The divisions that now handle semiconductor manufacturing and design, Sony Semiconductor Corporation and Sony LSI Design, will both become subsidiaries of the new company. R&D, business control, sales and other operations related to the semiconductor business, which are now overseen by business groups and R&D units within Sony Corporation, will be transferred to Sony Semiconductor Solutions. The new structure will enable each of the three main businesses within the segment, namely the semiconductor, battery and storage media businesses, to more rapidly adapt to their respective changing market environments and generate sustained growth.
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While Sony has done something similar with their VAIO brand, this new restructuring follows in the footsteps of their Bravia TV line, which is also a separate business for their audio and video line of products.
It’s all part of CEO Kaz Hirai’s strategy to make Sony’s sprawling business more efficient and agile, and for its separate components to become more accountable.
Spinning its image sensor business off is by no means an unprecedented move from Sony. Its chips are used in cameras including the company’s well-regarded Alpha line and high-end Nikon DSLRs, and over recent years Sony sensors have powered smartphones from the likes of Apple, Xiaomi, and now Google’s new Nexus devices.
Terushi Shimizu, now Deputy President, Device Solutions Business Group, Sony Corporation, is expected to be appointed President, Sony Semiconductor Solutions.
“The aim of these measures is to ensure clearly attributable accountability and responsibility from the perspective of shareholders”, the company said in a statement.
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Sony said in April that it would spend 45 billion yen ($374 billion), on top of a 105 billion yen investment announced in February, to increase its sensor production capacity this fiscal year.
