Co-designed x86 chips are happening, according to Intel’s CEO
Intel says it’s ready to match the competition.
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What you need to know
Plenty of companies are interested inArm technology, ranging from Microsoft to NVIDIA. The latter is evenattempting to acquire Armin its entirety because of the value it sees. And that rampant interest is putting Intel in a bit of a hot seat.
For a long time, Intel was restrictive with its x86 licensing practices and not super big on the idea of hybrid designs built around a customer’s preferences rather than its own. However, based onSeeking Alphatranscripts documenting the company’s latest earnings call, it seems Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is certain that Intel’s most inflexible days are behind it (viaPC Gamer).
In the earnings call, Gelsinger was asked if, in response to Arm’s flexible IP licensing practices, Intel would consider allowing “hyperscale” customers to co-design their own products with its foundry services. Gelsinger’s answer? Yes. He mentioned this would especially benefit cloud service providers, then framed it within the context of the market duel with Arm:
… we do believe that the ability for our customers to take advantage of x86 this way will be a meaningful shift in how people think about Arm versus x86. Because part of it was we weren’t giving them the flexibility to design to comingle IP as I have described it.
So, there you have it. Intel’s new$20 billion planto fight the semiconductor crisis is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how the company plans on positioning itself for future relevance and dominance. How far Intel’s willing to let customers go when it comes to hybrid designs remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain: It’s further than the company’s allowed in the past.
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Robert Carnevale is the News Editor for Windows Central. He’s a big fan of Kinect (it lives on in his heart), Sonic the Hedgehog, and the legendary intersection of those two titans, Sonic Free Riders. He is the author ofCold War 2395. Have a useful tip? Send it to robert.carnevale@futurenet.com.
