VIA Technologies

VIA Technologies is a computer hardware and software company founded by Cher Wang on January 1, 1987. The company is headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan and operates as a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Group. VIA Technologies is a public company listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and has a legal classification as an open joint-stock company.

The company specializes in various industries, including computer hardware, software, Wi-Fi, wireless, smart building, nanotechnology, technology, telecommunications, and the Internet of Things (IoT). VIA Technologies operates as a business-to-business (B2B) company and has a workforce of around 2000 employees.

VIA Technologies owns several subsidiaries, including Cyrix, HTC, and WonderMedia. The company is also the owner of HTC.

WenChi Chen serves as the CEO of VIA Technologies, while Jiin Lai holds the position of CTO.

The company has been assigned 29 patents and maintains an active online presence through various platforms. VIA Technologies has an official website at https://viatech.com, a blog at https://www.viatech.com/en/news/, and social media accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. The company also has applications available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

VIA Technologies Inc. (Chinese: 威盛電子; pinyin: Wēishèng Diànzǐ), is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory. It was the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets.[citation needed] As a fabless semiconductor company, VIA conducts research and development of its chipsets in-house, then subcontracts the actual (silicon) manufacturing to third-party merchant foundries, such as TSMC.

History

The company was founded in 1987, in Fremont, California, USA by Cher Wang. In 1992, it was decided to move the headquarters to Taipei, Taiwan in order to establish closer partnerships with the substantial and growing IT manufacturing base in Taiwan and neighbouring China.

In 1999, VIA acquired most of Cyrix, then a division of National Semiconductor. That same year, VIA acquired Centaur Technology from Integrated Device Technology, marking its entry into the x86 microprocessor market. VIA is the maker of the VIA C3, VIA C7 & VIA Nano processors, and the EPIA platform. The Cyrix MediaGX platform remained with National Semiconductor.

In 2001, VIA established the S3 Graphics joint venture.

In January 2005, VIA began the VIA pc-1 Initiative, to develop information and communication technology systems to benefit those with no access to computers or Internet. In February 2005, VIA celebrated production of the 100 millionth VIA AMD chipset.

On 29 August 2008, VIA announced that they would release official 2D accelerated Linux drivers for their chipsets, and would also release 3D accelerated drivers.

In 2013, VIA entered into an agreement with the Shanghai Municipal Government to create a fabless semiconductor company called Zhaoxin. The joint venture is producing x86 compatible CPUs for the Chinese market.

In November 2021, Intel recruited some of the employees of the Centaur Technology division from VIA, a deal worth $125 million, and effectively acquiring the talent and knowhow of the x86 division, it is not clear what will happen with the x86 license held by VIA.

Products

See also: List of VIA chipsets, List of VIA microprocessor cores, and Zhaoxin

VIA KT266A north bridge for Socket A.

A VIA USB PHY on a Rosewill-branded PCI USB 2.0 desktop expansion card.

VIA Vinyl Audio Envy24MT chip of a PCI sound card.

An IEEE 1394 FireWire-400 PCI card with the VIA VT6306 chipset.

By the mid-1990s, VIA's business focused on integrated chipsets for the PC market. Among PC users then, VIA was best known for its motherboard (core-logic) chipsets. However, VIA's products include audio controllers, network/connectivity controllers, low-power CPUs, and even CD/DVD-writer chipsets. PC and peripheral vendors such as ASUS then bought the chipsets for inclusion into their own product brands.

In the late 1990s, VIA began diversifying its core-logic business, and the company made business acquisitions forming a CPU division, graphics division, and a sound division. As advances in silicon manufacturing continue to increase the level of integration and functionality in chipsets, VIA acquired these divisions at the time to remain competitive in the core-logic market.

VIA has produced multiple x86 compatible CPUs, through its acquisitions of Cyrix and Centaur Technology. VIA produces CPUs through the Zhaoxin joint venture. Many of the CPUs are BGA chips sold pre-soldered onto a motherboard. Some of the VIA x86 processors also contain an undocumented Alternate Instruction Set.

VIA Technologies Inc. (Chinese: 威盛電子; pinyin: Wēishèng Diànzǐ), is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory. It was the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets.[citation needed] As a fabless semiconductor company, VIA conducts research and development of its chipsets in-house, then subcontracts the actual (silicon) manufacturing to third-party merchant foundries, such as TSMC.

History

The company was founded in 1987, in Fremont, California, USA by Cher Wang. In 1992, it was decided to move the headquarters to Taipei, Taiwan in order to establish closer partnerships with the substantial and growing IT manufacturing base in Taiwan and neighbouring China.

In 1999, VIA acquired most of Cyrix, then a division of National Semiconductor. That same year, VIA acquired Centaur Technology from Integrated Device Technology, marking its entry into the x86 microprocessor market. VIA is the maker of the VIA C3, VIA C7 & VIA Nano processors, and the EPIA platform. The Cyrix MediaGX platform remained with National Semiconductor.

In 2001, VIA established the S3 Graphics joint venture.

In January 2005, VIA began the VIA pc-1 Initiative, to develop information and communication technology systems to benefit those with no access to computers or Internet. In February 2005, VIA celebrated production of the 100 millionth VIA AMD chipset.

On 29 August 2008, VIA announced that they would release official 2D accelerated Linux drivers for their chipsets, and would also release 3D accelerated drivers.

In 2013, VIA entered into an agreement with the Shanghai Municipal Government to create a fabless semiconductor company called Zhaoxin. The joint venture is producing x86 compatible CPUs for the Chinese market.

In November 2021, Intel recruited some of the employees of the Centaur Technology division from VIA, a deal worth $125 million, and effectively acquiring the talent and knowhow of the x86 division, it is not clear what will happen with the x86 license held by VIA.

Products

See also: List of VIA chipsets, List of VIA microprocessor cores, and Zhaoxin

VIA KT266A north bridge for Socket A.

A VIA USB PHY on a Rosewill-branded PCI USB 2.0 desktop expansion card.

VIA Vinyl Audio Envy24MT chip of a PCI sound card.

An IEEE 1394 FireWire-400 PCI card with the VIA VT6306 chipset.

By the mid-1990s, VIA's business focused on integrated chipsets for the PC market. Among PC users then, VIA was best known for its motherboard (core-logic) chipsets. However, VIA's products include audio controllers, network/connectivity controllers, low-power CPUs, and even CD/DVD-writer chipsets. PC and peripheral vendors such as ASUS then bought the chipsets for inclusion into their own product brands.

In the late 1990s, VIA began diversifying its core-logic business, and the company made business acquisitions forming a CPU division, graphics division, and a sound division. As advances in silicon manufacturing continue to increase the level of integration and functionality in chipsets, VIA acquired these divisions at the time to remain competitive in the core-logic market.

VIA has produced multiple x86 compatible CPUs, through its acquisitions of Cyrix and Centaur Technology. VIA produces CPUs through the Zhaoxin joint venture. Many of the CPUs are BGA chips sold pre-soldered onto a motherboard. Some of the VIA x86 processors also contain an undocumented Alternate Instruction Set.