IBM Corp is in talks with Toshiba Corp over possible cooperation on system chips for telecommunications equipment, according to John Kelly, the US giant’s general manager in charge of semiconductors. He said that IBM is moving away from DRAM production because of severe price competition, and next year plans to limit DRAM production to a few factories.
Kelly apparently wants IBM to concentrate on logic devices such as system chips, and is seeking a tie-up with Toshiba in the sector. He said there are several major contracts under negotiation with Japanese companies, and announcements can be expected in the near future. A recent contract signing was with Nintendo Co for IBM to supply a central processing unit for next-generation game consoles.
