China Server Upstart Hits Spotlight

Rick Merritt, EETimes
9/2/2015 07:00 AM EDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Phytium Technology Co. Ltd. went from being an unknown to the equivalent of a rock star in the microprocessor world last week. That’s when the China-based company disclosed details at the annual Hot Chips event of its Mars design, one of the most aggressive ARM-based server SoCs to date.

After the event, EE Times spoke by phone with Charles Zhang, the director of research of Phytium, to find about more about this little-known company that maintains a skeletal Web site.

It turns out Phytium is a startup inside the belly of a giant — China Electronics Corp., one of China’s oldest and largest state-run enterprises in the industry. The conglomerate employs 70,000 people and develops everything from military and space electronics to consumer appliances and education software.

CEC was the first organization to run a submicron fab in China. Its Web site hosts pictures of its gadgets in the hands of China’s leaders going back to Mao Zedong

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