Infineon Austria Rebrands Development Center in Linz

Global semiconductor giant Infineon Technologies is rebranding its Austria subsidiary, Danube Integrated Circuit Engineering (DICE), to Infineon Technologies Linz —cementing the upper-Austria development center with Infineon’s brand identity. 

The move comes shortly after the DICE operation relocated to a new research building at Donaufeldstrasse 5 in Linz, Austria. The new office brings together 180 employees who had previously worked across three locations in Linz. The building’s reopening ceremony was pushed back to spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Infineon Austria’s Linz branch (Source: Infineon Technologies AG)

In the company’s announcement, Infineon Technologies Linz Managing Director Manfred Ruhmer stated that the new building contains enough space for 400 workplaces, with more room for laboratories and equipment. It’s also in close proximity to Johannes-Kepler University’s Science Park facility and other research partners. 

“We are perfectly prepared for the future with our world-leading expertise in high-frequency technology, the new building, and our expert staff,” Ruhmer added. 

Infineon Austria acquired Danube Integrated Circuit Engineering (DICE) GmbH & Co KG in September 2019 after building a majority shareholder position. The acquisition of all shares in DICE allowed Infineon Austria to claim 100% ownership of the facility. 

Sabine Herlitschka, CEO of Infineon Austria, further commented that the development center in Linz is of “strategic importance” to the Infineon Group. Linz is one of several Infineon Austria branches, in addition to the headquarters in Villach. As a whole, the regional subsidiary brought in €3.1 billion in revenue last year. 

In its 2019 earnings report, the company stated that the now-rebranded DICE development center specializes in the expertise of radar chips for driver assistance systems—a growing market segment for Infineon as it seeks to expand in the automotive market with the recent acquisition of Cypress Semiconductor. 

Last year, Infineon’s automotive business earned €3.5 billion in revenue, accounting for nearly half of the company’s total revenue of €8 billion. As the demand for advanced driver assistance systems heats up, so will the need for Infineon’s R&D operation at the Linz site. 

Herlitschka added, “It is at [the Development Center in Linz] that the key technologies for mobile radio applications and driver assistance systems for autonomous driving are developed. Increasing digitization through the Internet of Things and 5G technology applications will lead to a further increase in the demand for the excellent high-frequency innovations from Linz.”