Sonics expands presence in China and Taiwan

MILPITAS, USA: Sonics Inc., a premier supplier of intelligent on-chip communications solutions, announced that the company plans to expand its presence in China and Taiwan, naming James Mac Hale as vice president of Asia Operations.

Sonics has opened a branch office in Taipei and has established a local team in both Taipei and Shanghai, including newly hired technical sales support as well as sales representatives to help the company expand existing business and support its growing customer base in one of Asia’s most explosive technology regions.

Mac Hale, a semiconductor veteran, most recently served as Sonics’ vice president of sales since he began with the company in 2005. In this newly designated role, he will head up business operations and sales efforts in both Taiwan and China—and serve as the company’s first-ever executive assigned to developing the region.

Mac Hale previously served in a similar capacity for MIPS Technologies, Inc. from 2001-2005, and today is responsible for Sonics’ regional business and product strategies, partnerships and strategic alliances, and customer relationships in Taiwan and China. He reports to Sonics’ CEO Grant Pierce.

“China and Taiwan are among the fastest growing centers for advanced SoC design and Sonics is fully committed to their long-term success,” said Pierce.

“The region’s impressive trajectory is well aligned with Sonics’ leadership in the consumer and mobile SoC markets, and they continue to power some of the world’s most popular digital entertainment and portable media devices. With James’ longstanding, deep experience with Chinese semiconductor companies and his working knowledge of the region’s SoC design requirements, he will play an invaluable part of Sonics’ future growth and success throughout Asia.”

As the world’s number one supplier of silicon-proven, on-chip network IP, Sonics’ customer traction continues to grow year over year. The company’s plan to bolster its presence in China and Taiwan has been underway for more than a year. During that time, Sonics signed SinoStar Technologies Inc. in Taipei, who has been helping the company drive new business throughout the region and support existing customer demand.

Recently, Sonics signed an agreement with CoStart Technology Ltd in China to serve as Sonics’ local sales and customer support team. CoStart, with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, will also help Sonics drive demand for its SoC IP portfolio in China. Additionally, with Sonics’ technical staff based in Taipei, the company will now be able to provide stronger onsite technical support in both areas working closely with the resident sales representatives.

Later this year, Sonics plans to unveil its technology strategy and roll out solutions for SoC designers focused on video, portable media and mobile devices in Taiwan and China.

“The rapid adoption of advanced SoC methodologies in China is truly impressive,” said James Mac Hale, vice president of Asia Operations at Sonics.

“With new standards demanding more efficient solutions, we see emerging applications take the stage across China and Taiwan. Sonics has a unique portfolio of connectivity solutions to help ease on-chip communications challenges and persistent memory bottlenecks inherent in today’s SoC designs, and understands off-chip memory performance better than any other global IP provider. This technical advantage, combined with the presence of our local teams, enables us to help a broad array of innovative semiconductor companies deliver area-and power-sensitive, performance-based SoCs on time while avoiding costly re-spins.”