IBM will help Advanced Micro Devices develop future chip technologies, the companies announced Wednesday, an alliance that will better insulate AMD from the growing risks of making processors.
Under the deal, the two companies will develop semiconductor manufacturing technologies for 65-nanometer and 45-nanometer chips from AMD. The 65-nanometer chips will likely emerge in 2005, with 45-nanometer chips following in 2007. The nanometer measurement refers to the average size of features on a chip.
The deal is the latest in a series of ventures that is transforming the semiconductor industry from a collection of independent companies to groups of interlinked alliances.
AMD's Bill Siegle, senior vice president, technology operations and the company's chief scientist, said Wednesday that by collaborating with IBM, "AMD can deliver industry-leading performance and functionality for our customers while reducing the rapidly escalating cost of technology development."
The IBM-AMD alliance will specifically concentrate on how to better incorporate energy-saving technologies, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and "low-k dielectrics," into chips. IBM's services and technology don't come cheap, though. Companies typically hand over several million dollars--even hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the deal--to IBM under these alliances, according to sources.
News source: News.com
