STMicroelectronics, a symbol of the stagnation of the European microchip industry.
Did Europe Miss the AI Boat 30 Years Ago?
Back in early 1994, just a year after its creation on April 5, 1993, in Sunnyvale, California, Nvidia founders Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem were seeking a factory to produce their first graphics processor, the NV1. This processor was designed to enable video games on personal computers. Their choice fell upon a European company: SGS-Thomson, the predecessor to the Franco-Italian industrial giant STMicroelectronics. Founded in May 1987, this company was the result of a merger between the French Thomson Semiconducteurs and the Italian Societa Generale Semiconduttori (SGS), both pioneers in microelectronics on the Old Continent.
While the NV1 didn’t achieve significant commercial success, Nvidia leveraged the factories and expertise of SGS-Thomson to launch the business that, thirty years and several well-managed technological advancements later, would become the world’s most valuable company. On July 9th, it became the first to surpass the $4 trillion mark in market capitalization. Today, all AI engines rely on Nvidia chips for their calculations, and Mr. Huang, still at the helm, travels the world receiving honors befitting a head of state.
In contrast, its historical partner is worth 136 times less (25 billion euros), and only semiconductor specialists recognize the name of its CEO, Jean-Marc Chéry. He was appointed to lead the Franco-Italian group in May 2018, a company where he has spent his entire career after starting at Thomson Semiconducteurs in 1986.
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