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PMC-Sierra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the former computer game manufacturer see Sierra Entertainment
PMC-Sierra NASDAQ: PMCS is a fabless semiconductor company which develops and sells devices into the communications, storage, printing, and embedding computing marketplaces. PMC is included in the S&P 500 index.
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Sierra Semiconductor was originally founded in 1984 in San Jose, California, and went public in 1991.
Pacific Microelectronics Centre (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) was spun off from Microtel Pacific Research (the research arm of BC TEL at the time) to develop ATM and later SONET chips. With investment from Sierra Semiconductor, PMC was established in 1992 as a private company focused on providing networking semiconductors, and became a wholly owned, independently-operated subsidiary of Sierra Semiconductor in 1994. Microtel is currently a part of Verizon.
In August 1996, Sierra Semiconductor announced its decision to exit the personal computer modem chipset business, to restructure its other non-networking products and focus on its networking products. In 1997, the Company changed its name to PMC-Sierra to reflect the corporate focus on internetworking semiconductor solutions.
In 2001, PMC-Sierra was named "Semiconductor Supplier of the Year" by Cisco Systems and has received numerous other similar awards. PMC's CEO is Robert L. "Bob" Bailey.
During the Sierra Semiconductor period, Sierra was the leading maker of switched-capacitor-filter based modems and also developed ASICs which combined processors and EEPROM.
PMC was a co-founder of the SATURN Development Group in 1992 and produced a product line of communications devices in the "S/UNI" family to SATURN's PL-2, PL-3, and PL-4 specifications. Other notable communications products include the TEMUX PDH multiplexer, the CHESS series SONET/SDH switches, and the AAL1gator Circuit Emulation Service device.
PMC-Sierra also has a product line of MIPS microprocessors ranging from the RM5000 and RM7000 family of stand-alone microprocessors to the RM9000GL and RM9150 integrated System-On-a-Chip devices. For SoHo segment PMC-Sierra offers a MSP (Multi Service Processor) SoC (acquired from Brecis Communications).
Additionally, PMC-Sierra has a product line of devices for Storage Area Networking including Cut-Thru-Switches and storage enclosure processors.
Over the years, Sierra/PMC-Sierra has acquired several smaller companies to enter new market segments.
| Acquired Company | Date | Acquisition Price | Market Segment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Microelectronics Centre | 1994 (in two steps) | communications ICs | |
| Bipolar Integrated Technology | 1996 | $8M in stock | ethernet |
| Hypercore | April 1998 | hypercube-based interconnects | |
| IgT | May 1998 | $55M | ATM based product line |
| Abrizio | September 1999 | $400M | switch fabrics for core networks |
| Toucan | January 2000 | $26M in stock | DSP for DSL |
| Extreme Packet Devices | March 2000 | $415M | traffic managers |
| AANetcom | March 2000 | $964M | Serdes |
| Datum | June 2000 | $125M | DSP for cell baystations |
| Malleable | June 2000 | $299M | VOIP |
| Quantum Effect Devices | August 2000 | $2300M in stock | microprocessors |
| SwitchOn | September 2000 | $450M | packet classifiers |
| Octera | December 2000 | $16M | mixed signal design |
| assets of Brecis | November 2004 | $3.7M | VOIP product line |
| Storage division of Avago Technologies | January 2006 | $425M in cash | Storage Semiconductors |
| Passave | May 2006 | $300M in stock | fiber optics to the home |
During it's acquisition binge of 2000, the company increased its headcount from 650 to a peak of 1750 within one year.
The company has experienced multiple restructurings, particularly in the wake of the 2000 bursting of telecom bubble.
| Date | Sites Affected | Groups Affected | Number of Employees Terminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 1996 | San Jose, CA | Sierra PC Modem team | 150 people |
| ~1997 | San Jose, CA | Sierra operations team | |
| March 2001 | Burnaby, British Columbia; Santa Clara, CA; Kanata, Ontario | Internet Routing Division shutdown - the Abrizio, Extreme, Malleable and SwitchOn teams | 350 people in 2 rounds of layoffs |
| January 2003 | Gaithersburg, Maryland; Dublin and Galway, Ireland; Pune, India; San Diego, CA - all shutdown | majority of IgT; Toucan and Octera groups | 175 people |
| June 2005 | Santa Clara, CA | full-custom design team of Microprocessor Products Division - the QED team | 89 people |
| January 2006 | Santa Clara, CA; Portland OR | ASIC design teams of Microprocessor Products Division, remaining IgT team | 30 people |
| August 2006 | Ottawa, Ontario - shutdown | various including a mixed signal team | 45 people |
| March 2007 | Winnipeg, Manitoba; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - both shutdown | Hypercore team, Winnipeg validation team, others | 175 people |
As of 2005, the company sells telecommunication, storage and embedded microprocessor silicon solutions. It has design centers in 2 cities in Canada, 3 cities in the U.S., Israel, India, and China and has sales offices throughout the world.