Earlier article on semiconductor consolidation discusses rising costs & the difficulty of shrinking features are changing the dynamics of who buys IP, tools and chips
It's interesting how the article you linked mentions cheap capital has enabled consolidation. I was always under the impression that cheap capital would spawn a plethora of startups and new differentiation. I guess this system has two stable states...
Also, now more than ever, startups can enter the fabless market since TSMC and other foundries are open to even small customers. I think we may just be seeing a slowdown on new entries because the engineering cost, not just tool or IP cost, is monstrous for new chips (i.e. innovative features, not just coupling IP cores). Now I want to go research what portions of IC designs require the most time now. My hunches: formal requirements definition and analog design.
http://semiengineering.com/the-impact-of-consolidation/