Investments
Basic research | Idea creation | Development
TI invests about 12.5 percent of its revenues in three key areas that help shape and drive social and environmental innovation: basic research, idea creation, and the area in which the bulk of our investments are made: development.
Basic research
Approximately 1 percent of TI’s total R&D spending is in basic research – activities with intrinsic long-term value that may not have immediate commercial benefits. Projects considered for funding must align with our strategic priorities and be based on peer-reviewed scientific research.
The majority of our investment in basic research supports university research. Through the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), TI and other SRC members have funded more than 500 projects at more than 120 universities worldwide that involved more than 1,000 graduate students. The SRC is a consortium of semiconductor companies that collaboratively funds precompetitive university research in semiconductor technology and design.
TI is a core member of this group, which helps ensure a steady stream of university research contributions and students graduating with advanced science and engineering degrees in fields related to semiconductor technology. We benefit from research findings as well as a receiving a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to all university-generated intellectual property. This helps us refine our future product offerings and increase competitiveness.
To drive the latest innovation in semiconductor manufacturing, we also provide funding for labs and facilities that help university students and faculty stay at the forefront of silicon technology. Investments have included providing TI products for design work, supplying lab equipment, or building or upgrading engineering facilities.
Additionally, we directly fund various university R&D projects through our business units. Each project has a team of employees who decide which universities, projects and fellowships to support. A portion of this funding is directed toward basic research.
Idea creation
TI's investment in “idea creation” – the generation of new product ideas – represents about 1 percent of total R&D spending. When evaluating ideas, we consider novelty and game-changing capability, potential return on investment, early market applicability and cost.
TI’s innovation labs consist of:
- Kilby Labs – Innovation centers in the U.S. and India that are designed to foster creative ideas for revolutionary semiconductor technology. Each idea selected for analysis must be supported by a TI business unit, which assigns experts to the lab for one or two years to develop feasible concepts. Lab teams continue to explore new ideas and concepts in energy management, including conversion, distribution and control of energy demand and energy resources; medical and health care; cloud computing (and the infrastructure to support it); and safety and security.
- Systems and Applications Labs – Technology-specific labs that aggressively drive new and enhanced technology to our business product development teams in the following areas: communication systems; lighting; motor control; speech and audio; solar; systems architecture; and video, imaging and vision.
Additionally, two other formal entities help drive innovation at TI:
- The Analog Technology Development (ATD) Breakthrough Ideas program and ATD Research Projects fund and allocate expert time to support feasibility demonstrations focused on innovations in analog technology development.
- Our Technical Advisory Board (TAB) assesses technological areas the company should pursue. Members include TI’s Principal Fellow and all Senior Fellows, selected technology managers and two university professors.
Our investments in idea creation outside of the company include work in biomedical electronics. This money is currently being used to research feasibility demonstrations of seven biomedical product ideas.
Development
The vast majority of TI’s R&D spending is spread across four areas of development: designing, testing, perfecting and launching. All new projects must meet technical specifications, including a detailed market assessment and manufacturability review. The average life cycle for these types of products is two years, with a very high success rate — typically 76 percent or greater.
An estimated 0.5 percent of R&D spending is allocated to environmental innovation, such as smart grid technology, electronics to support renewable energy and energy harvesting. This allocation also supports TI’s involvement in industry initiatives, a majority of which supports research at the Environmental, Safety and Health Engineering Research Center at the University of Arizona. The Research Center is co-funded through the SRC and International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative. TI funds both organizations and contributes expertise through technical advisory boards.
An estimated 0.5 percent of R&D spending is allocated to social innovations, including science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives; diversity fellowships at various universities to encourage women and minorities to pursue science and engineering degrees; and several programs to develop products that help improve health care.
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