Highlights:

  • Toshiba aims to operate its power management chip unit, striving for an operating income margin of at least 10%.
  • Toshiba’s facility will manufacture power management products utilizing 300-millimeter silicon wafers, enabling higher manufacturing efficiency compared to the 200-millimeter wafers employed by Toshiba in previous processes.

Toshiba Corp. plans to invest 125 billion yen, equivalent to approximately USD 175 million, in expanding its production lines dedicated to manufacturing power management chips.

Recently, Reuters covered the announcement, where Toshiba’s CEO Taro Shimada provided insights into the investment during an event commemorating the company’s recent acquisition by Japan Industrial Partners, a private equity firm. The agreement, which values the manufacturing giant at around USD 15 billion, signifies the conclusion of a presence exceeding 70 years on public markets.

Toshiba’s planned investment of USD 175 million is poised to double its power management chip manufacturing capacity. Reuters reported that the company believes these circuits serve as an “immediate profit driver.” Toshiba aims to operate its power management chip unit, striving for an operating income margin of at least 10%.

Power management chips are ubiquitous in modern electronic devices, including servers, handsets, cars, and virtually every other gadget. These chips play a crucial role in managing the power flow within the integrated systems, often handling multiple tasks simultaneously.

Certain chips within this category, like Toshiba’s eFuses, safeguard a device’s components by mitigating the impact of sudden power surges. An eFuse incorporates transistors designed to obstruct the flow of electricity to a subsystem when the voltage exceeds a specified threshold, serving as a protective mechanism against excessive voltage. Toshiba asserts that this technology enables quicker repair times compared to traditional fuses.

The company’s power management chips exhibit versatility and find application in diverse use cases. These chips can perform DC-to-DC conversion, which involves converting the electricity flowing from a device’s battery into a voltage that other device components can more effectively process. Toshiba’s chips additionally aid in mitigating voltage fluctuations that could otherwise lead to decreased operational efficiency within a system.

Earlier in 2022, the company had invested USD 1.13 billion in its power management chip business. Toshiba unveiled plans for a new fabrication facility exclusively dedicated to producing these chips as part of that initiative. The facility will manufacture power management products utilizing 300-millimeter silicon wafers, enabling higher manufacturing efficiency compared to the 200-millimeter wafers employed by Toshiba in previous processes.

The USD 14 billion deal facilitated by Japan Industrial Partners, which acquired the company last week, secured a substantial semiconductor business and included a diverse range of other assets. Toshiba provides many products, from laptops and smart home appliances to elevators.

Japan Industrial Partners also acquired the company’s 40.6% stake in Kioxia Holdings Corp., a major player in the global flash chip manufacturing industry. Kioxia originally functioned as a subsidiary of Toshiba, the pioneer of flash technology in 1980, before undergoing a spin-off a few years ago. Kioxia operates a network of chip fabrication facilities in collaboration with Western Digital Technologies Inc., serving as the company’s primary research and development partner.