Wilk Elektronik SA and Taiwan company Phison Electronics Corp. plan to combine forces in a strategic partnership. By developing firmware, the agreement provides the opportunity to strengthen Europe’s strategic position in the global semiconductor supply chain.
Wilk Elektronik SA, the only DRAM memory manufacturer in Europe with over 30 years of industry experience, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Taiwanese company Phison Electronics Corp., a world leader in semiconductor technology.
The basis of the planned cooperation will be a joint venture company with Wilk Elektronik in the role of majority shareholder. The new entity will focus on developing and designing secure firmware software for memory carriers based on NAND Flash technology, a specialization that will enable Europe to assume a strategic position in the global semiconductor market.
In addition to developing firmware, the products of the newly-created company, based on unique technology and intellectual property (IP), will enable, for example, the training of individual AI models in a closed infrastructure for companies from various industries where data security is crucial.
The MoU agreement between Wilk Elektronik and Phison was signed at the Polish Office in Taipei during the Computex trade show in June. The agreement foresees cooperation in several key areas, including the establishment of an R&D team. The team, through a wide transfer of knowledge from partners, will develop competences in the field of firmware development, a crucial component for managing memory for SSD drives and NAND Flash memory. This will make it possible to create secure, specialized solutions tailored to the advanced needs of industrial applications, used, among other things, in automation, transport, as well as in the medical and defense sectors.
The CEO of Wilk Elektronik SA, Wiesław Wilk, emphasizes that the planned partnership with Phison Electronics opens new perspectives for his company. This partnership aligns with the company’s long-term strategy of investing in innovation and the development of technology. Mr. Wilk highlights that firmware is a vital component that connects a device’s hardware to the operating system software. As Asia has made major strides in gaining an advantage in the global computer hardware market due to its operational performance, the United States has long been leading in the field of operating system software. Firmware is thus becoming an increasingly essential element and area where Europe still has the chance to build a center of expertise, thus becoming a significant player in the global semiconductor market. This cooperation further allows Poland to play a key role in the development of the semiconductor supply chain in Europe.
K.S. Pua, CEO of Phison Electronics, recognizes that Phison has been cooperating with Wilk Elektronik SA for almost two decades. This partnership, initially focused on the production of consumer memory, has expanded in recent years to include storage applications in industrial, transport, and automation systems. The signed MoU reflects not only the continuous improvement and transformation of Wilk Elektronik but also shows Phison’s commitment to supporting its long-term partner.
This partnership between Wilk Elektronik and Phison also has critical importance for the entire European electronic and technological sector, moving towards sovereignty in the field of production and patents. The EU goal under the European Chips Act is to ensure the EU’s security and resilience of supply chains as well as a leading technological position in the field of semiconductor technology and applications.
One of the pivots of the agreement is access to Phison’s aiDAPTIV+ technology. It combines AI frameworks with specialized SSD drives, allowing for the creation of local data centers for fine-tuning and training large AI models. This solution allows, for example, to build own servers that can handle fine tuning of large language models (LLM), eliminating the need to transfer sensitive data to external companies.
Wilk Elektronik is a family-owned Polish company with over 30 years of experience in the market for mass and operational memory. They are the only manufacturer of computer DRAM memory in Europe. Wilk Elektronik has become a significant player in the European memory market with revenues counted in hundreds of millions of zlotys with multimillion-dollar investments in research and development. Wilk Elektronik now provides solutions for consumers, the gaming sector, and advanced industrial applications.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/wilk-elektronik-sa-i-tajwanska-firma-phison-electronics-corp-wchodza-w-joint-venture-37602
