The fabless-foundry business model lets a chip company build products without owning the fab that manufactures them.
The commercial contract is deeper than a wafer order. A serious foundry engagement involves a PDK, IP licenses, mask costs, wafer service terms, capacity commitments, packaging assumptions, yield ownership, confidentiality, and engineering support. The business model works only when those pieces line up with the product schedule.
| Commercial item | What it covers | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| PDK access | Rules, models, corners, and sign-off collateral | Lets the design team target the process correctly |
| NRE and masks | One-time engineering and mask expenses | Determines the cost of a tape-out or re-spin |
| Wafer agreement | Pricing, starts, allocation, and delivery terms | Converts demand forecast into manufacturing capacity |
| Yield and test plan | How good die are measured and improved | Drives unit economics and launch confidence |
Node selection is a business decision, not a vanity metric. The right process is the one that balances performance, cost, IP availability, package strategy, schedule, and supply confidence for the product being built.
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