Spansion
A former AMD–Fujitsu flash-memory company that developed NOR and NAND memory, microcontrollers, analog products, and related embedded solutions before merging with Cypress Semiconductor.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Spansion was a United States-based semiconductor company focused initially on flash memory and later on a broader portfolio of embedded-system components. Its roots lay in Fujitsu AMD Semiconductor Limited, commonly known as FASL, a 1993 joint venture between Advanced Micro Devices and Fujitsu. The venture combined AMD’s and Fujitsu’s semiconductor manufacturing and memory capabilities and became a significant supplier of non-volatile memory for embedded electronics. AMD assumed control of the venture in 2003. The business was subsequently renamed Spansion LLC in 2004 and separated from AMD as an independent company in December 2005. Spansion’s principal technology area was NOR flash, which is used for code storage and execute-in-place applications where predictable access and reliability are important. It also sold NAND flash and developed both traditional floating-gate memory and MirrorBit memory, a technology that stores multiple bits per cell and was central to the company’s product and intellectual-property strategy. The company served a wide range of original-equipment manufacturers and system designers. Its memory products were used in automotive electronics, industrial equipment, networking and telecommunications hardware, consumer devices, game systems, television set-top boxes, printers, field-programmable systems, and computer peripherals. Product families included parallel NOR, serial SPI flash, NAND, and later HyperFlash NOR devices using the HyperBus interface. Spansion marketed products across a broad range of densities and voltage requirements, seeking to provide migration paths from conventional parallel memory to lower-pin-count serial and higher-throughput interfaces. Spansion experienced severe financial stress during the global semiconductor downturn. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2009 after substantial layoffs and cost-reduction measures. Under chief executive John Kispert, the company reorganized, received court approval for a restructuring plan, and emerged from Chapter 11 on May 10, 2010. Existing common stock was cancelled under the restructuring and new equity was issued to creditors. The reorganized company returned to public trading on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2010 under the symbol CODE. After its restructuring, Spansion attempted to broaden its business beyond standalone flash memory. In 2008 it completed the acquisition of Saifun Semiconductors, consolidating MirrorBit and NROM intellectual property and adding a technology-licensing dimension. In 2013 it acquired Fujitsu Semiconductor’s microcontroller and analog business, including 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit microcontrollers, power-management products, and related technologies. This expansion supported product lines such as FM microcontrollers, ARM-based devices, Traveo automotive microcontrollers, energy-harvesting power-management ICs, and LED-driver design tools. The company operated manufacturing and engineering activities in several locations, including its Fab 25 wafer facility in Austin, Texas, a final-manufacturing operation in Bangkok, Thailand, and a design center in Penang, Malaysia. By 2014 it reported more than 3,700 employees and more than 10,000 customers worldwide. Its second-quarter 2014 results reflected a recovering business, with reported sales of $314.7 million on a GAAP basis. Spansion’s independent existence ended through its combination with Cypress Semiconductor. Announced in December 2014, the all-stock transaction was completed in the first half of 2015, creating a larger embedded-solutions company under the Cypress Semiconductor name. Spansion therefore ceased operating as a separate publicly traded company, although many of its memory, microcontroller, and embedded technologies continued within Cypress’s product portfolio.
History
Spansion originated in 1993 as Fujitsu AMD Semiconductor Limited, a joint venture established by AMD and Fujitsu. The venture was created to develop and manufacture flash-memory products and became known as FASL. Its business was centered on non-volatile memory for embedded systems, where NOR flash was valued for code storage, reliable access, and operation in products that needed to retain firmware without continuous power. AMD took control of the venture in 2003. The business adopted the Spansion name during its transition away from the joint-venture structure: it became Spansion LLC in June 2004 and was spun off from AMD as an independent flash-memory company in December 2005. The independent company pursued both product development and intellectual-property expansion. Its portfolio included conventional floating-gate flash and MirrorBit technology, which used charge-storage techniques to increase memory density. Spansion’s NOR products ranged from low-density legacy components to high-density devices for automotive, industrial, networking, consumer, and computing applications. It also offered NAND and serial-interface products. In October 2007, Spansion announced an agreement to acquire Saifun Semiconductors, an Israeli non-volatile-memory company. The transaction closed in March 2008 and brought Saifun’s memory expertise and intellectual property into Spansion. The deal strengthened the company’s MirrorBit and NROM position and supported an effort to license technology as well as sell physical memory devices. Spansion entered a period of acute financial difficulty during the semiconductor downturn. It announced large workforce reductions in February 2009 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 1 of that year. John Kispert became chief executive in February 2009 and led the company through the restructuring. In April 2010, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved Spansion’s plan to exit bankruptcy. The company emerged on May 10, 2010; its former common stock was cancelled and new shares were issued to creditors under the restructuring. Spansion returned to the New York Stock Exchange on June 22, 2010, trading under the symbol CODE. Following its emergence, Spansion pursued product and market diversification. It continued to develop parallel NOR and serial SPI flash, while introducing HyperFlash devices based on the HyperBus interface. The company positioned HyperFlash as a higher-throughput alternative for systems needing faster memory access without the pin count of traditional parallel NOR. It also continued expanding memory density and process technology, including a reported 4-gigabit single-die NOR device made using a 65-nanometer process in 2011. In 2013, Spansion acquired Fujitsu Semiconductor’s microcontroller and analog business. The transaction added microcontroller families, analog products, power-management components, and associated engineering capabilities. Spansion subsequently promoted ARM-based FM microcontrollers, Traveo automotive microcontrollers, energy-harvesting power-management ICs, and design-support tools for LED-driver applications. This acquisition changed Spansion from a primarily flash-memory company into a more diversified embedded-semiconductor supplier. The company’s manufacturing and engineering footprint included its Fab 25 wafer facility in Austin, Texas, final manufacturing in Bangkok, Thailand, and a design center in Penang, Malaysia. In 2014, Spansion reported more than 3,700 employees and more than 10,000 customers globally. It supplied components to automotive, appliance, industrial, consumer, networking, telecommunications, and computer-peripheral markets. Its second-quarter 2014 reported sales were $314.7 million under U.S. GAAP. In December 2014, Cypress Semiconductor announced an all-stock merger with Spansion. The transaction was completed in the first half of 2015, with the combined company retaining the Cypress Semiconductor name. TJ Rodgers became chief executive of the combined business and Ray Bingham became non-executive chairman. The merger ended Spansion’s existence as an independent public company, while its technologies and product lines were incorporated into Cypress’s broader embedded portfolio.
- 2015
Merged with Cypress Semiconductor
[1]Spansion combined with Cypress Semiconductor in an all-stock transaction and ceased operating as an independent company.
- 2013
Fujitsu microcontroller and analog acquisition
[1]Spansion acquired Fujitsu Semiconductor’s microcontroller and analog business, broadening its embedded product portfolio.
- 2011
4-gigabit single-die NOR development
[1]Spansion announced a single-die 4-gigabit NOR product fabricated using 65-nanometer technology.
- 2010
Emergence from bankruptcy
[1]Spansion completed its Chapter 11 reorganization and later resumed trading on the NYSE under CODE.
- 2009
Chapter 11 filing
[1]Spansion filed for Chapter 11 protection following layoffs and financial distress.
- 2008
Saifun acquisition completed
[1]Spansion completed its acquisition of Saifun Semiconductors, strengthening its non-volatile-memory intellectual property.
- 2005
Spun off from AMD
[1]Spansion became an independent flash-memory company after being separated from AMD.
- 2004
Business renamed Spansion LLC
[1]The FASL business adopted the Spansion LLC name.
- 2003
AMD takes control
[1]AMD assumed control of the joint-venture business during its transition toward an independent Spansion identity.
- 1993
FASL joint venture established
[1]AMD and Fujitsu formed Fujitsu AMD Semiconductor Limited to develop and manufacture flash memory.
Products and positioning
A supplier of reliable, embedded-oriented memory and semiconductor components for automotive, industrial, networking, consumer, and computing applications.
Memory semiconductor
NOR Flash
Spansion’s core product category consisted of parallel NOR flash devices for firmware storage and execute-in-place applications. Families covered a wide range of densities and supported 1.8-volt, 3-volt, and 5-volt operating environments. The portfolio included MirrorBit and conventional floating-gate implementations for automotive, industrial, networking, consumer, and computing systems.
Serial flash memory
SPI Flash
Spansion’s serial peripheral interface flash devices transferred data serially, reducing pin counts and simplifying board layouts compared with conventional parallel memory. The SPI portfolio was aimed at equipment such as printers, networking products, set-top boxes, and systems incorporating programmable logic. Devices were offered across multiple densities and sector configurations.
High-speed NOR flash
HyperFlash
HyperFlash was Spansion’s high-throughput NOR family based on the HyperBus interface. It was designed to provide substantially faster read performance than ordinary Quad SPI memory while using fewer connections than traditional parallel NOR. The architecture provided a migration path for system designers moving between different flash-performance levels.
Microcontroller · 2013
FM Microcontrollers
The FM family was added through the Fujitsu business acquisition and included ARM Cortex-M4, Cortex-M3, and Cortex-M0+ based microcontrollers. Devices were offered in packages ranging from 32 to 216 pins, with flash capacities reported from approximately 56 KB to 2 MB, supporting embedded control applications.
Automotive microcontroller · 2013
Traveo
Traveo was Spansion’s automotive microcontroller family, based on ARM Cortex-R5 technology. The first reported series, MB9D560, operated at up to 200 MHz and was intended for automotive electronic control and embedded processing applications.
Power-management semiconductor
Energy-harvesting and LED power-management ICs
Spansion offered power-management components for applications including energy harvesting from solar, thermal, and vibration sources, as well as LED lighting. Associated design support included Easy DesignSim, an online tool intended to help engineers develop LED-driver circuits.
Controversies
2009
Executive compensation and layoffs controversy
During the period surrounding Spansion’s large-scale layoffs and Chapter 11 filing, reporting questioned a proposed performance-based incentive for chief executive John Kispert and an increase in manager compensation while the company was attempting to reduce costs. A later settlement addressed claims brought on behalf of former employees whose employment ended around the February 2009 layoffs.
Brand decisions
2014
Merge with Cypress SemiconductorM&ABackground
The combination was intended to create a broader embedded-semiconductor supplier and generate operating synergies.
Action taken
Cypress Semiconductor and Spansion announced an all-stock merger, with the combined company retaining the Cypress Semiconductor name.
Aftermath
The transaction closed in the first half of 2015. Spansion ceased to exist as an independent public company, while TJ Rodgers led the combined company and Ray Bingham served as non-executive chairman.
Transaction valuation and expected annual cost savings. Approximately $1.59 billion equity value; approximately $135 million in annual cost savings targeted within three years (Announcement December 2014; closing expected and completed in 2015)
2013
Acquire Fujitsu microcontroller and analog businessM&ABackground
Spansion wanted to diversify beyond flash memory and increase its exposure to embedded control, analog, and power-management markets.
Action taken
Spansion acquired Fujitsu Semiconductor’s microcontroller and analog business, including inventory and related operations.
Aftermath
The acquisition added more than 1,000 employees worldwide and expanded Spansion into microcontrollers, analog products, and power-management ICs.
Acquisition consideration. $110 million for the business plus approximately $65 million for inventory (Announced April 2013; completed August 2013)
2009
File for Chapter 11 restructuringStrategyBackground
Spansion faced financial distress after a difficult semiconductor market and implemented major workforce reductions.
Action taken
The company filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code and pursued a court-supervised reorganization.
Aftermath
Spansion emerged from bankruptcy in May 2010 with its old common stock cancelled and new equity issued to creditors.
2008
Acquire Saifun SemiconductorsM&ABackground
Spansion sought to strengthen its non-volatile-memory intellectual property and expand the strategic value of its MirrorBit and NROM technologies.
Action taken
Spansion completed the acquisition of Saifun Semiconductors in March 2008.
Aftermath
The transaction consolidated memory IP and supported Spansion’s entry into technology licensing.
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