CEO of ex-AMD fab GlobalFoundries shoots down Intel buyout | PC Gamer - rinconwhought
CEO of ex-AMD fab GlobalFoundries shoots down Intel buyout
This article was updated on July 20, 2021 to reflect a statement made past GlobalFoundries CEO, Thomas Caulfield, refuting the Intel buyout rumours. Click here to jump to the new information.
Intel's new CEO, Pat Gelsinger, has been making the rounds in European Union to mouth about Intel's manufacturing plans, symmetrical speechmaking with French president Macron and Italian PM Mario Draghi about spending big in the EU. Yet there has been rumor of another portion out current for the x86 chip maker, as a report suggested Intel could be eyeing up the once manufacturing arm of AMD turned "strong point foundry", GlobalFoundries.
Accordant to mass familiar with the subject, speaking to the Fence Street Journal, Intel was said to be exploring the possibility of a dish out to buy out GlobalFoundries for a grand sum of $30B in a press to expand its manufacturing capabilities across the globe.
GlobalFoundries operates six chipmaking fabs, four 300mm and ii 200mm, and its most cutting-edge process node is the 14/12nm process. That's a speck arse TSMC, Samsung, and Intel, each of which are development processes at 7nm or beyond. GlobalFoundries was once actively developing a 7nm process node to compete at the hemorrhage edge with these companies but distinct to cease boost growing in 2018.
Now this is wherefore that uncommon rumour caught our attention. Intel, on a successful buyout, would purchase a chip making company that is presently trusty for production of processors used with AMD Ryzen chips.
To better understand how this could've unfolded, you have to original sleep with about GlobalFoundries genuinely fascinating history.
GlobalFoundries was first spun out into its own company following a deal between AMD and an investment firm coupled to the peak prince of United Arab Emirates's capital to buy the former's manufacturing arm. AMD was struggling at the time, thanks to pressure from Intel no little, and its CEO had decided that a fabless approach would save it heaps of money in the long-run and deliver a fast inflow of much needed John Cash into the business right away.
According to AMD's CEO at the time, Hector Ruiz, that deal only came together through a dinner with Formula Ane team Ferrari. But that's a level for some other time.
Important thing is, GlobalFoundries exists, AMD goes fabless from there happening, and some companies sign a Wafer Supply Agreement (WSA) to ensure a harmonious supplier/customer relationship for years to come.
Practically, the deal tied AMD into buying most of its chips from GlobalFoundries and would be dissuaded through with various means to procuring chips from elsewhere. Slashed ahead to GlobalFoundries decision to halt 7nm process node development, and that WSA begins to unravel.
One major amendment to the WSA allowed AMD to procure chips from other foundries for 7nm and beyond, merely kept the red team leased to GlobalFoundries for 12/14nm and big nodes.
Then, earlier this class, AMD was freed of even this obligation. AMD can now procure chips from other foundries as it so wishes, although a key stipulation in the WSA says it must purchase at least $1.6B worth of chips from the fab aside 2024 OR else incur a o.k., account payable to GlobalFoundries.
That's a lot of chips, but AMD does presently use one GlobalFoundries ready-made chiplet in every Zen 2 or newer processor it makes. The processing core group, or CCD, of AMD's Ryzen and Epyc processors are made by TSMC happening the 7nm outgrowth, but the I/O die, or cIOD, is still to this day manufactured by GlobalFoundries.
So, long story short, if Intel could net a deal to purchase GlobalFoundries, it would live responsible for the WSA that AMD is indebted to. Nevertheless, it must exist aforesaid that bodied deals guide eld to finalise, so even if Intel were to buy GlobalFoundries, which is now heavily disputed, IT wouldn't likely have long left on AMD's WSA contract, which effectively ends all obligations to GlobalFoundries by 2024.
If not to get AMD in Intel's pocket, would there be good reason to buyout GlobalFoundries?
Yes, shorten manufacturing.
Intel currently produces its own CPUs with its ain fabs (mostly, anyways). However, the company aims to get over principal-to-head with the world's biggest chip off manufacturers in the world, TSMC and Samsung, with its own metalworks contract business. This dramatic reorganisation would learn information technology taking on deals to produce chips for other companies, instead of just its have.
But Intel needs fifty-fifty much fabs to do that, hence the push into the EU and farther investment funds into its spheric pleasing network.
Just one job: "It just takes few years to build capability," Eastern Samoa Gelsinger said back in May. One way of expanding mental ability without building them yourself is to buy someone else's fabs, and that's wherefore GlobalFoundries had looked a prime nominee.
GlobalFoundries CEO has other ideas, however.
GlobalFoundries CEO responds
GlobalFoundries CEO, Thomas Caulfield, shooting down rumours of an Intel buyout on CNBC yesterday (via Quest Alpha)
"There's nothing to that story," Caulfield aforementioned, "... we're focused on capital punishment our business organisatio each and every day and that's really front and centre for all of us.
While we can never be as well sure what's leaving along behindhand the scenes, GlobalFoundries is putting this rumour to rest.
Caulfield also expects increased demand and need for metalworks businesses, like itself, in the near future, and doesn't expect necessitate to come back to peaks and troughs.
"The reason why I have confidence that we're not passing to have this burst of capacity and create some of the old cyclicality of our industry, it's very simple," Caulfield says. "This industry has to forked in the next eight days."
Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own technical school blog from his hometown in Wales in 2017. From on that point, helium gradual to professionally breaking things at PCGamesN, where helium would later win instruction of the kit cupboard atomic number 3 computer hardware editor. Nowadays, as senior hardware editor at PC Gamer, he spends his days reporting happening the latest developments in the technology and gaming industry. When he's not writing about GPUs and CPUs, you'll obtain him stressful to get As far away from the modern world as possible by wild camping.
Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/intel-interested-in-buying-ex-amd-fab-and-ryzen-chip-maker-globalfoundries/
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