On Aug. 8, Sina Technology reported that SMIC’s software project was halted and its supplier, Shang Yang Software, was unable to meet the requirements of the CIM system for the 12-inch fab and its team of hundreds of people was disbanded. Affected by the news, the outside world not only mistakenly thought that the operation of Yang Yang Software was in trouble, but even speculated that SMIC’s Beijing project had been halted as a result.
In this regard, the person in charge of Shangyang Software confirmed to Tibco: “First of all, the SMIC Beijing project is not suspended, the Shangyang team is still working on software development for it, and due to the recurring epidemic, the project has been changed from centralized development to remote development, in such a way that it can solve the impact of the epidemic on the fab and also complete the development needs of the customer.”
The person in charge stressed that the project leader and the team are currently stable, and the relevant project personnel have not left the company and are still holding their positions and doing their best for the project.
In addition, a person close to SMIC also told ICN that the SMIC Beijing project is still progressing as planned and has not been affected in any way.
It is understood that Shang Yang Software is the earliest manufacturer of semiconductor MES in China, and one of the few manufacturers of 12-inch semiconductor MES system in China. The MES software developed by the company for SMIC Beijing project is based on its own R&D system for 12-inch semiconductor fully automated production line.
A foundry executive pointed out that the SMIC Beijing project is of great significance, as it is usually early to replicate the successful model in the mode of “old factory with new factory” to promote the new factory to enter the mass production stage as soon as possible. Therefore, SMIC Beijing project will not rely on the rumored domestic CIM software. Even if the intention is to switch to local software, it will take some testing time until the supplier can meet the requirements. The cooperation with SMIC project should still be in the process of integration.
