrorBit and NROM intellectual property, design capabilities, and manufacturing expertise under one roof. This move enriched its IP assets and opened opportunities in technology licensing. The transaction was finalized in March 2008.
In April 2013, Spansion revealed plans to acquire Fujitsu Semiconductor's Microcontroller and Analog Business for about $175 million, completing the acquisition by August that year.
By December 2014, Cypress Semiconductor merged with Spansion through an all-stock transaction valued at $1.59 billion. Shareholders from both companies held roughly equal stakes in the combined enterprise, which retained the Cypress Semiconductor name. Valued at $4 billion overall, the merger targeted annual cost savings of $135 million within three years. Cypress CEO TJ Rodgers assumed leadership of the merged company—projected to generate $2 billion annually—with Spansion Chairman Ray Bingham serving as non-executive chairman.
Products
Spansion's product lineup features NOR flash memory ranging in density from 4 megabits up to 8 gigabits, alongside NAND flash densities spanning 1 to 8 gigabits. These products come with a variety of interface options and configurations. The company developed two distinct flash memory technologies: the single-bit-per-cell floating gate and the multi-bit-per-cell MirrorBit technology, which together enhance the adaptability of their offerings. NOR flash devices are engineered for both code storage and execution, utilizing either of these technologies.
Aimed primarily at embedded systems within automotive, industrial, and telecommunications industries, Spansion’s Floating Gate and MirrorBit technologies cater to sectors including networking hardware, consumer electronics, gaming consoles, set-top boxes, automotive electronics, and PC peripherals.
NOR flash products are available with voltage options of 5V, 3V, and 1.8V, covering capacities from 1Mb up to 2Gb. NAND flash devices offer voltage selections of 3V and 1.8V with densities between 1Gb and 8Gb.
The standard parallel NOR flash families encompass MirrorBit NOR GL, AL AS, CD-CL, F, JL, PL, NS/VS/XS, and WS series. These operate within a voltage range of 1.8 to 5.0 volts (Vcc), deliver random read access times between 90 and 100 nanoseconds, and achieve page read speeds of 25 nanoseconds through an 8-word page buffer.
Spansion’s serial peripheral interface (SPI) flash memory reduces the number of pins required and simplifies board design while lowering overall costs. SPI flash devices are utilized in high-performance printers, FPGAs, networking equipment, and set-top boxes. The SPI FL family supports densities from 4 Mb up to 1 Gb with consistent sector sizes.
The HyperFlash NOR memory series employs the HyperBus interface to provide read speeds reaching up to 333 MB/s—more than five times faster than Quad SPI flash—while using fewer pins than traditional parallel NOR flash. This enables scalable system architectures across various performance tiers using compatible controllers.
In August 2011, Spansion launched the industry’s first single-die 4-gigabit NOR device fabricated on a 65-nanometer process node.
After acquiring Fujitsu’s flash memory business in 2013, Spansion broadened its portfolio to include microcontrollers featuring ARM Cortex-M4/M3/M0+ cores within the FM MCU family (offered in packages ranging from 32 to 216 pins with flash sizes between 56KB and 2MB) as well as Traveo automotive microcontrollers based on ARM Cortex-R5 cores running at frequencies up to 200 MHz.
Additionally, Spansion introduced power management ICs focused on energy harvesting and LED lighting applications. The Buck PMIC (MB39C811) delivers regulated output voltage with an ultra-low quiescent current of just 1.5 μA, while the Boost PMIC (MB39C831) supports harvesting energy from solar and thermal sources. The Easy DesignSim software tool assists engineers in designing LED driver circuits.
Manufacturing
Based in Sunnyvale, California, Spansion operated its main wafer fabrication facility known as Fab 25 located in Austin, Texas. The company also ran a final assembly plant in Bangkok, Thailand along with a design center situated in Penang, Malaysia, which specialized in design engineering, layout development, CAD operations, verification tasks, and cross-site design collaboration.
Financial
For the second quarter of 2014, Spansion announced net revenues totaling $314.7 million—a year-over-year increase of 61.3% according to U.S. GAAP standards. On a non-GAAP basis, the company reported a gross margin of 33.2%, operating income amounting to $22.1 million, and net earnings of $15.6 million.
Exit from Chapter 11
Following its bankruptcy declaration in March 2009, Spansion obtained court authorization to emerge from Chapter 11 in April 2010, completing a successful restructuring process. The company annulled its previous common stock and allocated new shares to its creditors. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange recommenced on June 22, 2010, with the ticker symbol "CODE."
Controversy over executive compensation
John Kispert assumed the role of CEO in February 2009, just prior to the Chapter 11 filing. During the company's financial hardships, Spansion terminated 3,000 employees without providing severance packages, while Kispert’s remuneration plan included a possible $1.7 million bonus tied to a sale or liquidation within six months—a bonus that was never awarded due to the bankruptcy proceedings.
Although management implemented cost reductions, their salaries were increased by 11%, effectively negating earlier pay cuts and provoking employee dissatisfaction. Subsequently, a settlement was achieved for those dismissed during the February 2009 layoffs. Kispert also introduced a policy aimed at prioritizing the rehiring of these former employees for available positions.